Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a Pacific Island nation comprised of two nearly parallel chains of islands which consist of twenty-one atolls and five single low islands. In total these amount to about seventy square miles of land strewn across 180,000 square miles of ocean.
The RMI is one of three “Freely Associated States,” or “FAS” nations in a Compact of Free Association or “COFA” with the United States. The treaty and agreements provide economic assistance to the countries, secure US defense rights, set defense responsibilities, and allow FAS citizens to migrate to the United States.
Naming
The Marshall Islands are sometimes described as a portion of Micronesia. The Marshalls have also been mis-characterized as part of the Eastern Caroline Islands. That term is more often and accurately used for the islands of present-day Pohnpei State and Kosrae State in the FSM. The Marshallese Language name for the nation is Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ.
Administrative History
The Spanish Period (1521-1899) began with initial discovery of the Marshalls, Carolines, and Palau in the early 1500's though Spain made little attempt to occupy or administer any of thee islands until 1885, when the islands were incorporated into the Spanish East Indies.
German traders signed a treaty with Marshallese chiefs in 1878 affording them exclusive use of Jaluit. A German firm, the Jaluit-Gesellsch, hoisted a German flag over the Marshall Islands in 1885. With Germans having occupied the Jaluit Atoll, the Empire was said to have claimed the territory, but administratively it was still primarily a commercial enterprise. In 1902 the German Government assumed direct administration of the Marshalls. After the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the neighboring Palau, and Caroline to Germany in 1899. In this German Period (1899-1914), the Marshalls, Carolines and Palaus were titled Imperial German Pacific Protectorates, administered through German New Guinea.
The Marshalls were seized from the Germans by the Japanese early in World War I. The Islands were in 1920 mandated to Japan by the League of Nations. In this Japanese Period (1914-1941), the Marshalls, Carolines and Palau were governed by the “Nan'yō Cho” or South Seas Government. Koror, in Palau, served as the seat of administration.
Following liberation of the islands in the War in the Pacific, the islands were administered by the US Navy during the USN Period (1945-1947). The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was formalized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 21 in 1947. The Navy passed governing duties to the Department of the Interior in 1951, initiating the TTPI Period (1947-1979).
Islands and Groupings
Ratak
The eastern, Ratak, or “Sunrise Islands” include the Atolls of Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Kwajalein, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mili, Ujelang, Utirik, and Wotje, as well as the Island of Mejit.
Ralik
The western, Ralik , or “Sunset Islands” include the Atolls of Ailinglaplap, Bikini, Ebon, Enewetak, Jaluit, Lae, Namdrik, Namu, Rongelap, Ujae, and Wotho, as well as the Islands of Jabat and Lib.
North/South Distinctions
In addition to the division of the islands into the Ralik/Ratak groupings, which accounts for minor cultural and linguistic differences, the islands can be divided into Northern Marshalls and Southern Marshalls, with the northern islands home to more distinct wet and dry seasons and total of about 50 inches of rain per annum. The southern islands, by contrast, experience less seasonal variation in precipitation and a total of 160 inches of rain in an average year.
