Sorol
Sorol is an atoll in the Western Caroline Islands.
Alternative spellings and historic names include: Philip, Saraon,, Sarol, Sororu, and Zaraol
Sorol is a coral atoll is situated at 8° 08’ N, 140° 24’ E, 178 miles west-northwest of Eauripik and 95 miles south of Fais. It is six and one half miles long (NW-SE) and one and one half miles wide. Its lagoon has an area of about two square miles, and there is apassage for small boats in the center of the south side. There are 17 low, thickly wooded islets, situated on the northern and eastern sides of the atoll, many of them connected by land at low tide, six covered with vegetation; the others are sandbanks. Sorol, the largest and only inhabited island, is about two miles long (NW-SE) and from 75 to 400 yards wide. Its southern tip lacks vegetation.
Sorol was discovered by the Spaniard Alonso de Arellano in 1564, probably sighted by Francis Drake in 1588, and first described by the Englishman Captain Hunter in 1791.
Sorol is located within the Outer Islands of Yap in Yap State, part of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Subunits
Islands within the atoll include: Sorol, Bigelimol, Bigeliwol, Bigelor, Birara, Falewaidid
"Sorol" is also an island. As with many placenames in Micronesia, Sorol is a geographic 'pars pro toto', in which the name of a constitutive village, island or atoll is often used describe the larger island, atoll or island grouping in which it is the predominate member.
Population, Language and Religion
The 2010 FSM Census reported the atoll as formerly inhabited. Ulithian was the spoken language and religious affiliation was predominately Roman Catholic.
A 1935 count of the population by the Japanese identified eight native residents and no foreign nationals.
In 1942, it was said by US sources "the population today is reported to be negligible, but formerly it seems to have been considerable. There was a fairly large village, divided into four sections on the west side of Sorol Island."
After the war, in summer of 1946, the US Naval Military Government counted twelve local residents on Sorol.
Governance
Spain laid claim to the Carolines from the time of initial discovery in the early 1500's but made no attempt to occupy or administer them. In 1885 a Governor for the Carolines was appointed by the Governor General of the Philippines and presence established in Pohnpei and Yap. In this Spanish Period (1521-1899), Sorol fell within the Western District of the Spanish East Indies.
After the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the Palau, Caroline, and Marianas Islands to Germany in 1899. In this German Period (1899-1914), the Caroline, Palau and Mariana Islands (excluding Guam), along with the Marshalls, annexed in 1885, were titled Imperial German Pacific Protectorates. The Carolines become an administrative district of German New Guinea under direction of a vice-governor and Sorolfell within the Western Caroline District.
The Carolines were seized from the Germans by the Japanese early in World War I. Despite protests from the United States, including the Yap Crisis, the Islands were in 1920 mandated to Japan by the League of Nations. In this Japanese Period (1914-1941), Sorol fell within the Yap District of the “Nan'yō Cho” or South Seas Government.
Following liberation of the islands in the War in the Pacific, the islands were administered by the US Navy. 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. During the USN Period (1945-1947) and the TTPI Period (1947-1979) Sorol fell within the Yap Administrative Unit and then the Yap District.
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) was established with the end of the Trust Territory. The FSM is one of three “Freely Associated States,” or “FAS” nations that entered into a Compact of Free Association or “COFA” with the US. The treaty and agreements provide economic assistance to the countries, secured US defense rights and set defense responsibilities, and allow FAS citizens to migrate to the United States.
Traditional Culture
Pre-Contact
Sorol was part of the "Yap-Ulithi-"Woleai" chain of authority and the related "Sawei" Yap/Outer Island Trade and Tribute Network (sometimes called the "Yap Empire”).
Present Day
Traditional chiefly authority is exercised by the Council of Tamol.
In Yap, traditional leaders have a role in governnance that enshrines them as a "Fourth Branch." As John Haglelgam, former President of the FSM observed in his "Traditional Leaders and Governance in Micronesia" (1998), “in Yap, the traditional leaders have formal roles in the government. The Yap state constitution created two councils of chiefs: one for the main islands of Yap and one for the outer island chiefs. These councils are empowered to review and disapprove an act of the state legislature if it violates custom and tradition… The legislature cannot override the veto of these councils but can incorporate their objection in the bill and return it for their review. So far. the councils have used their power sparingly. The councils have also expanded their power to review policy of the executive branch which has forced the governor and his cabinet to justify their policy to the councils… The two councils are in essence public watchdogs, making sure that elected officials and bureaucrats are doing their job.“
Electoral Divisions
The legislative branch of the Federated States of Micronesia is unicameral. Two types of Senators are elected: at-large senators, one for each of the four states, who serve four-year terms, and population-based senators, representing specific constituencies, who serve two-year terms. The President of Micronesia is elected by the Congress from amongst the four at-large senators, after which a special election is held to (re)fill that seat.Sorol is represented in the FSM Congress by the Yap, At-Large Seat Senator, and the Yap, Sole Population-Based District Senator.
Education
The Local Education Agency, or “school district” for Sorol is the Yap State Department of Education.
