History of Micronesia: A Collection of Source Documents: Vol. 39 South-Sea Expedition Part 1, 1905-1909
Levesque, Rodrigue (2006). History of Micronesia: A Collection of Source Documents: Vol. 39 South-Sea Expedition Part 1, 1905-1909. 39. Gatineau, Québec: Lévesque Publications. ISBN 978-0-920201-39-8.
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Abstract: HOM.39 (1905–1909) presents documents relating to the German South Sea Expedition (Südsee-Expedition) organized by the Hamburg Scientific Foundation and associated German research institutions during the early years of German colonial rule in Micronesia. The expedition’s work focused especially on the Caroline Islands, including Pohnpei (Ponape), Chuuk (Truk Lagoon), Kosrae (Kusaie), and Yap, with additional references to Palau, the Marshall Islands, and nearby island groups. The documents include field reports, ethnographic descriptions, linguistic observations, and archaeological notes compiled during research visits to places such as Kolonia, Metalanim Harbor, Sokehs, Kiti, Tomil Harbor, Koror, Babeldaob, and numerous villages and districts throughout the Caroline Islands.
Participants in the South Sea Expedition appearing in the documents include scholars and researchers such as Augustin Krämer, Paul Hambruch, Wilhelm Müller, and other German scientists working under the sponsorship of the Hamburgisches Wissenschaftliches Stiftung and museums in Hamburg and Berlin. Their research involved extensive documentation of island societies, including genealogies of local chiefs, descriptions of traditional political organization in districts such as Kiti, Sokehs, U, and Nett on Pohnpei, and ethnographic studies of communities in Chuuk, Yap, and Palau. The reports also reference cooperation with German colonial administrators and missionaries stationed in Yap, Pohnpei, and Palau, whose local knowledge and logistical support enabled the researchers to travel throughout the islands.
The materials in HOM.39 contain detailed descriptions of archaeological sites, including the ruins of Nan Madol on Pohnpei, along with studies of canoe construction, navigation traditions, religious practices, and social hierarchy across Micronesian societies. Additional documents describe research travel between islands aboard German government vessels and commercial steamers linking Jaluit, Yap, Pohnpei, and Palau with larger colonial and trading centers such as Hong Kong, Manila, and Hamburg. Together the documents provide a reference guide to the people, places, and institutions involved in the German scientific exploration and ethnographic documentation of Micronesia during the early twentieth century.
