History of Micronesia: A Collection of Source Documents: Vol. 42 Japanese Period Begins, 1914-1920
Levesque, Rodrigue (2007). History of Micronesia: A Collection of Source Documents: Vol. 42 Japanese Period Begins, 1914-1920. 42. Gatineau, Québec: Lévesque Publications. ISBN 978-0-920201-42-8.
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Abstract: HOM.42 (1914–1920) documents the beginning of the Japanese period in Micronesia, covering the transition from German colonial rule to Japanese naval occupation and early administration during and immediately after World War I. The documents include government correspondence, diplomatic reports, missionary communications, and contemporary accounts describing the arrival of Japanese naval forces and the surrender of German authorities in the Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Mariana Islands (excluding Guam, under the United States). Locations appearing frequently include Yap, Koror, Babeldaob, Pohnpei (Ponape), Chuuk (Truk Lagoon), Kosrae, Jaluit, Majuro, Saipan, Rota, and Tinian, as well as administrative centers such as Kolonia and Jaluit Harbor where German colonial institutions had previously operated. The documents also refer to the strategic submarine cable station at Yap, which became the focus of international diplomacy following the Japanese occupation. The records introduce Japanese naval officers, German colonial officials, missionaries, traders, and indigenous leaders involved in the transition of authority. German administrators and missionaries appear in reports describing the final months of German administration, while Japanese naval commanders and government representatives appear in documents concerning the occupation and supervision of the islands. Missionary networks—especially Capuchin missionaries in the Caroline Islands and Catholic clergy in Palau and Pohnpei—appear in correspondence describing local conditions during the change of administration. Indigenous leaders from districts such as Kiti, Sokehs, U, and Nett on Pohnpei, as well as chiefs in Yap and Palau, appear in reports describing interactions with the new authorities. Additional documents describe the political negotiations that followed the war, including discussions among Japan, the United States, and Allied governments concerning the future status of the islands. Reports address the administration of former German infrastructure such as harbors, cable stations, and trading centers, and describe continuing copra trade and shipping routes linking island ports with Yokohama, Hong Kong, Manila, and Sydney. The materials provide a guide to the locations, institutions, and individuals involved in the initial establishment of Japanese authority in Micronesia between the German colonial period and the later League of Nations mandate.
