MICRONESIA
In a wider sense Micronesia ("Small Islands") is the name given to the Pacific area encompassing hundreds of small islands stretching from Hawaii to the Philippines. In a more restricted sense it is the name given to those islands of the area which were successively ruled by Spain, Germany, Japan and the US, before achieving their present status : - the Caroline Islands, with sub-groups such as the Truk and the Yap Islands. (now the Federated States of Micronesia) - the northern part of the Mariana Islands (now the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana) - the Marshall Islands (now the Republic of the Marshall Islands) - the Palau Islands (now the Republic of Palau). It is with the common history of these islands that this page is concerned. (1) (1) Separate pages for each group of islands will be added later. Other major Micronesian islands not covered by this page include : - the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati) and the related Banaba (Ocean), Line and Phoenix Islands, - Guam (sometimes Southern Mariana), - Nauru (which was however part of German Micronesia until 1914) (sometimes the Ellice Islands - now Tuvalu - are also listed as part of Micronesia)
See also ROMAN CATHOLIC HIERARCHY IN MICRONESIA 1848 - 1945
SPANISH MICRONESIA 1848 - 1899
Spanish presence in Micronesia started in 1521 when the explorer Ferdinand Magellan (Port. : Fernão de Magalhães - ca 1480 - 1521) reached the Mariana Islands. Althoigh they had little to offer, the islands were nevertheless claimed by Spain as part of the area that had been assigned to the Spanish kingdoms by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 and in the course of 17th century the Carolines, the Mariana and the Palau were formally proclaimed Spanish possessions. But except for the Mariana, attempts to effectively colonize and christianize them met with little results and by the end of the 18th century both the Carolines and the Palau had become "forgotten possessions". Things changed in the course of the 19th century when non-Spanish whalers, traders and protestant missionaries started settling on these islands and other countries like Germany and the UK started showing interest for them. Spain then tried to re-establish its authority over the Carolines and the Palau, in which it partly succeeded in 1885, after a diplomatic conflict with Germany (s.b.) This new period of Spanish rule was very brief as after the defeat in the war with the US (1898), the Micronesian islands were no longer of any interest to Spain and all of them - except the island of Guam, ceded to the US - were sold to Germany in 1899. (1) (1) There seem not to have existed an overall administration for all islands. By 1899 Spanish Micronesia was divided into the districts of the : - Eastern Caroline Islands - Mariana Islands - Western Caroline Islands (also including the Palau)
GERMAN MICRONESIA
Although there were already sailors and traders from Bremen or Hamburg in the area before 1850, German presence only became really important in the 1860's and 1870's when the Hamburg trading house of Johann Cesar Godeffroy und Sohn became prominent in the copra industry/trade and established a commercial empire that soon covered most island groups in the area (the Carolines, the Gilberts, the Palau, etc) (1) In 1874 Spain reacted to this situation by confirming its ancient sovereignty over the islands and by trying to establish customs posts in the area. This led to an intervention of the German navy in 1876, the start of a diplomatic conflict that lasted until 1885 when an arbitral decision of Pope Leo XIII assigned the Carolines and the Palau to Spain and granted the Germans equal trading and shipping rights. This new situation lasted until 1899 when - as mentioned - Spain sold both groups to Germany, at that moment already ruling the Marshalls. (2) (1) The owner of the company, Johann Cesar VI Godeffroy (1818 - 1885), became known as the King of the South Sea (König der Südsee). At first the operations were directed by the trading post of the company in Samoa (since 1857), but later permanent posts were also established in Micronesia itself (Yap in 1869, Jaluit in 1873) The company went bankrupt in 1878, but by then German presence was firmly establshed. (2) Except for the Marshalls - forming a seperate dependency until 1906 - the islands then became part of the Protectorate of German New Guinea. __________________________________________________________________________________GERMAN CHIEF ADMINISTRATORS
Vice Governors (of German New Guinea) Vizegouverneure German Micronesia was divided into the following districts : - Jaluit : the Marshall Islands from 1906 to 1911 - Nauru : the island of the same from 1906 to 1911 - Ponape : the Eastern Carolines and also the Marshalls and Nauru since 1911 - Saipan : the Mariana from 1899 to 1907 - Yap : the Palau and Western Carolines and also the Mariana from 1907 General supervision over these districts was entrusted to a Vice Governor (of New Guinea). From 1899 to 1907 this were the Heads of the District (Bezirkamtleute) of Ponape and thereafter those of the District of Yap. 1899 - 1901 Albert Hahl 1868 - 1945 1901 - 1907 Victor Berg 1861 - 1907 1907 - 1909 Arno Senfft 1864 - 1909 1909 Rudolf Karlowa 1909 - 1910 Georg Fritz 18.. - 1910 1910 - 1911 Hermann Kersting 1911 - 1914 ... Baumert
JAPANESE MANDATED TERRITORY OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS ISLANDS
In 1914 German Micronesia was occupied by Japanese forces. (1) After a transitional period of military rule the islands were declared a Mandate-C territory entrusted to Japan by the Supreme Allied Council in 1919 (later confirmed by the League of Nations in 1920) and a civil administration was instored. (2) (1) This occupation was the final act of an evolution that started in 1884. That year an official expedition - the so-called Suzuki-Goto expedition, headed by Suzuki Tsunemori and Goto Taketaro - was sent to the Marshalls to investigate - formally at least - the murder of some Japanese pearl fishers. Its account described the economic possibilities of the islands and soon afterwards Japanese trading companies (the South Sea Islands Company, the Hiki South Seas Trading Company Limited, etc) started operating in the area. During the Spanish period these companies worked relatively unchallenged, but things changed after the German take over and so the outbreak of WWI became a good opportunity for Japan to eliminate this rival in the area. (2) After Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations in 1933, this mandate was no longer legal, but the powerless League wasn't able to take any measure and the territory de facto continued to be ruled by Japan as a dependency opened to Japanese colonization, economic exploitation and an extreme militarization. __________________________________________________________________________________JAPANESE MILITARY COMMANDERS AND CHIEF ADMINISTRATORS
(note : In Japanese names the family names are given first) Commander of the First South Seas Squadron (in charge of the occupation of the Central and Eastern Carolines and the Marshalls - subordinated to the Ministry of the Navy) 1914 - 1915 ViceAdm. Yamaya Tanin 1866 - 1940 Commander of the Second South Seas Squadron (in charge of the occupation of the Western Carolines, the Marianas and the Palau - subordinated to the Ministry of the Navy) 1914 RearAdm. Matsumura Tatsuo 1868 - 1932 Commanders of the Interim Southern Islands Defense Unit (the Interim Southern Islands Defense Unit was formed out of the Second South Seas Squadron. Early 1915 it toke over the administration of all islands - subordinated to the Ministry of the Navy) 1914 - 1915 RearAdm. Matsumura Tatsuo s.a. 1915 - 1916 RearAdm. Togo Kichitaro 1866 - 1942 1916 - 1917 RearAmd. Yoshida Masujiro 1867 - 1942 1917 - 1919 RearAdm. Nagata Yasujiro 1866 - 1923 1919 - 1922 RearAdm. Nozaki Kojuro Head of the Civil Affairs Bureau (subordinated to the Interim Southern Islands Defense Unit until 1920, then directly to the Ministry of the Navy) 1918 - 1922 Tezuko Toshiro Governors of the South Seas Government Civil Governors (subordinated to the Prime Minister until 1929, to the Minister of Colonization 1929 - 1942 and to the Ministry of Greater East Asia 1942 - 1943) 1922 - 1923 Tezuko Toshiro s.a. 1923 - 1931 Yokota Gosuke 18.. - 1931 1931 Horiguchi Mitsusada 1931 - 1932 Tawara Kazuo 1932 - 1933 Matsuda Masayuki 1933 - 1936 Hayashi Hisao 1936 - 1940 Kitajima Kenjiro 1893 - 1957 1940 - 1943 Kondo Shunsuke 1891 - 1966 Naval Governor (subordinated to the Ministry of the Navy) 1943 - 194. ViceAdm. Hosogaya Boshiro (3) 1888 - 1964 (3) It's not clear until when Hosogaya was in office. It is said that he was transferred to the Central Pacific Area Fleet (s.b.) in feb 1944, but on the other hand, he is still given as presiding over the "Administration Day" festivities - commemorating the introduction of civil government in 1918 - of jul 01 1944 and 1945. Anyway, even if he remained in office until 1945, he had by then lost - as a consequence of the US advance in the islands - most of his actual power to the military commanders listed below. Commanders-in-Chief of the Japanese forces in the South Seas Until the first defeats of 1943 military matters were an exclusive navy affair. Thereafter the army also was present. Commanders-in-Chief of the 4th Fleet (since the outbreak of the war in 1941) 1941 - 1942 ViceAdm. Inoue Shigeyoshi 1889 - 1975 1942 - 1943 ViceAdm. Samejima Tomoshige 1889 - 1966 1943 - 1944 ViceAdm. Kobayashi Masamhi 1890 - 1977 1944 - 1945 ViceAdm. Hara Chuichi, surrendered to the Americans (4) 1889 - 1964 Through local base commanders, the Commanders of the 4th Fleet also were in charge of the conquered British and US islands. Commanders of the 5th Special Base Force Saipan (Mariana) In charge of Guam 1942 - 1944 (before the island was directly under the Commanders-in-Chief) 1941 - 1944 ... Commanders of the 6th Base Force Kwajalein (Marshalls) In charge of : the Gilbert Islands 1942 - 1943 Nauru 1942 - 1943 and 1943 - 1945 Ocean Island 1942 - 1943 and 1943 - 1945 Wake 1941 - 1945 1941 - 1942 RearAdm. Yatsushiro Sukeyoshi 1890 - 1942 1942 - 1943 RearAdm. Abe Koso Yamagata 1892 - 1947 1943 - 1944 RearAdm. Akiyama Monzo 1891 - 1944 1944 - 1945 ... Commanders of the 3rd Special Base Force Tarawa (Gilberts) In charge of the Gilbert Islands, Nauru and Ocean Island in 1943 1943 See Gilbert Islands (to be added) (4) After the US conquest of the Gilbert Islands the direct jurisdiction of the Commanders-in-Chief of the 4th Fleet was restricted to the Carolines and to what remained of the Marshalls, while the Mariana (with Guam) and the Palau were entrusted to the newly established Central Pacific Area Fleet, which was however already disbanded after the death of its first Commander -in-Chief. Commander-in-Chief of the Central Pacific Area Fleet. 1944 ViceAdm. Nagumo Chuichi 1887 - 1944 At the same time a newly created 31th Army was also sent to these islands. Commanders-in Chief of the 31th Army (formally subordinated to Nagumo, de facto independent) 1944 Ltgen. Obata Hideyoshi 1880 - 1944 1944 LtGen. Saito Yoshitsugu* 1890 - 1944 194. - 1945 LtGen. Mugikura Shunsaburo, surrendered to the Americans. Commander of the 14th Division (on the Palau) (formally subordinated to the 31th Army, de facto independent) 1944 - 1945 Ltgen. Inoue Sadao As the US troops progressed these different commands gradually lost all real signification, each island garrison being forced to act independently for its survival.
US MILITARY GOVERNMENT OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC AREA
The US conquest of the Japanese possessions in Micronesia started in nov 1943 when the Gilbert Islands were occupied. It ended in sep 1945 when the Japanese military officials listed above surrendered. (1) (1) Despite the formal surrender some organized Japanese resistance continued until dec 1945 when Capt. Oba Sakae and his troops lay down their arms. But even thereafter some isolated bands or individuals refused to give up and the last Japanese soldier known to have surrendered in this area was Serg. Shoichi Yokoi (1915 - 1997) in 1972. __________________________________________________________________________________CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR
Military Commander and Governor 1942 - 1945 FleetAdm. (1944) Chester William Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Fleet since 1941, at the same time also Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Ocean Area and of the Central Pacific Area since 1942, became military governor of each group of islands after their conquest by US troops (Marshalls in feb 1944, Mariana in jun 1944, ...) (2) 1885 - 1966 (2) In 1942 the Pacific Ocean war zone was divided into two major US operation zones : - the Pacific Ocean Area, divided into : - the Central Pacific Area, covering Hawaii and the other US islands, the British Gilbert Islands, the Japanese South Seas Government, Taiwan and most of Japan, including the Ryukyu Islands. - the North Pacific Area, covering Alaska and its islands and the northern islands of Japan (Hokkaido, Karafuto and the Kuril Islands) - the South Pacific Area, covering New Zealand and the British and French possessions in the area (French Polynesia, etc) - the Southwest Pacific Area (to be added) STRUCTURE OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC AREA COMMAND Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Ocean Areas and of the Central Pacific Area 1942 - 1945 FleetAdm. Chester William Nimitz s.a. Commander-in-Chief of the 5th Fleet (1943 - 1945) and of the Central Pacific Force (1943 - 1944) (in charge of all naval and land operations in the area) 1943 - 1945 Adm. (1944) Raymond Ames Spruance 1886 - 1969 Commanders of the Joint Expeditionary Forces (subordinated to the previous; in charge of the landings and the initial occupation of the islands) 1944 - 1945 VAdm. Richmond Kelly Turner, concerned with the conquest and occupation of all islands from the Marshalls to Okinawa 1885 - 1961 1945 VAdm. Harry Wilbur Hill, prepared the planned invasion of Japan, later supervised the landing of the first US troops in that country 1890 - 1971 Commander of the Forward Area Central Pacific (in charge of the islands occupied by the US troops, de facto military governor from mar to jul 1944, when Nimitz arrived on Guam) 1944 RearAdm. John H. Hoover, continued as Commander Mariana Area Commnd after the arrival of Nimitz. (For the subordinated local commanders see : Guam, Wake, etc)
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