Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands, officially Republic of the Marshall Islands, independent nation (2005 est. pop. 59,000), in the central Pacific. The Marshalls extend over a 700-mi (1,130-km) area and comprise two major groups: the Ratak Chain in the east, and the Ralik Chain in the west, with a total of 34 atolls, c.900 reefs, and a land area of 70 sq mi (181 sq km). The major atolls are Majuro, the capital; Arno; Ailinglaplap; Jaluit, with a fine natural harbor, the archipelago's chief trade center; and Kwajalein, the largest atoll and site of a U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile test range.

The population of the Marshalls is largely Micronesian and Christian (mainly Protestant). English is the official language; two native dialects of Marshallese, a Malayo-Polynesian tongue, and Japanese are also spoken. The chief industries are agriculture, fishing, and tourism; copra, sugar, and handicrafts are the major exports. A large portion of the Marshallese economy is dependent on U.S. aid.

History

Some of the islands were visited by Spanish explorers in the early 16th cent. They are named after a British captain who visited in 1788. Much mapping was done on Russian expeditions under Adam Johann von Krusenstern (1803) and Otto von Kotzebue (1815 and 1823). Germany annexed the group in 1885 and tried with little success to establish a colony. Administrative affairs continued to be managed largely by private German and Australian interests. In 1914, Japan seized the Marshalls and in 1920 received a League of Nations mandate over them.

In World War II the islands were taken by U.S. forces (1943–44); they were included in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947. After the war both Enewetak and Bikini atolls were used as U.S. nuclear weapons test sites. In 1983, the United States gave $183.7 million to the Marshalls for damages from the tests. The Marshalls became (1979) self-governing under U.S. military protection and achieved free-association status in 1986. The first president, Amata Kabua, died in Dec., 1996. Imata Kabua was elected to succeed him in Jan., 1997. Kabua was succeeded in Jan., 2000, by Kessai H. Note, who began a second term in 2004. An amended compact of free association, extending the defense relationship with the United States and the lease on the U.S. base on Kwajalein, was signed in 2003.

Bibliography

See E. H. Bryan, Life in the Marshall Islands (1972).

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Marshall Islands

 officially Republic of the Marshall Islands

Island country, central Pacific Ocean. It is composed of two parallel chains of low-lying coral atolls: the Ratak, or Sunrise, to the east and the Ralik, or Sunset, to the west. The chains lie 125 mi (200 km) apart and extend some 800 mi (1,290 km) northwest to southeast. The islands and islets number more than 1,200. Area: 70 sq mi (181 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 56,300. Capital: Majuro. The indigenous people are Micronesian. Languages: Marshallese, English (both official). Religion: Christianity (Protestant, Roman Catholic, other Christians). Currency: U.S. dollar. The largest atoll is Kwajalein, consisting of about 90 islets, with a total land area of 6 sq mi (16 sq km). Much of Kwajalein is used as a missile-testing range by the U.S. military, which provides a major source of revenue to the Marshall Islands. Subsistence farming, fishing, and the raising of pigs and poultry are the principal economic activities. The Marshall Islands is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. The islands were sighted in 1529 by the Spanish navigator Álvaro Saavedra (or de Saavedra). Germany purchased the islands from Spain in 1885 and declared them a protectorate the following year. Japan seized them in 1914 and after 1919 administered them as a League of Nations mandate. During World War II the U.S. seized Kwajalein and Enewetak, and the Marshall Islands were made part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under U.S. jurisdiction in 1947. Bikini and Enewetak atolls served as testing grounds for U.S. nuclear weapons from 1946 to 1958. The Marshall Islands became an internally self-governing republic in 1979. It signed the compact of free association with the U.S. in 1982 and became fully self-governing in 1986. The compact was amended in 2004.