palau (redirected from Pelew)

Palau (pälou`), officially Republic of Palau, independent nation (2005 est. pop. 20,300), c.192 sq mi (497 sq km), W Pacific, in the W Caroline Islands. Belau, the native form of Palau, is sometimes used. Until 1994, Palau was administered by the United States as the last UN trust territory. It consists of about 200 islands and islets, of which Babeldaob (or Babelthuap, the site of the capital), Oreor (or Koror, the former site of the capital), Arakabesan, and Malakal are the most important. Administratively, the islands are divided into 16 states. Palau has a bicameral parliament, a president, and a vice president. Subsistence farming and some commercial fishing and shellfishing are the chief economic activities.

History

Spain held the islands for about 300 years before selling them to Germany in 1899. Japan seized them in 1914 and was given a mandate over them by the League of Nations in 1920. A major Japanese naval base in World War II, Palau was seized by U.S. forces in 1944 and made part of the U.S.-administered United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947. Palau's constitution, adopted in 1980, prohibits nuclear weapons, causing a conflict with the Free Association Compact proposed by the United States in 1985–86. Palau became self-governing in 1981. The islands voted in favor of the compact in 1987, but the referendum failed to garner the 75% of the votes then required. In a new plebiscite held in 1993 the compact was approved, opening the door to closer official linkage with the United States. The following year Palau became an independent nation in free association with the United States. Tommy Remengesau, Jr., was elected president in 2000, succeeding Kuniwo Nakamura, and reelected in 2004. The capital was moved from Oreor to Babeldoab in 2006.

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Palau

 officially Republic of Palau

Island country, western Pacific Ocean. Area: 188 sq mi (488 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 21,100. Capital: Koror (acting); scheduled to move to the island of Babelthuap in 2006. The population is of mixed Malay, Melanesian, Filipino, and Polynesian ancestry. Languages: Palauan, Sonsorolese-Tobian, English (all official). Religion: Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic; also Protestant, other Christians). Currency: U.S. dollar. The islands of the Palau group are fertile, with mangrove swamps along the coasts, backed by savanna and palms rising to rainforests in the hills. The major source of employment is government service. Subsistence farming and fishing are the main occupations in the rural areas. Palau is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. The islands had been under nominal Spanish ownership when they were sold to Germany in 1899. They were seized by Japan in 1914 and taken by Allied forces in 1944 during World War II. Palau became part of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947 and became a sovereign state in 1994; the U.S. provides economic assistance and maintains a military presence in the islands.

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palau [pə′lau̇]

(metallurgy)

A palladium-gold alloy; used as a platinum substitute in analytical chemistry.