Page 309 - Micronesia

uring pre-colonial times, the people ntil the arrival of the German colo- those captured during the Philippine Revo-
lution. After the defeat against the United
D of Yap proper established an island U nizers, the caste ranking system was
empire and dominion over what are now fluid and the ranks of villages and fami- States in 1898 and subsequent loss of the

the outer islands of Yap State. Beginning in lies changed in response to inter-village Philippines, Spain sold these islands and its

the 19th century, Yap was colonized by the intrigues and confrontations. In the late other minor Pacific possessions to Germany.

Spanish, Germans, and Japanese in succes- 19th century, however, the German colonial Yap was a major German naval communica-

sion. administration “pacified” Yap and enforced tions center before the First World War and

Y apese society is based on a highly a prohibition against violent conflict. The an important international hub for cable
complex caste system involving at least caste ranking of each village in modern Yap telegraphy. It was occupied by Japanese
thus remains the same as it was when the troops in September 1914, and passed to

seven tiers of rank. Historically, the caste system was frozen in place by the Germans. the Japanese Empire under the Versailles

rank of an entire village could rise or fall The result of the freeze left Yap with three Treaty in 1919 as a mandated territory un-

in comparison to other villages depending highest ranks of the villages of Teb, Gach- der League of Nations supervision.

on how it fared in inter-village conflicts. par, and Ngolog. The village of Teb from the I n World War II, Japanese-held Yap was one
Winning villages would rise in rank as a of the islands bypassed in the U.S. “island-
part of a peace settlement, while losing municipality of Tomil remains as the high-
est of the three.

villages would have to accept a decline T he first recorded sighting of Yap by hopping” strategy, although it was regularly
in comparative rank. In many cases lower Europeans came during the Spanish bombed by U.S. ships and aircraft, and Yap-
ranked villages were required to pay tribute based Japanese bombers did some damage

to higher ranked villages. Further, dietary expedition of Álvaro de Saavedra in 1528. in return. At the end of World War II, Yap

taboos might be imposed on lower ranking Its sighting was also recorded by the Span- was occupied by the U.S. military victors. In

villages, i.e., they might be prohibited from ish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos in 1986 Yap, Truk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae formed

harvesting and eating the more desirable January 1543, who charted them as Los Ar- the independent nation of the Federated

fish and animals of the sea. Further, within recifes (“the reefs”). From the 17th century States of Micronesia. Under a Compact of

each village each family had its own rank until 1899, Yap was a Spanish colony within Free Association with the United States,

comparative to the others. the Captaincy General of the Philippines. Micronesian citizens and goods are allowed

The Spanish used Yap Island as a prison for entry into the U.S. with few restrictions.