Marshall Islands

Where the name comes from

The Marshall Islands are named after British captain John Marshall, who sailed through them in 1788; Marshall became Majeļ in Marshallese.

First people

Micronesian navigators settled these atolls about 2,000 years ago.¹

Known for

The Marshall Islands are known for stick charts, maps of ocean swells that navigators used to find their way between atolls.²

Outside contact

German protection began in 1885 and Japanese rule in 1914; the US took the islands in 1944 and carried out 67 nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958, after moving people off the test atolls.³

The modern country

The islands became independent in 1986, and nuclear justice remains a central issue.¹