Micronesia

Where the name comes from

Micronesia joins Greek mikros, “small”, and nēsos, “island”, describing the region’s many small islands.

First people

Pacific voyagers settled these islands thousands of years ago, and on Pohnpei they built Nan Madol, a city of stone islets, from about 1180.^1,2

Known for

The country is known for Yap’s giant stone money, disks of carved stone up to 4 metres across.³

Outside contact

Spain set up posts from 1886, and Germany bought the islands in 1899; Japanese occupation in 1914 and rule from 1920 came before US trusteeship in 1947.¹

The modern country

The Federated States of Micronesia joins Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap, each with its own state government; federation came in 1979 and independence in 1986, with the trusteeship formally ending in 1990.^4,5