![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/Palau-on-the-Globe-300x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>The country was originally settled approximately 3,000 years ago by migrants from Maritime Southeast Asia<\/a>. Spain was the first European nation to explore the islands in the 16th century, and they were made part of the Spanish East Indies<\/a> in 1574. Following Spain’s defeat in the Spanish\u2013American War<\/a> in 1898, the islands were sold to Imperial Germany<\/a> in 1899 under the terms of the German\u2013Spanish Treaty<\/a>, where they were administered as part of German New Guinea<\/a>. After World War I<\/a>, the islands were made a part of the Japanese-ruled South Seas Mandate<\/a> by the League of Nations<\/a>. During World War II<\/a>, skirmishes, including the major Battle of Peleliu<\/a>, were fought between American and Japanese troops as part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign<\/a>. Along with other Pacific Islands, Palau was made a part of the United States-governed Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands<\/a> in 1947. Having voted against joining the Federated States of Micronesia in 1979, the islands gained full sovereignty in 1994 under a Compact of Free Association with the United States<\/a>.<\/p>\n Politically, Palau is a presidential republic in free association with the United States, which provides defense, funding, and access to social services. Legislative power is concentrated in the bicameral Palau National Congress. Palau’s economy is based mainly on tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing, with a significant portion of gross national product (GNP) derived from foreign aid. The country uses the United States dollar as its currency. The islands’ culture mixes Micronesian, Melanesian, Asian, and Western elements. Ethnic Palauans, the majority of the population, are of mixed Micronesian, Melanesian, and Austronesian descent. A smaller proportion of the population is of Japanese descent. The country’s two official languages are Palauan (a member of the Austronesian language family) and English, with Japanese, Sonsorolese, and Tobian recognized as regional languages.<\/p>\n Palau was originally settled between the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE, most likely from the Philippines or Indonesia. Sonsorol<\/a>, part of the Southwest Islands, an island chain approximately 600 kilometers (370 mi) from the main island chain of Palau, was sighted by the Spanish as early as 1522, when the Spanish mission of the Trinidad, the flagship of Ferdinand Magellan’s<\/a> voyage of circumnavigation, sighted two small islands around the 5th parallel north, naming them “San Juan”.<\/p>\n The next recording of the existence of Palau by Europeans came a century later in 1697 when a group of Palauans were shipwrecked on the Philippine island of Samar<\/a> to the northwest. They were interviewed by the Czech missionary Paul Klein<\/a> on 28 December 1696. Klein was able to draw the first map of Palau based on the Palauans’ representation of their home islands that they made with an arrangement of 87 pebbles on the beach . Klein reported his findings to the Jesuit Superior General in a letter sent in June 1697.<\/p>\n This map and the letter caused a vast interest in the new islands. Another letter written by Fr. Andr\u00e9s Serrano was sent to Europe in 1705, essentially copying the information given by Klein. The letters resulted in three unsuccessful Jesuit attempts to travel to Palau from Spanish Philippines in 1700, 1708 and 1709. The islands were first visited by the Jesuit expedition led by Francisco Padilla on 30 November 1710. The expedition ended with the stranding of the two priests, Jacques Du Beron and Joseph Cortyl, on the coast of Sonsorol, because the mother ship Sant\u00edsima Trinidad was driven to Mindanao<\/a> by a storm.<\/p>\n Another ship was sent from Guam<\/a> in 1711 to save them only to capsize, causing the death of three more Jesuit priests. The failure of these missions gave Palau the original Spanish name Islas Encantadas (Enchanted Islands). Despite these early misfortunes, the Spanish Empire later came to dominate the islands.<\/p>\n British traders became regular visitors to Palau in the 18th century, followed by expanding Spanish influence in the 19th century. Palau, at the time, was part of the Spanish East Indies headquartered in the Philippines. Later in 1899 as part of the Caroline Islands, Palau was sold by the Spanish Empire to the German Empire as part of German New Guinea in the German\u2013Spanish Treaty (1899).<\/p>\n During World War I, the Japanese Empire annexed the islands after seizing them from Germany in 1914. Following World War I, the League of Nations formally placed the islands under Japanese administration as part of the South Seas Mandate. In World War II, Palau was used by Japan to support its 1941 invasion of the Philippines<\/a>, which succeeded in 1942. The invasion overthrew the American-installed Commonwealth government in the Philippines and installed the Japanese-backed Second Philippine Republic in 1943.<\/p>\n During World War II, the United States captured Palau from Japan in 1944 after the costly Battle of Peleliu, when more than 2,000 Americans and 10,000 Japanese were killed. In 1945\u20131946, the United States re-established control on the Philippines, and managed Palau through the Philippine capital of Manila. By the later half of 1946, however, the Philippines was granted full independence with the formation of the Third Republic of the Philippines, shifting the US Far West Pacific capital to Guam. Palau passed formally to the United States under United Nations auspices in 1947 as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 21.<\/p>\n Four of the Trust Territory districts joined together and formed the Federated States of Micronesia in 1979, but the districts of Palau and the Marshall Islands declined to participate. Palau, the westernmost cluster of the Carolines, instead opted for independent status in 1978, which was widely supported by the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan. It approved a new constitution and became the Republic of Palau on 1 January 1981. It signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States in 1982. After eight referenda and an amendment to the Palauan constitution, the Compact was ratified in 1993. The Compact went into effect on 1 October 1994.<\/p>\n Palau’s territory consists of an archipelago located in the Pacific Ocean. Its most populous islands are Angaur<\/a>, Babeldaob<\/a>, Koror<\/a> and Peleliu<\/a>. The latter three lie together within the same barrier reef, while Angaur is an oceanic island several kilometers to the south. About two-thirds of the population lives on Koror.<\/p>\n The coral atoll of Kayangel<\/a> is north of these islands, while the uninhabited Rock Islands<\/a> (about 200) are west of the main island group. A remote group of six islands, known as the Southwest Islands<\/a>, some 604 kilometers (375 miles) from the main islands, make up the states of Hatohobei and Sonsorol.<\/p>\n Palau’s economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing. Tourist activity focuses on scuba diving and snorkeling in the islands’ rich marine environment, including its barrier reefs’ walls and World War II wrecks. The government is the largest employer, relying heavily on U.S. financial assistance. Business and tourist arrivals numbered some 50,000 in fiscal year 2000\u20132001.<\/p>\n The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of Micronesia as a whole. Long-term prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development.<\/p>\n Major tourist draws in Palau include Rock Islands Southern Lagoon, a UNESCO<\/a> world heritage site<\/a>, and four tentative UNESCO sites, namely, Ouballang ra Ngebedech (Ngebedech Terraces)<\/a>, Imeong Conservation Area<\/a>, Yapease Quarry Sites, and Tet el Bad (Stone Coffin).<\/a><\/p>\n Palau International Airport<\/a> provides scheduled direct flights with Guam<\/a>, Manila<\/a>, Seoul<\/a> and Taipei<\/a>. In addition, the states of Angaur<\/a> and Peleliu<\/a> have regular service to domestic destinations.<\/p>\n Freight, military and cruise ships often call at Malakal Harbor, on Malakal Island<\/a> outside Koror. The country has no railways, and of the 61 km or 38 mi of highways, only 36 km or 22 mi are paved. Driving is on the right and the speed limit is 40 km\/h (25 mph). Taxis are available in Koror. They are not metered and fares are negotiable. Transportation between islands mostly relies on private boats and domestic air services. However, there are some state run boats between islands as a cheaper alternative.<\/p>\n The flag of Palau was adopted on 1 January 1981, when the island group separated from the United Nations Trust Territory. As with the flags of several other Pacific island groups, light blue is the color used to represent the ocean and the nation’s place within it. While this puts Palau in common with the Federated States of Micronesia<\/a> and other neighboring island groups, the disc on the flag (similar to that on Japan’s flag<\/a>) is off-center like that of the flag of Bangladesh<\/a>, but in this case represents the moon instead of the sun. The current flag was introduced in 1981 when Palau became a republic.<\/p>\n The explanation for the choice of colors is rooted in the history and customs of the Palauan people. The light blue of the field symbolizes the Pacific Ocean, and also represents the transition from foreign domination to self-government. The golden disk, which sits slightly off-center toward the hoist, represents the full moon. The Palauans consider the full moon to be the optimum time for human activity. At this time of the month, celebrations, fishing, sowing, harvesting, tree-felling, and the carving of traditional canoes are carried out. The moon is a symbol of peace, love, and tranquility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The explanation for the choice of colors is rooted in the history and customs of the Palauan people. The light blue of the field symbolizes the Pacific Ocean, and also represents the transition from foreign domination to self-government. The golden disk, which sits slightly off-center toward the hoist, represents the full moon. The Palauans consider the full moon to be the optimum time for human activity. At this time of the month, celebrations, fishing, sowing, harvesting, tree-felling, and the carving of traditional canoes are carried out. The moon is a symbol of peace, love, and tranquility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[59,5,6,7,29,30,44,60,40],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7989"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/Battle-of-Peleliu-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Early History:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/Manila-Galleon-in-the-Marianas-and-Carolinas-300x95.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Spanish Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/Spanish-East-Indies-1888-300x163.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transitions Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/Koror-Chiefs-in-1915-300x224.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>United States Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/2019-Meeting-of-the-Compact-Association-States.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Independence:<\/h3>\n
Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/Map-of-Palau-279x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/Palau-Exports-2017-300x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/Palau-International-Airport-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of Palau:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/Flag-of-Palau-300x188.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>