History of the Marshall Islands
500 BC - 2000 BC (approx.) - The
first Micronesian navigators arrive in the Marshalls, calling the atolls Aelon
Kein Ad (Our Islands). Dates and origins of the settlers are still uncertain.
While controversial, archeological finds on Bikini Atoll in the late 1980s were
carbon dated to 2000 years BC, suggesting that people may have settled the
Marshalls as long as 4,000 years ago.
1494 - The Treaty of Tordesillas cedes
ownership of all of Micronesia to Spain.
1529 - Seeking a western route to the
"Spice Islands," Spaniard Alvaro Saavedra becomes the first European to
"discover" the Marshalls.
1788 - The area now known as the RMI
was given its name by British Naval Captain William Marshall, who sailed through
the area on the Scarborough while transporting convicts for New South Wales
between Botany Bay and Cathay.
1857 - Rev. Hiram Bingham, Jr. of the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) creates missionary
outpost on Ebon.
1860s - Adolph Capelle builds
first large-scale trading company in the Marshalls. Several German trading firms
begin operations in the Marshalls soon thereafter.
1878 - Captain von Werner of the German
Navy enters into a treaty with inhabitants of the Ralik chain, granting special
trade privileges.
1885 - Under mediation of Pope Leo
XIII, German government annexes the Marshalls with compensation to Spain in the
amount of $4.5 million.
1886 - Germany establishes a
protectorate over the Marshalls.
1887 - Formation of the Jaluit Company,
a German entity entrusted with governance of the Marshalls.
1898 - Germany receives ownership of
the disputed atolls of Ujelang and Enewetak as a result of the end of the
Spanish-American War.
1914 - The Marshalls are captured from
Germany by Japan.
1920 - League of Nations grants a
mandate to Japan to administer the RMI.
1934 - Japan withdraws from the League,
but retains possession of the Marshalls. Fortification of the Marshall Islands
begins as Japan prepares for war. The islands of Mili, Jaluit, Maloelap, Wotje
and Kwajalein are developed into bases, forming a north-south line of defense in
the Marshalls.
1943 - Allied invasion of the
Marshalls begins.
1944 - Allied occupation of the
Marshalls.
1945 - End of World War II grants
effective control to the U.S.
1946 - U.S. begins its nuclear testing
program in the Marshalls. Bikini atoll is evacuated for first tests under
Operation Crossroads.
1947 - The RMI becomes one of six
entities in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) established by the
United Nations with the U.S. as the Trustee.
1948 - U.S. expands its testing program
to include Enewetak atoll.
1951 - US Department of the Interior
assumes responsibility within US Government for the TTPI from the Department of
the Navy.
1952 - The first hydrogen device
under the US testing program in the Marshalls is fired on Enewetak.
1954 - US nuclear testing program
detonates Bravo, the most powerful hydrogen bomb ever tested by the U.S., on
Bikini atoll. Radiation from the test forces evacuation of Marshallese and U.S.
Military personnel on Rongelap, Rongerik, Utirik and Ailinginae.
1957 - The last of those evacuated, the
Rongelapese, are allowed to return to their island. Fearing further
contamination, they leave several years later.
1965 - The Congress of Micronesia is
formed, with representatives from all of the TTPI islands. It is created by the
U.S. administration in preparation for greater self-governance by Micronesians.
1978 - Marshall Islands Constitutional
Convention adopts the nation's first constitution.
1979 - Government of the Marshall
Islands officially established, and country becomes self-governing.
1982 - Official name changed to the
Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI).
1983 - Voters in the RMI approve the
Compact of Free Association with the United States.
1986 - U.S. Congress approves the
Compact, resulting in its entry into force. The Compact grants the RMI its
sovereignty and provides for aid and US defense of the islands in exchange for
continued US military use of the missile testing range at Kwajalein Atoll.
1990 - UN Security Council terminates
the RMI's Trusteeship status.
1991 - RMI joins the United Nations.
- 2003 - RMI and US governments
renegotiate economic and other provisions of the Compact of Free Association
