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Caroline Islands
*** Shopping-Tip: Caroline Islands
:''Not to be confused with
Caroline Island, part of
Kiribati (Southern
Line Islands), also in the central
Pacific Ocean.''
image:Colonia Sunset.jpg right|thumb|300px|Sunset at Colonia on [[Yap]]
The '''Caroline Islands''' form a large
archipelago of widely scattered islands in the western
Pacific Ocean, northeast of
New Guinea. Politically they presently sub-divide into the
Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and
Palau at the extreme western end. Most of the islands comprise low, flat
atoll coral atolls, but some rise high above sea level. The inhabitants speak a variety of
Micronesian languages including
Yapese language Yapese,
Pohnpeian language Pohnpeian,
Chuukese language Chuukese, and
Kosraean language Kosraean, as well as the
Western Malayo-Polynesian languages Western Malayo-Polynesian language
Palauan language Palauan.
History
The Portuguese Diego da Rocha, the first European explorer of the Carolines, named them the ''Sequeira Islands'' in 1527. Though early Spanish navigators in the area (from 1543) called them the '''''Nuevas Filipinas''''' ("New
Philippines"), Admiral Francisco Lazeano named them the '''''Carolinas''''' after the Spanish King
Charles II of Spain Charles II in 1686.
Some few Western travellers subsequently visited the islands, but an early visit of missionaries (1732) resulted in one of several murderous attacks on the interlopers; and only in 1875 did Spain, claiming the group, make some attempt to assert her rights. Germany, which had occupied Yap, disputed the Spanish claim, and the matter went to the arbitration of Pope
Leo XIII in 1885. He decided in favor of Spain, but gave Germany free trading rights. The Spanish did not occupy any island formally until
1886.
Then in 1899, after the
Spanish-American War of
1899, Spain sold the islands to
Germany for 25,000,000 pesetas (nearly 1,000,000 pounds sterling).
Japan occupied the islands in
1914 and received a
League of Nations mandate over them in
1920, but after
World War II the islands became trust territories of the
United States, eventually gaining independence (1986 / 1994).
Postage stamps
image:Karolinen-stamp.jpg right|thumb|Karolinen Stamp
In their first year as a German possession, the Carolines used
postage stamps of Germany overprinted "Karolinen". Few examples of these survive today, especially in cancelled condition. In
1901, Germany issued its "Yacht" series with a common design for all of Germany's colonies, featuring the
Kaiser's yacht ''Hohenzollern''. The issues for the Carolines featured the inscription "KAROLINEN", all with mark and pfennig denominations. Many unused copies of the low values still exist today, left over after the Japanese occupation, but as one might expect from the short period of German rule and the very small numbers of letter-writers living in the Carolines, genuinely used stamps are both uncommon and prized.
References
*{{1911}}
Category:German colonies Caroline Islands
Category:Philately by country
Category:Archipelagoes
Category:Geography of the Federated States of Micronesia
Category:Palau
da:Carolinerne
de:Karolinen
es:Islas Carolinas
fr:Îles Carolines
nl:Carolinen
ja:カロリン諸島
pl:Karoliny
pt:Ilhas Carolinas
fi:Karoliinit
sv:Karolinerna (ögrupp)
*** Shopping-Tip: Caroline Islands
