Germany begins issuing standard land deeds, printed in German and Pohnpeian, vesting land in one man.

What happened

The deeds put each parcel in the name of one man, who had to let relatives make a living from it. They set a fixed rule of inheritance, which a 1971 court described as giving priority to the oldest son, and barred sale or gift without the approval of the governor and the Nahnmwarki. A Trust Territory court called it a system of extended family ownership, mixing Pohnpeian and Western ideas.

Why it matters

Courts under US rule held for decades that this German land law still governed land on Pohnpei.