FSM HistoryLesson pack 1 of 10
The contact era 1820s–1886
Summary
Through this period explorers, whalers, traders and missionaries came to the islands, and ships called most often at Pohnpei and Kosrae. Disease came with them: smallpox in 1854 killed about 4,000 people on Pohnpei, roughly 40% of the island, and Kosrae’s population fell even more steeply. By about 1870 Pohnpeians had taken over trade from the beachcombers, and in 1874 Pohnpeian teacher couples carried Christianity to the Mortlocks, ten years before the first resident American missionary reached Chuuk.
Main topics: Explorers mapped the islands from 1824; Beachcombers and whalers made Pohnpei and Kosrae hubs; Chuuk and Yap kept outsiders away longer; Missions came through Hawaii and then Pohnpei; Disease cut Pohnpei and Kosrae deepest; Kosrae rebuilt its politics around king and church; Raiders and traders put guns into chiefly rivalries.
Mini-timeline
| 1823 | (7 Jun) The James Scott (John Mackenzie) trades with Ulithi canoes and names the atoll the “Mackenzie Group.” [MicSem ship list: Yap] |
|---|---|
| 1830 | (19 Feb) Benjamin Morrell’s schooner Antarctic trades at Kosrae. [MicSem ship list: Kosrae] |
| 1835 | Awane Sru II begins a reign (1835–1837) remembered as usurping and brutal toward Europeans. [COM-FSM Kosrae outline] |
| 1841 | The US ship Peacock is ordered to clear the beach settlements but abandons the mission for lack of time. [Hezel, Beachcombers] |
| 1848 | (7 Jan) Seven striking crewmen of the bark Harvest steal a boat at Kosrae and flee to Pohnpei. [MicSem ship list: Kosrae] |
| 1853 | (4 Feb) The whaler Indian Chief takes on wood and water and ships three Pohnpeians as crew. [MicSem ship list: Pohnpei] |
| 1858 | Awane Lepalik II begins his reign (to 1863); a census finds 747 people. [COM-FSM Kosrae outline] |
| 1865 | (1–13 Apr) Confederate raider CSS Shenandoah burns four whalers in Madolenihmw, stranding about 120 sailors. [Vance et al., World History Connected] |
| 1872 | (11 Jun (Kosrae), 1 Jul (Chuuk)) HMS Blanche reports on venereal disease at Kosrae and finds Chuuk villages deserted. [MicSem ship list: Kosrae] |
| 1877 | The Capelle Company begins operating on Kosrae; Snow suffers a stroke and returns to Maine. [COM-FSM Kosrae outline] |
| 1881 | The brigantine Shanghai repatriates Mortlock Islanders taken to Samoa as laborers. [Hezel, Truk] |
| 1885 | (17 Dec) Spain and Germany sign the Rome protocol embodying the papal settlement. [Gaceta de Madrid, 10 Jan 1886] |
Discussion questions
Why did disease hit Pohnpei and Kosrae harder than Chuuk and Yap in this period?
How did beachcombers and traders change who controlled trade on Pohnpei?
Why did Pohnpeian teachers matter so much in spreading Christianity to Chuuk?
What did firearms and foreign ships change in rivalries between chiefdoms?
Lütke and Duperrey wrote down what they saw. What might islanders have recorded about the same visits, and why don’t we have it?
Quiz
Circle one letter for each multiple-choice question. Write short answers on the lines.
Who first carried Christianity to the Mortlock Islands in 1874?
- A American missionaries
- B Pohnpeian teacher couples
- C Spanish Capuchin priests
- D German traders
On which island did the 1854 smallpox epidemic kill about 4,000 people, roughly 40% of the population?
Which of these happened first?
- A The Confederate raider Shenandoah burns four whalers at Pohnpei
- B Three American couples and two Hawaiian families begin the Protestant mission on Pohnpei and Kosrae
- C Sru IV becomes Kosrae’s first elected king
Why did Yap and Chuuk suffer less from introduced disease than Pohnpei and Kosrae?
What did Kosrae’s King Awane Oa do in 1857 after uncovering a plot?