THE INFLUENCE OF JAPANESE ON PALAUAN

Within the last century the Palau Islands of the Western Carolines have been influenced by four different foreign administrations.* Spanish culture, introduced after Spain's annexation of the Carolines in 1686, lasted until the end of the Spainsh-American War. In 1899 Spain sold Palau, along with other possessions in the Carolines, to Germany, which administered them briefly until the armistice terminating World War I. After World War I, the League of Nations granted Japan a mandate to the Carolines, including Palau. Despite its withdrawal from the League in 1935, Japan did not relinquish the mandated islands, but instead developed them militarily and economically. Palau1s principal town, Koror, became the administrative headquarters of all the Carolines, and the southwest islands of Peleliu and Angaur were heavily fortified. Japan's World War II defeat ended its control over Palau and the Carolines, and on July 19, 1947, the United States was granted United Nations trusteeship over the area (henceforth called the Trust Territory of the Pacific), which has continued until the present day.