Yap State

The islands were presumably populated by populations from Malay Archipelago. In 950 A.D. approximately it was the seat of the Micronesian Empire contemporary to the Tu'i Tonga Empire. The outer islands, now part of the Yap state, were settled from Polynesia.

The island nation became famous for stone money, huge stone disks that could be used as a means of payment until a few years ago. Since this stone money had to be made from a rock that could not be extracted on the island, the value is explained by the dangers taken on such an expedition (mostly to Palau).

The first Westerners to visit the island were the Portuguese in 1525 when the navigator Diego Da Rocha arrived in Ulithi and stayed there for four months.

The Caroline Islands were under Spanish rule from the 16th century until the end of the 19th century, but most of the communities on the islands of the present state of Yap have little contact with Europeans and live in complete independence. In 1885, following a conflict between Spain and Germany, the arbitration of Pope Leo XIII confirmed possession to Spain against commercial advantages for Germany. On June 30, 1899, after the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the Carolines, the Palau Islands and the majority of the Marianas to the German Empire. At the start of the First World War, in 1914, the Empire of Japan occupied the area. This occupation is legalized within the framework of the Mandate of the Pacific Islands created in 1919 by the League of Nations.

The Caroline Islands came under the control of the United States in 1944, which administered them as a Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under a UN mandate received in 1947. On May 10, 1979, Yap ratified the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia and became an integral part of this new nation with official independence on November 3, 1986. The state was once the Yap District of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

Yap State is the westernmost state of the FSM. To the east from near to far are Chuuk State, Pohnpei State, and Kosrae State.

A detailed map of Yap.

Yap State has five official languages: English, Ulithian, Woleaian, Satawalese and Yapese.[2]

The 2000 population was 7,391.

Yap State is divided into municipalities.[3]

Falalp, Woleai Atoll

The current governor of Yap is Henry Falan.[4]

Yap has a group of chiefs known as the Council of Pilung and the Council of Tamol, who regulate cultural issues.[5]

Yap has a relatively small tourism industry, with the Yap Visitors Bureau reporting only 4,000 annual visitors from 2010 to 2017.[5] China's Exhibition & Travel Group has announced plans to develop a 4,000-unit resort on the island.[5]

Yap International Airport

Yap International Airport receives service from United Airlines.

Public schools:[8]

• Yap High School in Colonia
• Woleai High School in Woleai
• Outer Islands High School in Ulithi

Private schools:

• Yap Catholic High School in Lamer village, Rull[9]

• Habele, a South Carolina–based charitable organization providing private economic educational assistance in Yap.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yap.

• The Official Government Website for the Island of Yap
• Federated States of Micronesia – Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae
• BBC
• Statistics on buildings, population; Source: Statistics Section, Office of Planning and Budget, Yap State
• United States of America and Japan – Treaty concerning the Yap Island and the other islands under mandate, situated in the Pacific North of the Equator and exchange of Notes relating thereto. Washington, 11 February 1922
• NOAA's National Weather Service – Yap, FSM