Contemporary Micronesia

Each of the contemporary Micronesian entities has its own capital and urban area. Approximately one-half of all islanders are urban dwellers, but their economies are heavily dependent on tourism and other relatively unpredictable industries. Except on the outer islands, little is left of Micronesians’ traditional lifestyle.

In the eyes of the Western world, one of Micronesia’s greatest resources has been its strategic location between North America and Asia, a circumstance that has directly influenced much of its contemporary history. Micronesia’s location made it a prized site for military bases and nuclear tests, particularly for the United States.

In 1946—the same year that the famous French bathing suit was introduced to the world—the United States exploded atomic bombs over the Bikini and Enewetak atolls in the Marshall Islands. The first U.S. tests, code-named Able and Baker, occurred as part of a program known as Operation Crossroads. The target of the operation comprised some 90 ships that were anchored for this purpose in Bikini lagoon. Testing after Able, an aerial explosion, showed that within 24 hours radiation levels declined to concentrations then considered safe. In contrast, Baker, an underwater explosion, created a column of water that was more than 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) high and that subsequently fell upon the entire area as extremely radioactive spray. Baker’s effects were so intense that the ships it had targeted could be safely entered for only minutes at a time during the weeks following detonation. Within a month of the blast, even the support vessels that were anchored at what had been considered safe distances from the target area had become contaminated, principally through contact with radioactive seawater.

Testing continued on Bikini and Enewetak until 1958; during this period, the bombs became larger and the radioactive fallout became even more damaging. Bravo, a test in 1954, created the worst contamination in the history of the American testing program. Fallout spread over neighbouring islands whose inhabitants the United States had, intentionally, not relocated—and who were thus exposed to a steady snowfall of radioactive particles for several hours. Their health problems were severe, including not only immediate radiation sickness and burns but also long-term radiation injuries that appeared years later in the form of miscarriages, stillbirths, the stunted growth of children, and an unusually high number of thyroid illnesses (see also radiation: Biologic effects of ionizing radiation). Studies have since identified at least 25 medical conditions in the region that are the result of radiation exposure.

The United States stopped all testing in the region in accord with the 1963 Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. Since then, Marshall Islanders have demanded cleanup of their islands and compensation for the damage that was sustained by their people and environments. As a result of the testing, the U.S. territory of Palau drew up the first nuclear-free constitution, and in 1979, by a 92 percent majority vote, became the first constituted nuclear-free zone in the world. However, an extended period of economic hardship caused Palauans to reconsider this position. In 1987, 71 percent of Palauans voted to lift the constitutional prohibition against nuclear weapons and technology in exchange for what was seen as economic security: $1 billion in U.S. economic aid, to be disbursed over a 50-year period, for allowing American ships carrying nuclear weapons to enter Palauan territory.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, rising sea levels had begun to threaten the low-lying atolls of Micronesia. Caused by the melting of polar ice, higher sea levels are one of many effects of global warming. As sea levels rise, they cause coastal erosion and loss of land. Further, by leaching into the porous coral foundations of atolls, seawater displaces the fresh groundwater table, poisoning crops and reducing the already limited amount of fresh water available. Rising ocean temperatures, another effect of global warming, also kill the coral reefs that protect many atolls from storm damage. Some experts fear that these environmental changes may destroy many atolls in the 21st century.

Social changes were also afoot in Micronesia during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In the 1980s the region became the object of renewed strategic interest. Although the United States had maintained a naval air station and base in Guam from World War II onward, increasing trade with Asia invigorated U.S. activities in other sectors of the economy. Micronesians were once distributed fairly evenly, but settlement patterns changed at the turn of the century as large numbers of people migrated from rural areas to towns. The same processes instigated a shift from a self-sufficient subsistence economy to one based on wages, which in turn caused high rates of unemployment. The resulting urban crowding has been held in check mostly by out-migration, especially to Guam, Saipan, Hawaii, and the west coast of the United States, where employment opportunities are better.

Traditional Micronesia