More than 3000 years ago, South East Asian voyagers, probably from the Phillipines and Indonesia, came to these islands. In addition, much later, travelers from Melanesia came from Kosrae to Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap. These earliest settlers had no metals and worked predominantly from stone.
Then two and a half millennia after, in 1521, Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish ships arrived on the islands. After his first discovery of the islands, the islands were used as stop off points during various European explorations. However, these islands did not have any permanent settlers from Europe at this time. Only in 1817, did British sailors actually settle down in Micronesia. The European settlers brought diseases, such as flu, measles and many venereal diseases, that ravaged the native populations. The relationship was rather tense in the beginning. The Europeans remained until the 19th century; when German settlers took control of the islands in 1899 with plans to make money of off copra production- the dried meat of coconut used for making coconut oil. The Germans paid Spain for the islands. Until international currency was introduced to the economy, the locals traded beads, shells and clams as currency.
In 1898, the United States gained control of the largest island in Micronesia, Guam, from Spain. In 1914, Japan took control of the region from Germany, building Buddhist temples, geisha houses and public baths. When World War II ended, Americans took control of majority of the islands in Micronesia, except for Kiribati and Nauru, and restricted them from visitors. The Marshall islands were then used for nuclear testing from 1946 to 1958. In 1947, the UN created a Trust territory with several islands such as Chuuk, Kosra and Yap.
Only in the past 20 years have the islands gained their own self-government. In 1979, the islands became the Federated States of Micronesia, though under a 15-year agreement in 1982, the islands allowed the United States to control the island relations and have military access in return for funding.
