Ailinglaplap or Ailinglapalap ( Marshallese: , ) is a

coral atoll Corals are marine invertebrates within the class (biology), class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important C ...

of 56 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the

Ralik Chain The Ralik Chain ( Marshallese: , ) is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ralik means "sunset". It is west of the Ratak Chain. In 1999 the total population of the Ralik islands was 19,915. Christopher Loeak, who b ...

in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

. It is located northwest of

Jaluit Atoll Jaluit Atoll ( Marshallese: , , or , ) is a large coral atoll of 91 islands in the Pacific Ocean and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is , and it encloses a lagoon with an area of . Mos ...

. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of . The economy of the atoll is dominated by

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

plantations. The population of the atoll was 1,729 in 2011.

Jabat Island Jabat Island (or Jabot Island or Jabwot Island; Marshallese: , ) is an island in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , and has a length of . It is located ...

is located off the coast of Ailinglaplap Atoll. The former president of the Marshall Islands,

Kessai Note Kessai Hesa Note (born August 7, 1950 in Ailinglaplap) was President of the Marshall Islands from 2000 to 2008. Elected in 1979 alongside Litokwa Tomeing, Note is one of the two longest-serving members of Nitijeļā. He was the Minister of Inter ...

, was born on Jeh Island, Ailinglaplap Atoll. "Ailinglaplap" translates as "greatest atoll" (' (atoll) + ' (superlative suffix)), because the greatest legends of the

Marshallese people The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan. Ethno ...

were created there. The four major population centers on Ailinglaplap Atoll are the settlements of Wotja, at the westernmost end of the atoll, Jih in the northeast, and Airek and Bigatjelang in the south.

History

Captain Thomas Dennet of the British vessel ''Britannia'' sighted the atoll in 1797 on route from Australia to China and named it Lambert Island. The British merchant vessel '' Rolla'' sighted several islands in the

Ratak The Ratak Chain ( Marshallese: , ) is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ratak means "sunrise". It lies to the east of the country's other island chain, the Ralik Chain. In 1999 the total population of the Rata ...

and Ralik Chains. On 6 November 1803 she sighted islands at , which was possibly Ailinglaplap Atoll. The next day six canoes of friendly natives came off. ''Rolla'' had transported

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

s from Britain to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and was on her way to Canton to find a cargo to take back to Britain. In 1884, the

Empire of Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

claimed Ailinglaplap Atoll along with the rest of the Marshall Islands. A number of European trading stations were established on the islands to Ailingkaplap as part of the copra trade. After World War I, the island came under the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the "South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following Wo ...

of the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

. The base became part of the vast US

Naval Base Marshall Islands Naval Base Marshall Islands were United States Navy advance bases built on the Marshall Islands during World War II to support the Pacific War efforts. The bases were built by US Navy after the Marshall Islands campaign that captured the islan ...

. Following the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States as part of the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. History Spain initially claimed the islands that later composed the territory of the Trus ...

until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986. There are currently 4

Iroijlaplap Iroijlaplap ( Marshallese: ; feminine: Leroijlaplap, ) are the traditional paramount chiefs in the Marshall Islands. Ordinary chiefs bear the title of Iroij (feminine: Leroij); -' is a superlative suffix. Legal basis Article III of the Consti ...

(or paramount chief) of Ailinglaplap.

Infrastructure

There are 3

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

s on the atoll, which are served by Air Marshall Islands when its aircraft are operational: * Ailinglaplap Airok Airport is located to the south: . *

Jeh Airport Jeh Airport is a public use airstrip at Jeh on Ailinglaplap Atoll, Marshall Islands. This airstrip is assigned the location identifier JEJ by the IATA. Facilities Jeh Airport has one runway According to the International Civil Avi ...

is located to the northeast: . *

Woja Airport Woja Airport is a public use airstrip at Woja on Ailinglaplap Atoll, Marshall Islands. This airstrip is assigned the location identifier A location identifier is a symbolic representation for the name and the location of an airport, navigation a ...

is located to west: .

Education

Marshall Islands Public School System Republic of Marshall Islands Public School System (PSS) is the public school system of the Marshall Islands, headquartered in Majuro. It was established in November 2013 by Public Law 2013-23. It is a part of the Ministry of Education, Sports and ...

operates public schools: * Aerok Ailinglaplap * Buoj Elementary School * Enewa Elementary School * Jah Elementary School * Jeh Elementary School * Jobwon Elementary School * Katiej Elementary School * Mejel Elementary School * Woja Elementary School Students are zoned to

Jaluit High School Jaluit High School (JHS) is a secondary school in Jabor, Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands. It is a part of the Marshall Islands Public School System. The school serves the following atolls and islands in the south of the country: Jaluit, Ailinglapl ...

.Annual Report 2011-2012
."

Ministry of Education (Marshall Islands) Ministry of Education, or the MOE, is a government branch in the Marshall Islands that controls and takes care of education, as well as all public schools in the Marshall Islands. The Minister of the MOE is one of the senators of the Marshall Is ...

. Retrieved on February 22, 2018. p. 54 (PDF p. 55/118). "As such, Jaluit High School enroll students from the Ralik and Iolab school zones including schools from Ebon, Namdrik, Kili, Jaluit, Ailinglaplap, Jabat, and Namu." In the 1994–1995 school year Ailinglaplap had one private high school.McMurray, Christine and Roy Smith. ''Diseases of Globalization: Socioeconomic Transition and Health''.

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, October 11, 2013. , 9781134200221. p
127

References

External links

* Atolls of the Marshall Islands Ralik Chain Municipalities of the Marshall Islands {{Marshalls-geo-stub