Rongerik Atoll or Rongdrik Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is an unpopulated coral atoll of 17 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and is located in the Ralik Chain of the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

, approximately east of

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...

. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of . In 1946, Rongerik was briefly inhabited by Bikini Islanders who, working with United States Navy moved here temporarily, when Bikini was used for conducting nuclear tests. However, the islanders could not get enough food to support the population, so after two years they had to relocate again, choosing

Kili Island Kili Island or Kili Atoll (Marshallese language, Marshallese: , ) is a small, () island located in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, 415 people lived on the island, many of whom were descended from islanders who originally li ...

. Politically it was annexed by the German Empire in 1885, then seized by the Japanese in WW1, then the United States took it during WW2. After WW2, it was part of a United Nations trust territory, eventually it became part of the Marshall Islands, an island nation founded in 1986, but with a compact of association with the United States.

History

Rongerik Atoll was claimed by the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1885. 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 W ...

of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

, although the island was uninhabited. The island became part of the vast US Naval Base Marshall Islands. 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. The Imperial Japanese South Seas Mandate had been seized by the U.S. during the Pacifi ...

until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986. It is most famous as the temporary location, from March 7, 1946 until March 14, 1948, of the Bikini Atoll's indigenous population while the United States government conducted the

Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity on July 16, 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices sinc ...

nuclear tests. After months of food shortages and malnutrition, they were moved first to Kwajalein and finally to

. On March 1, 1954, Rongerik was exposed to radioactive fallout as a result of the detonation of

Operation Castle Operation Castle was a United States series of high-yield (high-energy) nuclear tests by Joint Task Force 7 (JTF-7) at Bikini Atoll beginning in March 1954. It followed ''Operation Upshot–Knothole'' and preceded '' Operation Teapot''. Con ...

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

. According to Spanish researcher Emilio Pastor in a paper submitted to his government in 1948, a number of small islands in Micronesia (

Kapingamarangi Kapingamarangi is an atoll and a municipality in the state of Pohnpei of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is by far the most southerly atoll or island of the country and the Caroline Islands, south of the next southerly atoll, Nukuoro, an ...

or ''Pescadores'', Mapia or ''Güedes'',

Kiritimati Kiritimati (), also known as Christmas Island, is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonol ...

or ''Matador'', Rongerik or ''Coroa'' and others) continue legally under Spanish sovereignty. This is because the text of the German–Spanish Treaty of 1899 which transferred sovereignty of certain Spanish possessions in the Pacific to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, namely the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States consistin ...

(except

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

) and the

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the cen ...

(including

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

), failed to include these smaller islands. Although the

Spanish government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

studied the case in 1949 and accepted this interpretation, it has not asserted its claim to the islands.Yahoo News (Spanish) - "Las cuatro islas españolas perdidas en el Océano Pacífico"
/ref>

References

External links

Marshall Islands site
*
A Short History of the People of Bikini Atoll
{{Authority control Atolls of the Marshall Islands Ralik Chain Former populated places in Oceania Uninhabited islands of the Marshall Islands

History

See also

References

External links