Palau, officially known as the Republic of Palau it is located in the Pacific Ocean, 500 miles east to the Philippines and 2,000 miles south of Tokyo. It is the world’s youngest and smallest sovereign state. It emerged from the United Nations trusteeship in 1994 and is administrated by the U.S.A. The capital is Ngerulmud and the largest city is Koror. Studies in Palau have shown the island to have the oldest known burial ceremony in the Oceania.
The flag of Palau was adopted in 1980 when the islands became internally self-governing and proclaimed Republic on 01 January 1981. It has a light blue field and in the center can be found a yellow moon. The moon is symbolic of nation unity and destiny whereas the blue field represents the independence of Palau.
The first Palauans to settle the land are believed to have come from two distinct Melanesian bloodlines; the one is related with Indigenous Australians/Papua New Guineans and the other from Asia. The Palauan tradition is quite interesting. It is a maternal culture in which it is customary for money, titles and land to be passed down through titled women and their first daughters, rather than the males.
It is believed that the first European contact with the Palau Island was by shipwrecked islanders. The Englishman Captain Henry Wilson’s boat was shipwrecked and the King of Palau allowed him to take his son, Prince Lee Boo to England.
In 1885 Spain was granted claim to the Palau Island. However, in 1898, The Spanish were defeated in the Spanish-American war and therefore sold Palau to Imperial Germany. The German rule only lasted fifteen years, nevertheless. During its ownership of the land, Germany began to exploit Palau’s deposits of bauxite and phosphate. This continued when the Empire of Japan took ownership of the Palau Island in 1914. Aside from continuing this mining activity, the Japanese also established bonito canning and copra processing plants in Palau. It was finally during World War II that the Island changed ownership for the last time when the United States took possession following its fight against Japan.
The major industries in Palau are fishing tourism and subsistence agriculture. The tourist activity mainly focuses on scuba diving and snorkeling in the islands barrier reefs and World War II wrecks. The primary employer of the people of Palau is the government. Therefore the Palau government relies heavily on financial aid from the U.S.A.
Palau enjoys a tropical climate characterized by little seasonal and diurnal variation throughout the entire year. Typhoons and tropical storms occur from June through to November. Palau is also at risk of earthquakes, tropical storms and volcanic activity.
Palau is at threat from the potential rising of sea levels. If the seawater rises, Palau’s agriculture, coastal vegetation and the purity of the nation’s water will be at risk. The nation is currently experiencing some issues due to the fact that it has inadequate water supply and limited agricultural areas to support the growing population.
The population is approximately 20,000 that majority of who are native Palauans. The official languages of Palau are English and Palau. The primary religion is Christianity. However people do follow the Modekngei and ancient Palauan religions. Palau also has a small Jewish community who sent three members to the eighteenth Maccabiah games in 2009.
The island of Palau is made up of and surrounded by scenic beauty. The waters enclosing the land are made up of different shades of blue. The land, which is full of greenery, has forests, jungles and waterfalls. One of the major attractions in the island is the Jellyfish Lake. Tourists have the opportunity to take a boat tour to the Jellyfish Lake and then snorkel with the Jellyfish. There are also some other water activities, which tourists enjoy when they visit the island. Scuba diving, snorkeling and fishing are just a few of the many.
Source:
Wikipedia
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