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Palau - History

Palau's early history is still largely veiled in mystery. Why, how or when people arrived on our beautiful islands is unknown, but studies indicate that today's Palauans are distant relatives of the Malays of Indonesia, Melanesians of New Guinea and Polynesians.

As for the date of their arrivals, carbon dating of artefacts from the oldest known village sites on the Rock Islands and the spectacular terraces on Babeldaob place civilization here as early as 1,000 BC.

The most noteworthy first foreign contact took place in 1783 when the vessel Antelope, under the command of English Captain Henry Wilson, was shipwrecked on a reef near Ulong, a Rock Island located between Koror and Peleliu.

In 1899, Spain sold the Carolines to Germany, which established an organized program to exploit the islands' natural resources. Following Germany's defeat in WWI, the islands were formally passed to the Japanese under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. In 1946 Palau became one of the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands under the governance of the USA. In 1994 it gained its independence and was admitted to the United Nations as its 185th member.

The island group is divided into 16 states each maintaining the traditional clan system with English and Palauan the official languages. The people are warm, hospitable and generous and though they look more American than other Micronesians, they continue to follow their old matrilineal culture.