Palau

The Republic of Palau is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, located some 500 km east of the Philippines. Having emerged from United Nations trusteeship (administered by the United States of America) in 1994, it is one of the world's youngest and least populated nations.

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Main article: History of Palau

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The first inhabitants of Palau, probably from Indonesia, settled on the islands as early as 1000 BC. Spanish explorer Ruy L?pez de Villalobos first sighted the islands in 1543, but European attempts to settle on or trade with the islands were not initiated until the 18th century, by the British. Spain colonized the islands in the late 19th century, but sold them to Germany in 1899. Japan seized the islands at the start of World War I, and gained a mandate over them until the end of the Second World War, when the islands came under control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The Palauans voted in 1979 not to join the Federated States of Micronesia, and chose independence instead. After a long period of transition, including the violent deaths of two presidents (Haruo Remeliik in 1985 by assassination and Lazarus Salii in 1988 by suicide), Palau voted in 1994 to become freely associated with the United States while retaining their independence. This Compact of Free Association was a hotly debated issue that Palauans voted down more than ten times since the 1970s, as provisions in the compact allow the United States broad powers, such as control of 51% of the island in time of national emergency. The United States especially desired further control of the Marianas Trench for submarine testing, as the trench is the deepest in the world. In the past 5 years, the United States has built a submarine base on the island of Guam (a U.S. territory), which is the southern-most of the Mariana Islands, for which the trench is named.

Island nation: An island nation is a country that is wholly confined to an island or islands. Forty-seven of the world's countries are island nations, including most of the smallest ones....

Pacific Ocean: :For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation)....

Philippines: The Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), or the Philippines (Filipino: Pilipinas), is a nation in Southeast Asia. It lies 1,210 km (750 mi) away from mainland Asia and consists of 7,107 islands that form part of the Malay Archipelago....

Palau related Images and Photos (experimental)

Palau Islands	Sailing Palau	Survivor Palau Two Tone Mug	Survivor Palau Two Tone Mug
Survivor Palau Logo T-Shirt	Survivor Palau Logo T-shirt	Survivor-Palau: Season 10 DVD (Full Screen)	Survivor-Palau: Season 10 DVD (Full Screen)
Detail of Tilework by Gaudi at Palau Guell Barcelona Catalonia Spain	Rock Formations at the Coast Capo D'Orso Palau Sardinia Italy	Female Red Parrotfish S Sexual Dichromatic Species. (Scarus Xanthopleura) Palau Pacific Ocean