Editing Marshall Islands (section)

== History==
{{Main|History of the Marshall Islands}}

===Prehistory===
[[File:Sailing Canoe brailed on starboard tack, Jaliut Lagoon, Marshall Islands (1899-1900).jpg|thumb|Marshall Islanders sailing, with sails [[brail]]ed ([[reefing|reefed]]), c. 1899–1900]]

Linguistic and anthropological studies have suggested that the first [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] settlers of the Marshall Islands arrived from the [[Solomon Islands (archipelago)|Solomon Islands]].<ref name="weisler113"/> [[Radiocarbon dating]] suggests that [[Bikini Atoll]] may have been inhabited as early as 1200 BCE,<ref>{{Harvnb|Streck|p=256|1990}}</ref> though samples may not have been collected from secure [[Stratigraphy|stratigraphic]] contexts and older driftwood samples may have affected results.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kirch|Weisler|p=292|1994}}</ref> Archaeological digs on other atolls have found evidence of human habitation dating around the 1st century CE at the village of [[Laura, Marshall Islands|Laura]] on [[Majuro]] and on [[Kwajalein Atoll]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Weisler|pp=113–114|2000}}</ref>

The Austronesian settlers [[Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia|introduced Southeast Asian crops]], including [[coconut]]s, [[Cyrtosperma merkusii|giant swamp taro]], and [[breadfruit]], as well as domesticated chickens throughout the Marshall Islands. They possibly seeded the islands by leaving coconuts at seasonal fishing camps before permanently settling years later.<ref>{{harvnb|Reséndez|2021|pp=107–108}}</ref> The southern islands receive heavier rainfall than the north, so communities in the wet south subsisted on prevalent taro and breadfruit, while northerners were more likely to subsist on [[pandanus]] and coconuts. Southern atolls probably supported larger, more dense populations.<ref name="weisler113">{{Harvnb|Weisler|p=113|2000}}</ref>

[[File:Stick chart-BHM 1920.530.0032-P8260228.JPG|thumb|A Marshallese [[Marshall Islands stick chart|stick chart]]. Most were made from a grid of coconut frond midribs with small shells representing the relative location of islands.<ref name="Finney479"/>]]

The Marshallese sailed between islands on [[walap]]s made from breadfruit-tree wood and coconut-fiber rope.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hezel|p=92|1983}}</ref> They navigated by using the stars for orientation and initial course setting, but also developed a [[piloting]] technique of interpreting disruptions in [[Swell (ocean)|ocean swells]] to determine the location of low coral atolls below the horizon.<ref>{{Harvnb|Finney|p=475|1998}}</ref> They noticed that swells refracted around the undersea slope of atolls. When refracted swells from different directions met, they created noticeable disruption patterns, which Marshallese pilots could read to determine the direction of an island.<ref>{{Harvnb|Finney|pp=476–478|1998}}</ref> When interviewed by anthropologists, some Marshallese sailors noted that they piloted their canoes by both sight and feeling changes in the motion of the boat.<ref name="Finney479">{{Harvnb|Finney|p=479|1998}}</ref> Sailors also invented [[Marshall Islands stick chart|stick charts]] to map the swell patterns, but unlike western navigational charts, the Marshallese stick charts were tools for teaching students and for consultation before embarking on a voyage; navigators did not take charts with them when they set sail.<ref>{{Harvnb|Finney|p=443|1998}}</ref>

When Russian explorer [[Otto von Kotzebue]] visited the Marshalls in 1817, the islanders still showed few signs of western influence. He observed that the Marshallese lived in thatched-roof huts, but their villages did not include the large ornate meeting houses found in other parts of Micronesia. They did not have furniture, except for woven mats, which they used for both floor coverings and clothing. The Marshallese had pierced ears and [[tattoo]]s. He learned that Marshallese families practiced [[infanticide]] after the birth of a third child as a form of population planning due to frequent [[famine]]s. He also noted that Marshallese [[Iroijlaplap|iroij]] held considerable authority and rights to all property, though he had a more favorable view of the condition of Marshallese commoners than of that of [[Polynesians|Polynesian]] commoners.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hezel|pp=92–94|1983}}</ref> The Marshalls' two island groups, the [[Ratak]] and [[Ralik]] chains, were each ruled by a paramount chief, or iroijlaplap, who held authority over the individual island iroij.<ref name="Fortune287">{{harvnb|Fortune|2000|p=287}}</ref>

===European exploration===
[[File:Reception of the Manila Galleon by the Chamorro in the Ladrones Islands, ca. 1590.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Manila galleon|Manila Galleon]] in the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]] and [[Caroline Islands|Carolines]], c. 1590 [[Boxer Codex]]]]

On August 21, 1526, Spanish explorer [[Alonso de Salazar]] was the first European to sight the Marshall Islands. While commanding the ''[[Loaísa Expedition|Santa Maria de la Victoria]]'', he sighted an atoll with a green lagoon, which may have been [[Bokak Atoll|Taongi]]. The crew could not land, because of strong currents and water too deep for the ship's anchor, so the ship sailed for [[Guam]] two days later.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|pp=11–13}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=13}}</ref> 

On January 2, 1528, the expedition of [[Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón]] landed on an uninhabited island, possibly in [[Ailinginae Atoll]], where they resupplied and stayed for six days. Natives from a neighboring island briefly met the Spanish. This expedition named the islands 'Los Pintados' or "the Painted Ones" for the natives who wore tattoos.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|pp=16–18}}</ref> Later Spanish explorers of the Marshalls included [[Ruy López de Villalobos]], [[Miguel López de Legazpi]], [[Alonso de Arellano]], and [[Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira]], though coordinates and geographic descriptions in 16th century Spanish logs are sometimes imprecise, leaving uncertainty about the specific islands they sighted and visited.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|pp=19–47}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=13–33}}</ref> 

On July 6, 1565, the Spanish ship ''San Jeronimo'' nearly wrecked at [[Ujelang Atoll]] after the ship's pilot [[Lope Martín]] led a mutiny.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|pp=40–41}}</ref> While the mutineers were resupplying at Ujelang, several crew members took back control of the ship and marooned Martín and twenty-six other mutineers in the Marshalls.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=30–31}}</ref> By the late 16th century, Spanish galleons sailing between the Americas and the Philippines kept to a sea lane at 13°N and provisioned at Guam, avoiding the Marshalls, which Spanish sailors saw as unprofitable islands amid hazardous waters.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|p=39}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=34}}</ref>

The British sea captains [[John Marshall (Royal Navy officer, born 1748)|John Marshall]] and [[Thomas Gilbert (sea captain)|Thomas Gilbert]] visited the islands in 1788.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharp|1960|p=152}}</ref> Their vessels had been part of the [[First Fleet]] taking convicts from England to [[Botany Bay]] in [[New South Wales]], and were en route to [[Guangzhou]] when they passed through the [[Gilbert Islands]] and Marshall Islands.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=63–64}}</ref> On June 25, 1788, the British ships had peaceful interactions and traded with islanders at [[Mili Atoll]];<ref name="Hezel6465"/> their meeting may have been the first contact between Europeans and Marshallese since the Mendaña expedition of 1568.<ref name="Fortune287"/> Subsequent navigational charts and maps named the islands for John Marshall.<ref name="Hezel6465">{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=64–65}}</ref>

From the 1820s through the 1850s, the Marshall Islanders became increasingly hostile to western vessels, possibly because of violent punishments that sea captains exacted for theft as well as the [[Blackbirding|abduction]] of Marshallese people for sale into slavery on Pacific plantations.<ref name="Hezel200">{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=200}}</ref> One of the earliest violent encounters occurred in February 1824, when the inhabitants of Mili Atoll massacred marooned sailors from the American [[whaler]] ''[[Globe (1815 whaleship)|Globe]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beardslee|first1=L. A.|title=Marshall Group: North Pacific Islands|date=1870|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Navigation: Hydrological Office|location=Washington D.C.|access-date=August 25, 2023|url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnnx9n;view=2up;seq=8;size=125|page=3|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224122102/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnnx9n;view=2up;seq=8;size=125|url-status=live}}</ref> Similar encounters occurred as late as 1851 and 1852, when three separate Marshallese attacks on ships occurred at [[Ebon Atoll|Ebon]], [[Jaluit Atoll|Jaluit]], and [[Namdrik Atoll]]s.<ref name="Hezel200"/>

===Colonial period===
[[File:German colonial album 1880s img26.jpg|thumb|Offices of the Pacific Navigation Co. at Jaluit Atoll in the late 1880s]]

In 1857, [[American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions]] sent two families to establish a mission church and school at [[Ebon Atoll|Ebon]]. By 1875, the missionaries had established churches on five atolls and had baptized more than 200 islanders,<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=200–209}}</ref> and one traveler noted that most women on Ebon wore western clothes and many men wore trousers by the mid-1870s.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=219–220}}</ref>

In 1859, Adolph Capelle and another merchant arrived at Ebon and set up a trading post for the German company Hoffschlaeger & Stapenhorst.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=210–211}}</ref> When the firm went bankrupt in 1863, Capelle partnered with Portuguese ex-whaler Anton Jose DeBrum to establish a [[copra]] trading firm: Capelle & Co.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=214}}</ref> In 1873, the company moved its headquarters to [[Jaluit Atoll|Jaluit]], the home of [[Kabua the Great|Kabua]], a powerful [[iroijlaplap|iroij]] and disputed successor for the [[paramount chief]]tainship of the southern [[Ralik|Ralik Chain]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=215}}</ref> In the 1870s, various other companies from Germany, Hawaii, New Zealand, and the United States engaged in the copra trade in the Marshall Islands.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=216}}</ref> By 1885, the German firms [[Hernsheim & Co]]. and Deutsche Handels- und Plantagen-Gesellschaft Der Südsee Inseln zu Hamburg controlled two-thirds of the trade.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=46}}</ref>

Contact between the Marshallese and westerners led to sometimes lethal outbreaks of western diseases, including [[influenza]], [[measles]], [[syphilis]], and [[typhoid fever]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=206}}</ref> Increased access to alcohol led to social problems in some Marshallese communities,<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=292}}</ref> and on several atolls conflicts erupted between rival iroij with access to firearms.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=293–303}}</ref>

====German protectorate====
[[File:German colonial album 1880s img12.jpg|thumb|German colonial administration building at Jaluit Atoll in 1886]]

In 1875, the British and German governments conducted a series of secret negotiations to divide the Western Pacific into [[Sphere of influence|spheres of influence]]. The German sphere included the Marshall Islands.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=300–301}}</ref> On November 26, 1878, the German warship [[SMS Ariadne (1871)|SMS ''Ariadne'']] anchored at Jaluit to begin treaty negotiations with the chiefs to grant the [[German Empire]] "[[Most favoured nation|most favored nation]]" status in the Ralik Chain. During the second day of negotiations, Captain {{ill|Bartholomäus von Werner|de}} ordered his men to give military demonstrations which he later said were intended to "show the islanders, who have not seen anything like it before, the power of the Europeans."<ref>{{harvnb|Fitzpatrick|2022|pp=303–304}}</ref> On November 29, Werner signed a treaty with Kabua and several other Ralik Chain iroij which secured a German [[fuelling station]] at Jaluit and free use of the atoll's harbor.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|pp=298–299}}</ref><ref name="Hezel47">{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=47}}</ref>

On August 29, 1885, [[Chancellor of Germany|German Chancellor]] [[Otto von Bismarck]] authorized the annexation of the Marshall Islands as a [[protectorate]]<ref>{{harvnb|Fitzpatrick|2022|p=306}}</ref> following repeated petitions by German business interests.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=304}}</ref> The German gunboat {{SMS|Nautilus|1871|2}} docked at Jaluit on October 13 to take control.<ref name="Hezel305">{{harvnb|Hezel|1983|p=305}}</ref> On October 15, iroij Kabua, Loeak, Nelu, Lagajime, and Launa signed a protection treaty in German and Marshallese at the German consulate. While the Marshallese text made no distinction of rank among the five chiefs, the German text recognized Kabua as the King of the Marshall Islands, despite an ongoing dispute between Kabua and Loeak over the [[iroijlaplap|paramount chief]]tainship.<ref>{{harvnb|Fitzpatrick|2022|pp=307–308}}</ref> A company of German marines hoisted the [[flag of the German Empire]] over Jaluit, and performed similar ceremonies at seven other atolls in the Marshalls,<ref name="Hezel305"/> though several pro-American iroij refused to recognize the German protectorate until threatened with German naval force in mid-1886.<ref>{{harvnb|Fitzpatrick|2022|p=309}}</ref> [[Nauru]] was incorporated into the German Protectorate of the Marshall Islands in 1888, following the [[Anglo-German Declarations about the Western Pacific Ocean|Anglo-German Declarations]] of April 1886.<ref>{{harvnb|Firth|1978|p=37}}</ref>

The German commercial interests formed the [[Joint-stock company|joint-stock]] [[Jaluit Company]], which was responsible for financing the colony's administration. In addition to controlling two-thirds of the Marshallese copra trade, the company had the authority to collect commercial license fees and an annual [[poll tax]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=48}}</ref> The company also had the right to be consulted on all new laws and ordinances and nominated all colonial administrative staff.<ref>{{harvnb|Storr|2020|p=86}}</ref> The company's licensing fees and legal advantages pushed out American and British competition, creating a monopoly in the German Pacific colonies.<ref>{{harvnb|Firth|1973|p=25}}</ref> The British government protested the regulations benefiting the Jaluit Company as a violation of the Anglo-German Declarations' free-trade provision.<ref>{{harvnb|Firth|1973|p=26}}</ref> On March 31, 1906, the German government assumed direct control and reorganized the Marshall Islands and Nauru as part of the protectorate of [[German New Guinea]].<ref>{{harvnb|Firth|1978|p=39}}</ref>

====Japanese mandate====
[[File:Nan'yo-cho Jaluit Branch Office.JPG|thumb|South Seas Government branch office, Jaluit, c. 1932]]

The [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] invaded [[Enewetak Atoll|Enewetak]] on September 29, 1914, and [[Jaluit Atoll|Jaluit]] on September 30 at the beginning of [[Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I|World War I]]. An occupation force was stationed on Jaluit on October 3.<ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1992|p=42}}</ref> At the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]] in 1919, Germany's Pacific colonies north of the equator became the Japanese [[South Seas Mandate]] under the system of [[League of Nations mandate]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=155}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=182}}</ref> Germany ceded the Marshall Islands to Japan with the signing of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] on June 28, 1919.<ref>{{harvnb|Purcell|1976|p=195}}</ref>

The Japanese navy administered the islands from late 1914 through 1921. The civilian {{nihongo|South Seas Government|南洋廳|Nan'yō-chō}} set up its headquarters in [[Palau]] in April 1922 and administered the Marshalls until World War II.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=166}}</ref> Japanese surveys determined that the Marshalls' value was primarily strategic, because they could enable future [[Nanshin-ron|southward expansion]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hiery|1995|p=132}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=183}}</ref> The Marshalls also continued to be a major producer of copra during the Japanese period, with the {{nihongo|South Seas Trading Company|南洋貿易会社|Nan'yō Bōeki Kaisha}} taking over the Jaluit Company's operations and building upon the German colonial infrastructure.<ref>{{harvnb|Purcell|1976|p=210}}</ref> Other parts of the South Seas Mandate experienced heavy Japanese settlement, shifting the population to majority Japanese in the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] and Palau, but Japanese settlers remained a minority under 1,000 people in the Marshall Islands throughout the Japanese period, because the islands were distant from Japan and had the most limited economic potential in Micronesia.<ref>{{harvnb|Hiery|1995|p=133}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=197}}</ref>

[[File:Kwajalein-Invasion 1944.jpg|thumb|[[Battle of Kwajalein]] in 1944]]

On March 27, 1933, Japan declared its intentions to withdraw from the [[League of Nations]], officially withdrawing in 1935 but continuing to control the territory of the South Seas Mandate.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|pp=207–208}}</ref> Japanese military planners initially discounted the Marshalls as too distant and indefensible for extensive fortification, but as Japan developed long-range bombers, the islands became useful as a forward base to attack Australia, British colonies, and the United States. In 1939 and 1940, the navy built military airfields on [[Kwajalein Atoll|Kwajalein]], [[Maloelap Atoll|Maloelap]], and [[Wotje Atoll]]s as well as seaplane facilities at Jaluit.<ref>{{harvnb|Hezel|2003|p=217}}</ref>

After the outbreak of the [[Pacific War]], the [[United States Pacific Fleet]] carried out the [[Marshalls–Gilberts raids]], which struck Jaluit, Kwajalein, Maloelap, and Wotje on February 1, 1942. They were the first American air raids on Japanese territory.<ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|pp=203–204}}</ref> The United States invaded the Marshall Islands on January 31, 1944, during the [[Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign]]. The Americans simultaneously invaded Majuro and Kwajalein.<ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=205}}</ref> By autumn 1944, the Americans controlled all of the Marshall Islands, except for Jaluit, Maloelap, Mili, and Wotje.<ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=207}}</ref> As the American campaign advanced through Micronesia and [[Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign|into the Ryukyu Islands]], the four Japanese-held atolls were cut off from supplies and subject to American bombardment. The garrisons began running out of provisions in late 1944, leading to high casualties from starvation and disease.<ref>{{harvnb|Peattie|1984|p=208}}</ref>

====U.S. Trust Territory====
[[File:Leaving-bikini.jpg|thumb|Bikini Islanders being forcibly relocated from [[Bikini Atoll]] in March 1946 before the U.S. [[Operation Crossroads]] atomic bomb testing commenced]]
[[File:Castle Bravo Blast.jpg|thumb|Mushroom cloud from the largest atmospheric [[nuclear test]] the United States ever conducted, [[Castle Bravo]]]]

In 1947, the United States entered into an agreement with the [[UN Security Council]] to administer much of [[Micronesia]], including the Marshall Islands, as the [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Isenberg |first=David |date=1985 |title=Reconciling Independence and Security: The Long Term Status of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/uclapblj4&id=220&div=&collection= |journal=UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal |volume=4 |issue=1–2 |pages=210|doi=10.5070/P841-2021926 }}</ref>

From 1946 to 1958, it served as the [[Pacific Proving Grounds]] for the United States and was the site of 67 [[nuclear test]]s on various atolls.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/325643/marshall-islands-marks-71-years-since-start-of-us-nuclear-tests-on-bikini |title=Marshall Islands marks 71 years since start of U.S. nuclear tests on Bikini |date=2017-03-01 |website=Radio New Zealand |language=en-nz |access-date=2019-01-16 |archive-date=2019-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116201523/https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/325643/marshall-islands-marks-71-years-since-start-of-us-nuclear-tests-on-bikini |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Operation Crossroads]] atomic bomb testing began in 1946 on [[Bikini Atoll]] after some of the residents were forcibly evacuated.<ref>{{Citation |last=Goldberg |first=Walter M. |title=Domination of Pacific Islands in War and in the Nuclear Age |date=2018 |work=The Geography, Nature and History of the Tropical Pacific and its Islands |series=World Regional Geography Book Series |pages=157–180 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-69532-7_7 |access-date=2024-07-25 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-69532-7_7 |isbn=978-3-319-69531-0}}</ref>

The world's first [[hydrogen bomb]], codenamed "[[Ivy Mike|Mike]]", was tested at the [[Enewetak atoll]] in the Marshall Islands on November 1 (local date) in 1952, which produced significant fallout in the region.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=What the First H-Bomb Test Looked Like |url=https://time.com/4096424/ivy-mike-history/ |access-date=2020-08-26 |magazine=Time |archive-date=2020-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920131258/https://time.com/4096424/ivy-mike-history/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Over the years just one of over 60 islands was cleaned by the U.S. government, and the inhabitants are still waiting for the 2 billion dollars in compensation assessed by the Nuclear Claims Tribunal. Many of the islanders and their descendants still live in exile, as the islands remain contaminated with high levels of radiation.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/02/bikini-atoll-nuclear-test-60-years |title=Bikini Atoll nuclear test: 60 years later and islands still unliveable |first=Agence |last=France-Press |date=March 1, 2014 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |archive-date=September 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901122634/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/02/bikini-atoll-nuclear-test-60-years |url-status=live}}</ref>

A significant [[radar]] installation was constructed on [[Kwajalein]] atoll.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rising-sea-warnings-air-force-radar-site/ |title=Rising seas could threaten $1 billion Air Force radar site |website=cbsnews.com |date=October 18, 2016 |language=en-US |access-date=2019-01-16 |archive-date=2019-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190116201049/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rising-sea-warnings-air-force-radar-site/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Independence===
[[File:Runit Dome 001.jpg|thumb|The Runit Dome, built to contain radioactive debris]]
On May 1, 1979, in recognition of the evolving political status of the Marshall Islands, the United States recognized the [[constitution of the Marshall Islands]] and the establishment of the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The constitution incorporates both American and British constitutional concepts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Michal |first=Edward J. |date=1993 |title=Protected States: The Political Status of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23699959 |journal=The Contemporary Pacific |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=303–332 |jstor=23699959 |issn=1043-898X}}</ref>

There have been a number of local and national elections since the Republic of the Marshall Islands was founded. The United Democratic Party, running on a reform platform, won the 1999 parliamentary election, taking control of the presidency and cabinet.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Walsh |first=Julianne M |date=2001 |title=Marshall Islands |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/8331 |journal=The Contemporary Pacific |language=en |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=211–216 |doi=10.1353/cp.2001.0034 |issn=1527-9464}}</ref>

The islands signed a [[Compact of Free Association]] with the United States in 1986. Trusteeship was ended under [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 683]] of December 22, 1990. Until 1999 the islanders received [[United States dollar|US$]]180 million for continued American use of Kwajalein atoll, US$250 million in compensation for [[nuclear test]]ing, and US$600 million in other payments under the compact.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Keitner |first1=Chimene |last2=Reisman |first2=W. Michael |date=2003–2004 |title=Free Association: The United States Experience |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/tilj39&id=19&div=&collection= |journal=Texas International Law Journal |volume=39 |pages=1}}</ref>

Despite the constitution, the government was largely controlled by Iroij. It was not until 1999, following [[political corruption]] allegations, that the [[Aristocracy (government)|aristocratic]] government was overthrown, with [[Imata Kabua]] replaced by the [[commoner]] [[Kessai Note]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stege |first=Kristina E |date=2002 |title=Marshall Islands |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/8404 |journal=The Contemporary Pacific |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=198–203 |doi=10.1353/cp.2002.0033 |issn=1527-9464}}</ref>

The Runit Dome was built on [[Runit Island]] to deposit U.S.-produced [[radioactive]] soil and debris, including lethal amounts of [[plutonium]]. There are ongoing concerns about deterioration of the waste site and a potential [[radioactive contamination|radioactive spill]].<ref>{{cite news |title=How the U.S. betrayed the Marshall Islands, kindling the next nuclear disaster |url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/marshall-islands-nuclear-testing-sea-level-rise/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 10, 2019 |access-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114163729/https://www.latimes.com/projects/marshall-islands-nuclear-testing-sea-level-rise/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:2008 Summer Olympics - Marshall Islands eniras.jpg|thumb|left|Marshallese enter the 2008 Olympic Games]]
In February 2018, the Marshall Islands became the first country in the world to recognize its [[cryptocurrency]] as its own legal tender for [[digital currency]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Labriola |first=Monica C |date=2019 |title=Marshall Islands |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26776186 |journal=The Contemporary Pacific |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=170–179 |jstor=26776186 |issn=1043-898X}}</ref>

In January 2020, [[David Kabua]], son of founding president [[Amata Kabua]], was elected as the new [[President of the Marshall Islands]]. His predecessor [[Hilda Heine]] lost the position after a vote.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/406763/new-president-for-marshall-islands |title=New president for Marshall Islands |work=[[RNZ]] |date=6 January 2020 |access-date=24 August 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=18 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918180418/https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/406763/new-president-for-marshall-islands}}</ref>

Since the late 1980s, Marshallese have migrated to the US, with over 4,000 in Arkansas and over 7,000 in Hawaii in the 2010 US Census.<ref>{{cite web |title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/marshallese-5972/ |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |access-date=April 27, 2022 |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922073835/https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/marshallese-5972/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following independence, the Marshall Islands continued to play a prominent role in the testing and launches of missiles and rockets for both military and commercial space purposes. All five of the [[SpaceX]] [[Falcon 1]] rocket flights were carried out on [[Omelek Island]] within the Kwajalein Atoll. The fourth launch of the [[Falcon 1]] was successful, marking the first time in history a privately developed, fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle achieved orbit. SpaceX founder [[Elon Musk]] was present in Kwajalein for select launches.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Berger |first1=Eric |title=Liftoff: Elon Musk and the desperate early days that launched SpaceX |date=2021 |publisher=William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0062979971 |pages=76 |edition=First}}</ref>