Editing Island (section)

==== Colonization ====
[[File:Leaving-bikini.jpg|alt=A black and white photo of several people boarding a ship carrying their belongings.|thumb|Residents of [[Bikini Atoll]] leaving due to nuclear testing.]]
Since the first discoveries of Polynesian, [[Micronesia|Micronesian]], and other islands by Westerners, these nations have been the subject of colonization.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=March 18, 2014 |title=Historical Background: Colonization of Pacific Islands |url=https://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/hawaiian_pacific_islander/fund/historical_background/pi_colonization.html |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Geriatrics |language=en-US}}</ref> Islands were the target of [[Christian missionaries]]. These missionaries faced resistance, but found success when some local chiefs used European support to centralize power. Beginning in the 16th century, European states placed most of [[Oceania]] in under [[Colonialism|colonial administration]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australia and Oceania: Human Geography |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/oceania-human-geography |access-date=July 13, 2024 |website=education.nationalgeographic.org |language=en}}</ref> [[Pohnpei]] was colonized by Spain as early as 1526. It changed hands from Germany to Japan to the United States before joining the [[Federated States of Micronesia]] in 1982, maintaining a "free association" status with the U.S.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ragone |first1=Diane |last2=Lorence |first2=David H. |last3=Flynn |first3=Timothy |date=2001 |title=History of Plant Introductions to Pohnpei, Micronesia and the Role of the Pohnpei Agriculture Station |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4256429 |journal=Economic Botany |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=290–324 |doi=10.1007/BF02864566 |jstor=4256429 |bibcode=2001EcBot..55..290R |issn=0013-0001}}</ref> [[Guam]] was a Spanish territory until 1898, and now is a [[Territories of the United States|unincorporated territory]] of the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Herman |first=Doug |date=August 15, 2017 |title=A Brief, 500-Year History of Guam |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/brief-500-year-history-guam-180964508/ |access-date=July 13, 2024 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

The [[decolonization]] era saw many island states achieve independence or some form of [[self-governance]].<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Fairbairn |first=Te'O IJ |date=1991 |title=Pacific Islands: politics, economics, and international relations |url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/a858afb6-0392-4df1-bd92-cce158270479/content |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu |pages=15,42}}</ref> Nuclear weapons testing on the [[Marshall Islands]] left many atolls destroyed or uninhabitable, causing the [[forced displacement]] of people from their home islands as well as increases in cancer rates due to [[Effects of nuclear explosions|radiation]].<ref name=":14" /> Colonization has resulted in a decline of observance of traditional cultural practices in places such as Hawaii, where Native Hawaiians are now a minority. Cultural attitudes related to communal ownership of land as well as a lack of individualistic decision-making may make some island cultures less compatible with the global [[capitalist]] economy, causing these nations to experience less economic growth.<ref name=":13" />
[[File:Malapascua (island), Tropical beach, Philippines.jpg|alt=An idyllic beach scene with crystal clear water and tropical trees.|thumb|Tourists are attracted to tropical beaches in large numbers, such as this one in [[Malapascua]], the [[Philippines]].]]