Editing Palau (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Palau}}

{{Quote box	
| title = Palau History Timeline
| quote = {{flagicon image|Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg|border=|size=23px}} [[History of Spain (1700–1808)|Bourbon Spain]] ([[Spanish East Indies]]) 1710–1785<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Spain (1785–1873, 1875–1931).svg|border=|size=23px}} [[History of Spain (1700–1808)|Kingdom of Spain]] (Spanish East Indies) 1785–1808<br>
{{flagicon image|Bandera de España 1808-1813.svg|border=|size=23px}} [[Spain under Joseph Bonaparte|Napoleonic Spain]] (Spanish East Indies) 1808–1813<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Spain (1785–1873, 1875–1931).svg|border=|size=23px}} [[History of Spain (1808–1874)|Kingdom of Spain]] (Spanish East Indies) 1813–1873<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of the First Spanish Republic.svg|border=|size=23px}} [[First Spanish Republic]] (Spanish East Indies) 1873–1874<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Spain (1785–1873, 1875–1931).svg|border=|size=23px}} [[Restoration (Spain)|Kingdom of Spain]] (Spanish East Indies) 1873–1899<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of German New Guinea.svg|border=|size=23px}} [[German New Guinea Company]] 1885–1899<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Philippines (1898–1901).svg|border=|size=23px}} [[First Philippine Republic]] January 23–February 12, 1899<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (1867–1918).svg|border=|size=23px}} [[German Empire]] ([[German New Guinea]]) 1899–1914<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Japan (1870–1999).svg|border=|size=23px}} [[Empire of Japan]] ([[South Seas Mandate]]) 1914–1944<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of the United States.svg|border=|size=23px}} [[United States]] 1944–1962<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of the United Nations.svg|border=|size=23px}} [[United Nations]] ([[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]]) 1947–1965<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.svg|border=|size=23px}} United Nations (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) 1965–1979<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia.svg|border=|size=23px}} [[Federated States of Micronesia]] 1979–1981<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Palau.svg|border=|size=23px}} Palau 1981–present
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=== Early history ===
[[File:Reception of the Manila Galleon by the Chamorro in the Ladrones Islands, ca. 1590.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|[[Manila galleon]] in the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]] and [[Caroline Islands|Carolinas]], c. 1590 [[Boxer Codex]]|alt=]]
Palau was originally settled between the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE, most likely from the Philippines or Indonesia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palau |url=https://histclo.com/country/oce/pal/co-pal.html |access-date=12 November 2022 |website=histclo.com |archive-date=25 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225124817/https://histclo.com/country/oce/pal/co-pal.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Sonsorol]] was sighted by the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] as early as 1522, when the [[Spanish missions in the Carolinas|Spanish mission]] of the ''[[Trinidad (ship)|Trinidad]]'', the flagship of [[Ferdinand Magellan]]'s voyage of circumnavigation, sighted two small islands around the [[5th parallel north]], naming them "San Juan".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palau Ships |url=http://www.micsem.org/pubs/articles/historical/forships/palau.htm |access-date=12 November 2022 |website=micsem.org |archive-date=10 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510190730/http://www.micsem.org/pubs/articles/historical/forships/palau.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 1696, a group of sailors from the [[Caroline Islands]] were stranded on [[Samar]], near [[Guiuan]], when they met European missionary [[Pablo Clain|Paul Klein]]. Using pebbles, the sailors attempted to show Klein the approximate location and size of the islands. He used this information to produce the first European map of the Palau area. Klein sent the map to [[Superior General of the Society of Jesus|Jesuit Superior General]], along with a letter detailing the names of the islands, the culture of the people, and his experiences with them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hezel |first1=Francis X. |last2=Valle |first2=Maria Teresa Del |date=1972 |title=Early European Contact with the Western Carolines: 1525-1750 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25168089 |journal=The Journal of Pacific History |volume=7 |pages=26–44 |doi=10.1080/00223347208572199 |jstor=25168089 |issn=0022-3344 |access-date=25 April 2024 |archive-date=25 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425013029/https://www.jstor.org/stable/25168089 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Spanish era ===
{{Main|New Spain|Captaincy General of the Philippines|Spanish East Indies}}
[[File:Islas Marianas Palaos y Carolinas.JPG|thumb|upright=1.5|An 1888 map showing the Palau Islands of the Spanish East Indies (excluding the Philippine Islands)|alt=]]
[[File:Palau-Inseln.jpg|thumb|''Village on the Palau Islands'', painting by [[Rudolf Hellgrewe]] c. 1908|alt=]]
[[File:Koror chiefs in 1915.jpg|thumb|Koror chiefs in 1915]]
The Klein map and letter caused a vast interest in the new islands. Another letter written by Fr. Andrés Serrano was sent to Europe in 1705, essentially copying the information given by Klein. The letters resulted in three unsuccessful Jesuit attempts to travel to Palau from [[Captaincy General of the Philippines|Spanish Philippines]] in 1700, 1708, and 1709. The islands were first visited by the Jesuit expedition led by Francisco Padilla on 30 November 1710. The expedition ended with the stranding of the two priests, Jacques Du Beron and Joseph Cortyl, on the coast of Sonsorol, because the mother ship ''[[Trinity|Santísima Trinidad]]'' was driven to [[Mindanao]] by a storm. Another ship was sent from [[Guam]] in 1711 to save them only to capsize, causing the death of three more Jesuit priests. The failure of these missions gave Palau the original Spanish name ''Islas Encantadas'' (Enchanted Islands).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catholic Missions in the Carolines and Marshall Islands |url=http://micsem.org/pubs/articles/religion/frames/cathmissionsfr.htm |access-date=12 November 2022 |website=micsem.org |archive-date=28 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171128085201/http://www.micsem.org/pubs/articles/religion/frames/cathmissionsfr.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Transitions era ===
[[File:Koror in the Japanese Period.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Palau in Japanese mandate]]

British traders became regular visitors to Palau in the 18th century (the British East India Company packet ship [[Antelope (1781 EIC packet ship)|''Antelope'']] shipwrecked off [[Ulong Island]] in 1783, leading to [[Prince Lee Boo]]'s visit to London), followed by expanding Spanish influence in the 19th century. Palau, under the name ''Palaos'', was included in the [[Malolos Congress]] in 1898, the first revolutionary congress in the Philippines, which wanted full independence from colonialists. Palau was part of the [[Spanish East Indies]] headquartered in the Spanish Philippines. Palau had one appointed member to the Congress, becoming the only group of islands in the entire [[Caroline Islands]] granted high representation in a non-colonial Philippine Congress. Congress also supported the right of Palau to self-determination if ever it wished to pursue such a path.<ref name="PhilStar2006">{{cite news|last=Balabo|first=Dino|title=Historians: Malolos Congress produced best RP Constitution|url=http://www.philstar.com/nation/374302/historians-malolos-congress-produced-best-rp-constitution|access-date=12 August 2013|newspaper=[[Philippine Star]]|date=10 December 2006|archive-date=12 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112051737/https://www.philstar.com/nation/374302/historians-malolos-congress-produced-best-rp-constitution|url-status=live}}</ref>

Later in 1899 as part of the Caroline Islands, Palau was sold by the Spanish Empire to the [[German Empire]] as part of [[German New Guinea]] in the [[German–Spanish Treaty (1899)]]. During [[World War I]], the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese Empire]] annexed the islands after seizing them from [[German Empire|Germany]] in 1914. Following World War I, the [[League of Nations]] formally placed the islands under Japanese administration as part of the [[South Seas Mandate]]. In World War II, Palau was used by Japan to support its [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|1941 invasion of the Philippines]], which succeeded in 1942. The invasion overthrew the American-installed [[Commonwealth of the Philippines|Commonwealth government in the Philippines]] and installed the Japanese-backed [[Second Philippine Republic]] in 1943.<ref>{{cite book |first=Dorothy |last=Perkins |date=1997 |title=Japan Goes to War: A Chronology of Japanese Military Expansion from the Meiji Era to the Attack on Pearl Harbor (1868–1941) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2-OmUA-EscC&q=palau&pg=PA166 |publisher=DIANE Publishing |page=166 |quote=Admiral Takeo Takagi led the Philippines support force to Palau, an island {{convert|500|mi|km|order=flip|sp=us|abbr=off}} east of the southern Philippines where he waited to join the attack.|isbn=9780788134272}}</ref>

=== United States era ===
During World War II, the United States captured Palau from Japan in 1944 after the costly Battle of Peleliu, when more than 2,000 Americans and 10,000 Japanese were killed, and later the Battle of Angaur. In 1945–1946, the United States re-established control of the Philippines and managed Palau through the Philippine capital of Manila. By the latter half of 1946, however, the Philippines was granted full independence with the formation of the [[History of the Philippines (1946–1965)|Third Republic of the Philippines]], shifting the U.S. Far West Pacific capital to [[Guam]]. Palau was passed formally to the United States under United Nations auspices in 1947 as part of the [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]] established pursuant to [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 21|Security Council Resolution 21]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Year: 1947) |first=UN Security Council (2nd |date=1964 |title=Resolution 21 (1947) /: [adopted by the Security Council at its 124th meeting], of 2 April 1947. |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/111988 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Security Council Resolution 21 - UNSCR |url=http://unscr.com/en/resolutions/21 |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=unscr.com}}</ref>

=== Independence ===
[[File:TTPI High Commissioner and staff.jpg|thumb|TTPI High Commissioner and staff, 1960s]]

Four of the Trust Territory districts joined and formed the Federated States of Micronesia in 1979, but the districts of Palau and the [[Marshall Islands]] voted against the proposed constitution. Palau, the westernmost cluster of the Carolines, instead opted for independent status in 1978, which was widely supported by the Philippines, [[Taiwan]], and Japan. It approved a new constitution and became the Republic of Palau on 1&nbsp;January 1981.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Pacific Island Battleground Now the Republic of Belau |agency=Associated Press |location=Bangor, Maine, USA |date=23 January 1981 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xHI-AAAAIBAJ&pg=1189,3024338&dq=micronesia&hl=en |access-date=18 November 2020 |archive-date=11 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311194807/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xHI-AAAAIBAJ&pg=1189,3024338&dq=micronesia&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> It signed a [[Compact of Free Association]] with the United States in 1982. In the same year, Palau became one of the founding members of the [[Nauru Agreement]]. The compact entered into force on 1 October 1994,<ref>{{cite news |title=Palau Gains Independence on Saturday |agency=Associated Press |location=Salt Lake City, Utah, USA |date=30 September 1994 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LOZHAAAAIBAJ&pg=5945,7792568&dq=palau&hl=en |access-date=18 November 2020 |archive-date=11 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311194829/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LOZHAAAAIBAJ&pg=5945,7792568&dq=palau&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> concluding Palau's transition from trusteeship to independence<ref name="gao-08-732_p7">{{cite journal |date=10 June 2008 |title=Compact of Free Association: Palau's use of and accountability for U.S. assistance and prospects for economic self-sufficiency |url=http://www.gao.gov/assets/280/276299.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Report to Congressional Committees |volume=GAO-08-732 |pages=1–2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111071210/https://www.gao.gov/assets/280/276299.pdf |archive-date=11 November 2022 |access-date=7 September 2014}}</ref> as the last portion of the [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]] to secure its independence pursuant to [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 956|Security Council Resolution 956]]. Palau also became a member of the [[Pacific Islands Forum]] but withdrew in February 2021 after a dispute regarding [[Henry Puna]]'s election as the forum's secretary-general.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cave|first=Damien|date=5 February 2021|title=Pacific Islands' Most Important Megaphone Falls Into Discord|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/world/asia/pacific-islands-forum.html|access-date=8 February 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=9 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209014114/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/world/asia/pacific-islands-forum.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=5 February 2021|title=Key Pacific body in crisis as Palau walks out|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210205-key-pacific-body-in-crisis-as-palau-walks-out|access-date=8 February 2021|publisher=France 24|archive-date=5 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205091947/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210205-key-pacific-body-in-crisis-as-palau-walks-out|url-status=live}}</ref> Legislation making Palau an "offshore" financial center was passed by the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palau (11/03) |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/palau/36843.htm |access-date=13 April 2022 |website=U.S. Department of State |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112051748/https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/palau/36843.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2005, Palau led the [[Micronesia Challenge]], which would conserve 30% of near-shore coastal waters and 20% of forest land of participating countries by 2020. In 2009, Palau created the world's first [[shark sanctuary]], banning commercial shark fishing within its waters. In 2012, the [[Rock Islands]] of Palau was declared as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/PW/|title=Palau – UNESCO World Heritage Centre|first=UNESCO World Heritage|last=Centre|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=26 December 2019|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227075754/http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/PW/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015, Palau became a member of the [[Climate Vulnerable Forum]] under the chairmanship of the Philippines, and at the same time, the country officially protected 80% of its water resources, becoming the first country to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/151028-palau-marine-protected-area-official-oceans-animals-conservation/|title=Tiny Island Nation's Enormous New Ocean Reserve is Official|date=28 October 2015|access-date=20 March 2018|archive-date=20 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320170753/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/151028-palau-marine-protected-area-official-oceans-animals-conservation/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The protection of its water resources made significant increases in the country's economy in less than two years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/palau-marine-protected-area-ocean-fish/|title=This Small Island Nation Makes a Big Case For Protecting Our Oceans|date=3 April 2017|access-date=20 March 2018|archive-date=20 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320170304/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/palau-marine-protected-area-ocean-fish/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2017, it became the first state in the world to establish an eco-promise, known as the ''Palau Pledge'', which is stamped on local and foreign passports.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/2123491/palau-pledge-pacific-island-forces-visitors-sign-eco-promise|title=Pacific island forces visitors to sign eco-pledge|date=8 December 2017|website=South China Morning Post|access-date=23 December 2020|archive-date=7 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207035653/http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/2123491/palau-pledge-pacific-island-forces-visitors-sign-eco-promise|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, Palau and the Philippines began re-connecting their economic and diplomatic relations. The Philippines supported Palau to become an observer state in [[ASEAN]].