Editing Pohnpei (section)

===Miscreants and missionaries===
From this time onward, whaling and trading vessels came in increasing numbers. Very soon a "large colony of beachcombers, escaped convicts, and ship's deserters became established ashore," identified as "chiefly bad characters," according to the log of the Swedish frigate ''Eugenie''.<ref name=Native/> The first missionary to arrive was Father [[Louis Désiré Maigret]], a Roman Catholic priest. He had sailed from Honolulu on the schooner ''Notre Dame de Paix'' and began his efforts in December 1837, but he departed on 29 July 1838 for [[Valparaíso]] after seven unsuccessful months.<ref name=Bunson>Bunson, Maggie. ''Faith in Paradise''. Boston: St. Paul Publishing. 1977, pp. 43, 65</ref> In his company were "several [[Mangareva]]ns and [[Tahitians]]," some of whom remained on Pohnpei and left descendants.<ref name=Native/> Ten years later Maigret returned to the [[Hawaiian Kingdom]] as Bishop of Honolulu.<ref name=Bunson/> A group of Protestant missionaries from New England established themselves permanently on Pohnpei in 1852. Their letters and journals contain a wealth of information about the island and are preserved at [[Harvard University]].<ref name=Native/>

A drastic population decline occurred after 1854, due to a [[smallpox]] epidemic.<ref name=Native/>

During the [[American Civil War]], to counteract the [[Union Navy]] [[Union blockade|blockade]] of their ports, [[Confederate States Navy]] ships hunted Yankee merchant shipping. On 1 April 1865, the ''[[CSS Shenandoah]]'' surprised four United States whalers at Ascension Island (Pohnpei) and destroyed them all. The local king, Nananierikie, was delighted to receive much of the spoils from this action.<ref>''CSS Shenandoah'', Lieutenant James I Waddell, Annapolis 1960, pages 144-155</ref>