JOURNAL OF POHNPEI HISTORY: The Early Contact Years (1595 to 1889)
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Pedro Fernandez de Quirós Sights Pohnpei (1595)

Ferdinand Magellan crossed Micronesia in 1521 on his way to the Philippines, but missed every island except Guam. Pedro Fernandez de Quirós is typically given credit for the European discovery of the island of Pohnpei in 1595, though it is possible that another explorer, Alvaro de Saavedra, spotted the island more than seventy years earlier. De Quirós, Portuguese by birth, was part of a Spanish expedition led by Alvaro de Mendaña, whose mission was to establish a colony in the Solomon Islands. Mendaña's ship, San Jeronimo, never reached its intended destination, and when the captain grew sick and died, de Quirós took over. On the return voyage to Manila, the San Jeronimo sighted Pohnpei. The Spaniards anchored off-shore, and some Pohnpeians paddled out toward the ship in their canoes. Intimidated, de Quirós decided to leave without going ashore. In the common tradition of the time, de Quirós named Pohnpei "Quirósa" after himself.

The Spanish Christianize Guam (1596-1695) 

For close to three centuries following de Quirós’ visit, the Spanish ignored most of the Micronesian islands, including Pohnpei. The number of foreign ships nearing the island declined considerably. The main Spanish focus was west on the island of Guam. A Jesuit priest, Diego Luis de Sanvitores, established the first Catholic mission on Guam in 1668. Almost immediately there was trouble. The Chamorros, the indigenous people of Guam, launched a strong movement of resistance against the mission. In 1672, Sanvitores was murdered by Matapang and Hirao in Tumon. The Chamorros continued to rally against the Spanish for another twenty years until they were finally overcome. It would not be the last Micronesian uprising against colonial powers.

Discoveries & Rediscoveries (1695-1824)

The first American to visit Pohnpei, Thomas Read, arrived on the Alliance in 1787. Sticking to tradition, he also named Pohnpei and Ahnd Atoll—this time it was "Morris" and "Alliance" after his captain and ship, respectively. The nearby atolls also had visitors, spanning from the late 1700s to the mid 1800s. Sapwuahfik (Ngatik) was found in 1773 by a Spanish vessel, Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion. A British captain, Musgrave, claimed discovery of Pingelap in 1793, and an American ship, Lydia, came across Nukuoro in 1801. Kapingamarangi was discovered by another American ship eight years later. The British Marquis of Wellington recorded discovery of Mwoakilloa (Mokil) in 1815, and the American Rambler found Oroluk in 1824. The inhabitants of these newly "discovered" islands met their clumsy discoverers with a variety of emotions--everything from perplexity to anger. The 19th century brought an increasing number of adventurers and scientists from many parts of the world to the Eastern Caroline Islands. Russian captain, Otto von Kotzebue, explored the Marshall Islands extensively in 1815. In 1824, Duperry, the French captain of the Coquille, made brief visits to Kosrae, east of Pohnpei, and the atolls of Pingelap and Mwoakilloa. Duperry went on to explore Chuuk and the western atolls. Four years later, Dumont d’Urville, once one of Duperry’s officers, continued in his footsteps, charting Chuuk and visiting Nukuoro, Yap, and Palau. 

Fedor Lütke Charts Pohnpei and Atolls (1828)

Fedor Lütke, the Russian captain of the Senyavin, came upon Pohnpei in 1828, while doing a scientific survey of the Pacific. He claimed to be the first to discover the island, clearly unaware of de Quirós' visit 233 years earlier. Lütke is given credit for first charting Pohnpei and its satellite atolls, Ahnd (Ant) and Pakin, which he named after his ship. The trio are referred to as the Senyavin Islands to this day. Lütke recorded a population estimate of two thousand, which is dubious because he never actually landed. Pohnpeian canoes paddled out toward the ship, which Lütke took to be hostile. He retreated and dubbed Kolonia's inlet "The Harbor of Bad Reception." It seems he must have had some contact with the Pohnpeians, however, before moving off, because he recorded the name of the island as "Pouynipeti"--certainly a corruption of the correct local name. Lütke went on to explore Ahnd and Pakin, nearly foundering at Ahnd. Pohnpei began to show up on maps a couple years after Lütke's voyage. Ironically, the name of the person who finally plotted the island correctly was not recorded. During the 19th century, Pohnpei was most often referred to as "Ascension Island", one of the more creative names it was given by foreigners.

Whalers in Micronesia (1830-1850)

During the 1830s and 1840s, Pohnpei was visited often by the scores of British and American whalers, trading vessels, and merchant ships that prowled the nearby waters. Three things drew ships to the island. Fresh water stores must be replenished from time to time, and Pohnpei, with its tall mountains, lush valleys, and numerous rivers, had plenty to spare. Additionally, its dense forests provided the lumber needed to make repairs to vessels that had sustained damage at sea. Finally, the all-male crews—often at sea for months at a time—were attracted by the island women and their apparently casual attitudes toward sex. Desertions were common, the occasional ship losing a significant part of its crew during the night. By 1835, there were at least thirty-five white beachcombers living on Pohnpei. The high chiefs used the beachcombers as mediators between Pohnpeians and traders. They were eagerly accepted and given aid. Some chiefs even adopted beachcombers and treated them as their own children. Yet, these men were the seeds of trouble to come. Most were rascally types, cutthroats, and escaped convicts, given to violence and mischief. Their presence did not bring peacefulness. Establishing themselves on the island, they encouraged prostitution and introduced the art of liquor-production to the Pohnpeians. 

James F. O'Connell, the Tattooed Irishman (1828-33)

One of the strangest Pohnpei stories, and certainly the most famous, involved an obscure Irishman named James O'Connell. O'Connell spent five years on the island between about 1827 and 1833, his often exaggerated adventures appearing in the book, A Residence of Eleven Years in New Holland and the Caroline Islands, published in 1836. O'Connell's true origins are much debated, being that there is no record of him in Dublin, Ireland, where he claims to have been born.  O'Connell was likely born between 1808 and 1813 and took ship at a young age as a cabin-boy.  He spent the early 1820s in Australia before ending up on the whaling ship John Bull.  There is some evidence that O'Connell may have actually arrived on a convict ship, but concealed this fact in his narrative.  Sometime around 1826 the John Bull was wrecked at sea, leading O'Connell and several companions to abandon ship and begin a long ocean adventure that would bring them to Pohnpei. As the story goes, O'Connell and five shipmates—George Keenan, John Johnson, Edward Bradford, John Thompson and John Williams—spent several days on the open ocean in a small boat before arriving at Pohnpei, an island they knew nothing about. Historians have questioned whether this was completely fabricated and O’Connell actually deserted when the John Bull briefly visited Pohnpei around 1829.

O'Connell's story gets more fanciful as it progresses. On Pohnpei, the castaways were attacked and captured by Pohnpeians. O’Connell danced an Irish jig to entertain his captors and to discourage them from eating him and the others (there does not seem to be any proof that Pohnpeians were cannibals at this time). The men were taken to a feast house and examined, while the crowd drank sakau (O’Connell abstained because of the unpleasant taste) and feasted on roast dog. O’Connell was then adopted by one of the chiefs in the state of Nett, who had him fully tattooed in the traditional Pohnpeian fashion. O'Connell insisted that he was eventually made a chief himself and puffed up the status of his father-in-law, called the Oundol of Nett, in his story. In actuality, Nett was one of the lesser Pohnpeian states and Oundol was a lesser title. O’Connell later married the chief’s daughter, Loawni, which he proclaimed great affection for, describing her as: “...affectionate, neat, faithful, and, barring too frequent indulgence in the flesh of baked dogs, which would give her breath something of a canine odor...a very agreeable consort.” An interesting and often amusing relationship proceeded between O’Connell and Loawni, a fiery young woman who went so far as to physically attack a rival chief for dishonoring her husband during a dispute. O’Connell fathered two children with Loawni during his time on the island.

O'Connell goes on in his narrative to describe a number of cultural practices witnessed on the island, some of which are accurate and others not. His descriptions of the tattooing process, canoe and feast hut construction, and tool-making are flawless. O'Connell also had several adventures, including a run-in with a hostile chief, Nahnmadau, canoe visits to Ant and Pakin Atoll, and a trip to the ruins of Nan Madol. Besides the obvious exaggerations in the story, O’Connell makes a number of bizarre references. He claimed that the occupants of Pakin were "addicted to cannibalism," a statement which baffles modern historians. He repeatedly refers to Pohnpei as a group of islands, rather than a single island. He also describes a slave class with physical features very different from the rest of the Pohnpeians. Even more odd are O'Connell's omissions. If he was in fact on Pohnpei in 1828 and resided in Nett, why does he make no mention of Fedor Lütke's visit that same year? The odd geographical references have led historians to speculate that maybe he had some visual disability in addition to his vivid imagination. The Pohnpei portion of James O'Connell's story finally came to a close when he apparently abandoned the island in 1833, aboard the trading ship Spy. He ended up in the eastern United States. There he traveled about with circuses as the Celebrated Tattooed Man, dancing and showing off his tattoos for curious American audiences. What became of James O'Connell in his latter years is not known. In fact, there are very few traces of his existence at all, partly because he seems to have taken the name James O'Connell in the years after leaving Pohnpei. His given name, the true story behind his strange visit to Micronesia, and his final end remain mysterious. Today, one of the most popular restaurants on Pohnpei is named after the famous Tattooed Irishman.

Beachcomber-Native Relations on Pohnpei (1833-1850)

On Pohnpei, violence between locals and whites was less frequent than on other Micronesian islands, such as Kosrae and Chuuk. Yet, violent incidents were not rare. In 1833, the British ship, Spy, arrived and was piloted through the reef by none other than James O'Connell, the Tattooed Irishman. According to the sailors, some Pohnpeians tried to take items from the ship and were shot for their intrusion. Tension grew quickly, and the Spy left hurriedly to avoid further conflict. Another ship, Corsair, visited in 1835. Its crew was nearly massacred for ignoring local etiquette. Violence was narrowly averted. After several more bad experiences with whalers, the paramount chiefs of Pohnpei convened and voted for the extermination of all the whites living on the island. Only one chief voted against the idea and said that he would provide protection in his territory for any whites who wished to stay. The other chiefs, realizing they could not carry out their plan without going to war, gave up and took no further action. The beachcombers remained on the island. Despite the mischief they were famous for, they were, in truth, very profitable to the Pohnpeians. Serving as pilots, interpreters, and trading liaisons, the beachcombers brought in considerable wealth for their hosts. The standard fee for piloting a visiting ship through the reef, for example, was $20 (equivalent to xxx today). A typical ship coming to Pohnpei might pay $200 for island goods and services, including food, supplies, wood, alcohol, and sex. Because, desertions were such a problem, captains paid Pohnpeians as much as $8 for every deserter caught and returned. 

Bloody Hart & the Falcon Incident (1836)

Most of the white characters in Pohnpei's history were not as congenial as James O'Connell. The exploits of the notorious "Bloody Hart" are a perfect example. C. H. Hart was a trader, based in Australia, who sought turtle shells and pearls in Micronesia. In 1836, he came to Pohnpei on his ship, Lambton, and entered Madolenihmw harbor. There he found two whale ships at anchor—Unity, captained by William Hart, and Avon, piloted by a French captain named Dudoit—and a third ship, Falcon, stranded on the reef. Aided by Hart, the Falcon's crew moved their supplies and whale oil onto a small nearby island. What happened next is not exactly clear. The Falcon crew claimed that Pohnpeians tried to steal some of the supplies, though there is some evidence that they were hired by Dudoit and that he received the stolen goods. A quarrel resulted between the Falcon crew and the paramount chief of Madolenihmw, entitled Nahnawa. Captain Hingston of the Falcon and four crewmembers were killed. In retaliation, C. H. Hart gathered seventy sailors from Lambton and Unity and pursued Nahnawa. Hart was aided by several hundred Pohnpeians who were rivals of the chief. A battle commenced and Nahnawa retreated. Eventually, the chief surrendered himself in desperation. After falsely promising Nahnawa life in exile on another island, Hart arranged a mock trial and ordered that he be hung from the ship's cross-jack yard. Nahnawa's last words reflected his clear understanding of Hart's true intentions: "You have brought me to a pretty island . . . but I'm prepared for it---it is quite what I expected." 

The Ngatik Massacre (1837)

The Falcon incident did not conclude C.H. Hart's treachery. One year later, his greedy search for turtle shell brought Bloody Hart to Sapwuahfik (Ngatik), known by sailors as the Raven Islands. Hart immediately went ashore and began to look for a shell dealer. He was met with a general lack of cooperation on the part of the Ngatikese, who Hart believed were hiding a large quantity of valuable shell. Meanwhile, the Pohnpeians who were with Hart warned him that the Ngatikese were planning to attack. He escaped to his ship, sailing away west. Returning with extra armed men in 1837 and assisted by fifteen Pohnpeians, Hart attacked Sapwuahfik by surprise and brutally slaughtered all but about twenty of the men on the island in a period of two days—probably about fifty men in all. Those who were not killed escaped the island in canoes. Many of the woman, rather than allowing the sailors to have their way with them, took their own lives and those of their young children. After the horrifying massacre, Hart found that there was very little marketable shell on the island—only about twenty pounds in total. To keep a tight reign on the islands, however, he set up a Pohnpei beachcomber-turned-local, Patrick Gorman, as head chief. Gorman was as brutal and remorseless as Hart and continued a trend of senseless violence in the islands for some time. Eventually the islands were resettled by Pohnpeians, white beachcombers, and several Africans. Though a British captain investigated the events of Ngatik Massacre a couple years later, none of the participants were ever brought to justice for their crimes.

Smallpox and other Disease Epidemics (1850-90)

The most devastating effect of foreign visits to Pohnpei was mass depopulation as a result of horrific disease epidemics. The estimated population at the beginning of the whaling period in 1830 was about 15,000. Syphilis and other debilitating sexually-transmitted diseases were already rampant on the island by the late 1830s. In 1854, the American whale ship, Delta, arrived in Pohnpei waters. Several of the ship's crewmembers were infected with smallpox, and their captain quarantined them on a small, uninhabited island. Pohnpeians made contact with these men and took smallpox back to the main island. The disease spread at a terrifying pace. Protestant missionary, Albert Sturges, recorded in his journal the deaths of more than 2,000 in just the first month of the epidemic. Sturges attempted to inoculate as many as he could, but was often hindered by rumors spread by the sailors that the missionaries had caused the disease. Within a year, one half of local population was dead. By percentage and swiftness, the smallpox epidemic of 1854 was more destructive than the bubonic plague of Western Europe. Not only did Pohnpeians have no way to protect themselves against smallpox, but their lack of understanding about how the disease was transmitted made things worse. They believed that smallpox was similar to another minor skin affliction common in the islands. In order to rid oneself of this disease, it was thought that a sick person should sleep with someone who was healthy. The healthy person would take away the sickness of the other. By acting on this belief, Pohnpeians unwittingly spread smallpox to others. In addition to the dreadful pox, there were numerous epidemics of influenza and measles between 1856 and 1894, and these were just as deadly. Diseases also took their toll the on the visiting sailors. "Clean" ships arriving at Pohnpei were exposed to the diseases and frequently lost crew-members. Sometimes these vacancies were filled by young Pohnpeian men who signed on as deckhands, eager for a glimpse of the outside world. Human loss from epidemics coupled with a low birth rate island-wide led to the near extinction of the local population. By the late 1800s, there were less than 2,000 Pohnpeians left alive and no more than one child for every four adults. "Who cares?" wrote missionary Benjamin Snow in bitter frustration, responding to the similar situation on Kosrae Island: "Who weeps for a lost race?" 

The Protestant Missionaries Arrive on Pohnpei (1852)

The first Protestant missionaries on Pohnpei included two American couples sponsored by the Board of Hawaiian Evangelical Association and sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions based in Boston. Luther Gulick, Albert Sturges, the two men's wives, and a Hawaiian couple arrived on the ship, Caroline, in 1852. The six missionaries soon established the first Protestant Mission in southwestern Kitti. They set about the task of converting the Pohnpeians to Christianity, a process that was slow and often frustrating to the missionaries. They did not immediately find a foothold on the island. Surly American and European beachcombers hindered any religious operations. Most of these were rascally deserters, castaways, and criminals who worried that the influence of Protestant morality might harm the businesses they controlled, such as liquor-production, prostitution, and the tobacco trade. The Pohnpeians, themselves, seemed somewhat indifferent to Christianity at first. They already had a religion of their own, complete with plenty of powerful gods and even a semi-Messianic figure.

The Protestant Mission Grows (1854-1870) 

The Protestant missionaries were aided considerably by the young and ambitious Nahnken of Kitti, who seemed to have more influence than the paramount chief of the same district during those times.  Yet, the dramatic conversions the missionaries hoped for were slow in coming.  In 1854, a new mission was founded in Madolenihmw by Luther Gulick.  The following year a new missionary, Edward Doane, arrived, accompanied by his wife and a Hawaiian assistant named Kamakahiki.  Doane made attempts in Sokehs, but left Pohnpei a year later to help in the Marshall Islands. Very little headway was ever made in the north. The Gulicks followed the Doanes to the Marshall Islands that same year.  Only the Sturges remained behind to carry on the work on the mission.  The Nahnken of Kitti was eventually converted a year before his death in 1859, a turning point for the mission.  His inclusion in the church brought about widespread acceptance of the new religion by the Kitti people.  By the 1870s, the mission was firmly entrenched and quite successful, especially in Kitti, Madolenihmw, and U.

Nahnku, Nahnken of Kitti

The second-ranking chief in the district of Kitti during the mid-1800s, Nahnku was barely thirty at the time of the arrival of the first Protestant missionaries. Because the Soukise, or paramount chief of Kitti, was quite old, the Nahnken had greater influence than his superior. He had a reputation for taking foreigners under his wing, but it is not entirely clear why he was so supportive of the missionary movement.  In 1856, with urging from the mission leaders, the Nahnken banned the lucrative trade of local prostitution that supplied the ever-present trading and whaling ships--a controversial decision. The missionaries were quick to claim a moral victory, having long taught that the disfiguring effects of syphilis were a form of divine retribution.  Yet, perhaps the Nahnken had more complex motives for his actions?  It is possible he saw the missionary presence as an opportunity to gain profit and foreign goods through trade, and pacifying them was a necessary step toward his goal.  There is no doubt that he was a shrewd businessman and a charismatic leader, and very likely the primary reason why the Protestants succeeded in Southern Pohnpei. In a clever move a few years later when the Soukise died, the Nahnken bestowed the title on his adopted son, thus keeping the chiefdom more-or-less within his power. The Nahnken died in 1864, just as the mission was beginning to flourish.  He was one of the original sixteen Pohnpeians to join the Christian church.

Bully Hayes, the Last Buccaneer (1871-77)

William Henry Hayes, or Bully, was easily the most notorious of the many traders to wander Micronesia.  Hayes' nefarious business habits, which frequently involved deception, piracy, and armed coercion, earned him the title of the "Last Buccaneer."  Bully Hayes was born in Cleveland and quickly developed a reputation for a fiery temper and somewhat sociopathic tendencies.  He made his entrance into the Pacific as a trader in the vicinity of New Zealand where he ran weapons for the rebelling Maori.  At Manihiki, after being rescued from his damaged ship by the islanders, Hayes promptly sailed to Samoa and sold his saviors into slavery.  Never one to pass up an opportunity, he dabbled for a time in the growing copra trade, often intimidating suppliers into handing over their product without payment. Hayes reverted to black-birding when trading ceased to amuse him. He soon acquired a new ship named Leonora with which he prowled the area around Pohnpei and Kosrae. The Leonora was finally wrecked in 1874 south of Kosrae. Hayes found himself marooned for months, using his free time to convince the gullible missionaries that he had miraculously found God. Eventually Hayes made his way to San Francisco, where he conned someone out of a small yacht, called Lotus, and stocked it with supplies stolen from a lighthouse.  Just as he was beginning to rekindle his adventurous career, Bully Hayes was murdered by shipmate, Henry Radeck, after a violent disagreement. He was dumped overboard.  Relieved that the menace was finally gone, the authorities found no reason to investigate the murder or prosecute anyone involved.

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Last Updated: 11-Jun-2004 Pohnpei-Between Time & Tide © Winahni Productions/Alex Zuccarelli 2004.