Majuro, Marshall Islands

Majuro is the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, a small island state in the western Pacific Ocean. The Marshall Islands have an extended history of foreign ownership and, between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, were claimed in succession by Spanish, German, Japanese, and American forces. The city of Majuro became the nation's primary economic and social center in 1979, when the Marshall Islands were established as an autonomous republic.

Landscape

The Marshall Islands is a chain of twenty-nine atolls (ring-shaped coral islands) in the Pacific Ocean, containing more than 1,200 individual islets and five major islands. The island state occupies a total of 181 square kilometers (70 square miles) of land spread over more than 1.9 million square kilometers (about 734,000 square miles) of ocean. The islands have a combined coastline of more than 370 kilometers (230 miles). The city of Majuro is an atoll consisting of sixty-four islets, with a land mass of 9.7 square kilometers (3.7 square miles). It is the most developed atoll in the island chain.

The downtown area of Majuro is split among three islets: Delap, Uliga, and Djarrit, collectively known as DUD. These are the most populous of the islets that make up the Majuro atoll. A fifty-five-kilometer (thirty-five-mile) paved road runs from east to west along the southern portion of the Majuro atoll, which contains DUD and most of the atoll's populated territories.

Majuro's primary administrative district is located on Delap, which contains the capital building, national court buildings, and government offices. Djarrit is primarily residential, with small commercial and recreational areas. The nation's primary financial district is located on the Uliga islet, and many of the nation's museums and cultural centers are there.

The downtown area combines modern architecture with traditional Marshallese buildings and a few buildings of Japanese and American design from the nation's colonial period. Traditional Marshallese buildings, in the city's residential districts, are simple structures without extensive utilities or modern conveniences. Administrative buildings are more elaborate structures constructed from stone or cement, while most of the city's oldest buildings are built entirely from wood, though many have fallen into disrepair from exposure.

Majuro has a tropical climate that is influenced by the ocean. The average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) with little variation. There is a dry season from December to April, characterized by strong winds and occasional typhoons. Annual rainfall varies from 1,778 to 4,318 millimeters (70 to 170 inches), with the peak of the rainy season arriving in August.

People

The Marshall Islands had an estimated total population of 80,966 people as of 2023. Nearly half of the population—approximately 31,000 in 2018—lived in Majuro, which also has the highest population density in the nation. More than 95 percent of the Marshallese, or Marshall Islanders, are members of the Micronesian ethnic group, a blend of Melanesians, Filipinos, and Polynesians. There are also small numbers of American and European expatriates living in Majuro.

Most residents of Majuro are fluent in English, which is one of the official languages of the Marshallese government and is taught in the public school system. According to the 1999 census, more than 98 percent of the population speaks Marshallese, the other official language, which is a mixture of Austronesian dialects. There are also several native dialects spoken, including Ratak, Ralik and Ujelang. Some residents also speak Japanese.

Christianity, imported first during the nation's colonial period and later through American missionaries, is the most important religion on the Marshall Islands. About 80 percent of the population practices some form of Protestantism, including about 49 percent following the United Church of Christ and 14 percent following the Assembly of God, according to 2021 estimates. About 9 percent are Roman Catholic.

The Marshallese are known for their skill at building canoes and ocean navigation, and fishing, boating, and other forms of ocean recreation remain an important part of local culture. Residents of Majuro live a more modern existence than rural residents, with access to imported modern amenities and utilities, but they still live a relatively traditional lifestyle. Recreational activities in Majuro are limited, as there are few restaurants, cafés, and dance clubs catering to the local population and tourists.

Economy

The Marshallese economy is simple and underdeveloped, with foreign military development and subsistence agriculture the two primary industries. Unemployment—estimated at 36 percent in 2006—is common on the Marshall Islands, and foreign aid revenues are required to maintain public health and welfare. Residents of Majuro enjoy the most diverse economic opportunities in the nation, though employment continues to revolve around agriculture and the service industry. The Marshall Islands' 2021 real gross domestic product (GDP) was more than US$250 million.

The United States distributes more than US$40 million annually to the Marshallese government in return for permission to build and maintain military bases and weapons-testing sites on the atolls (the island nation's Bikini Atoll was the site of the first nuclear test in 1954). Revenues from the US military account for more than 50 percent of government revenues and more than 40 percent of the annual GDP. Total US foreign aid under the Compact of Free Association between the two countries amounted to about $1 billion from 1986 to 2001; the agreement was renegotiated to deliver about $1.5 billion from 2004 to 2024. The compact also saw the US join with the Marshallese government to establish a trust fund to provide income for the Marshallese people beyond 2024. In 2023 the countries agreed on a new Compact of Free Association agreement that would be in place for two decades. The new agreement expanded assistance to address health and environmental damages caused by nuclear testing.

In rural areas, including those surrounding the Majuro municipality, agriculture plays a more important role, with copra (coconut flesh) being the nation's most important product. Other agricultural products include melons, taro, breadfruit, and poultry. Some residents of Majuro find employment in the tourism sector, which has developed in the twenty-first century. The capital serves as the main hub for tourist arrivals and associated services.

Many basic necessities, including rice and petroleum, are imported to the Marshall Islands, along with luxury items such as cola and coffee. Most of the technology, motor vehicles and industrial machinery are also imported. The United States and Japan remain the island nation's most important trading partners. Due to both the expense of imported fuel and concerns over anthropogenic climate change, the Marshall Islands have explored options for sustainable energy, including using coconut oil as a biofuel.

Landmarks

The Alele Museum, located in downtown Majuro, functions as a historical and ethnographic museum, with displays and information about the history of the islands and their inhabitants. Among the museum's displays is an exhibit on the development of canoe technology in Micronesian culture. The museum also contains the Joachim de Brum collection of photographic prints, which depict traditional Marshallese life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Laura islet contains several historic landmarks, including the Peace Park Memorial, which was constructed by the Japanese to honor their fallen World War II soldiers. Near the memorial is the 1918 Typhoon Memorial, which commemorates more than two hundred Marshallese who died during that devastating storm.

Ocean exploration, swimming and canoeing are three of the most important tourist attractions in Majuro. The Majuro Atoll is a popular spot for diving and ocean exploration, and boasts a wide diversity of marine life. Day trips are also taken to nearby Bikini Atoll, the site of US nuclear weapon testing in the mid twentieth century. The atoll is home to a number of sunken ships available for wreck diving, including the USS Saratoga, which is the world's largest ocean wreck available for diving.

History

The earliest settlers of the Marshall Islands were members of various Micronesian ethnic groups, and the area that is now known as the Majuro Municipality was the site of transient settlements before the arrival of European explorers in the sixteenth century. The Spanish were the first to explore the island system, while British explorers John Marshall—for whom the islands were named—and John Gilbert were the first to map the Majuro Atoll after visiting the islands in 1788.

Spain was the first to claim the islands, but never established a lasting settlement. They agreed to sell the islands to Germany in the 1880s for a cost of US$4.5 million. In 1885, Germany declared the Marshall Islands a German protectorate and established an administrative headquarters on the Jaluit Atoll. The Germans invested little in developing the Marshall Islands until World War I, when several of the islands were used as military bases.

In 1914, during World War I, Japanese forces seized control of the Marshall Islands from Germany, and were later awarded administrative control over the islands by the League of Nations, an international organization that formed after the war had ended. The Japanese instituted further development in Majuro beginning in 1920, but soon shifted their focus to preparing military bases on the islands after the outbreak of World War II.

In a series of battles in 1943 and 1944, Allied forces gained control of the Marshall Islands and set up bases on Majuro and several other atolls. The Allied forces used Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll for nuclear testing in the 1950s, portions of which are still uninhabitable because of radiation.

Following World War II, the Marshall Islands were internationally recognized as a trust of the US government, placing them under US military authority. A movement for independence gradually developed during the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1979, the US government agreed to allow full internal autonomy to the local government. However, the United States refused to completely relinquish authority, as the islands were still essential to its military strategy.

The process towards full independence lasted for more than thirteen years. Among the more difficult issues to resolve was the dispute over damage done during nuclear testing in the mid-twentieth century. Negotiations eventually resulted in a Compact of Free Association (COFA), which established that the United States was responsible for military protection of the islands while the islands gained full independence in domestic issues and foreign relations. The agreement also gave the United States permission to maintain military bases on the islands in return for annual compensation. The association agreement went into effect in 1986, at which time the Republic of the Marshall Islands was officially established.

Urbanization of downtown Majuro accelerated in the late twentieth century, largely between the 1960s and the 1980s, mainly driven by income from foreign investment and population growth. Majuro served as the nation's administrative capital during this period of American trusteeship, and was chosen to remain the national capital after independence. The Marshall Islands has agreed to extend the association agreement with the United States.

The Marshall Islands face many issues as the twenty-first century unfolds. Most vitally, Climate change has caused the rise of sea levels and the deterioration of coral reefs, threatening the nation's very existence. Most islands are less than 2 meters (6 feet) above sea level. The Majuro Atoll itself was projected to lose up to 80 percent of its land mass over the course of the twenty-first century due to rising sea levels. In March 2014 severe flooding in Majuro left one thousand people homeless; Marshallese officials declared a state of emergency and blamed the flooding on climate change. While the islands undertook certain preventative measures, such as the construction of sea walls, many experts suggested that relocation would be inevitable. In 2023, the Marshall Islands revealed its National Adaptation Plan at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28). In preparing the plan, the nation surveyed citizens; 99 percent rejected the idea of leaving the islands. The first phase of the plan included fortifying the airport at Majuro. Future work involved identifying which islands to protect.

Bibliography

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