Palikir, Federated States of Micronesia

Palikir is the capital of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the seat of that nation's government. It is situated on the island of Pohnpei in the western Pacific Ocean. Since 1989, when Palikir replaced the nearby coastal town of Kolonia as the capital, it has remained one of the world's smallest capitals.

Landscape

Palikir is located on Pohnpei, the largest of the more than six hundred islands that form the FSM. The archipelago is scattered over more than 2.5 million square kilometers (1 million square miles) of the western Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Indonesia. However, the entire land mass of the island nation accounts for only 701.4 square kilometers (270.8 square miles). The islands are clustered into four geopolitical states—Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae—of which Palikir serves as the capital.

Palikir is located only 8 kilometers (5 miles) west of the old capital of Kolonia and sits at an altitude of roughly 208 meters (682 feet) between two volcanic ridges in the Palikir Valley. A 79-kilometer (49-mile) road runs around the island's perimeter.

Palikir features a tropical climate characterized by heavy rainfall year round. Thanks to Pohnpei island's imposing mountains, which tend to trap passing clouds, the interior of Pohnpei is considered one of the rainiest locations on the planet, receiving as much as 838 centimeters (330 inches) of precipitation annually. Average temperatures in Palikir generally hover around 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit).

The FSM has already experienced some effects of climate change. From 1980 to 2017, the temperature rose more than 33 degrees Fahrenheit. Threats from this and future increases include extreme heat and rain as well as stronger cyclones.

Destructive storms are uncommon on Pohnpei, unlike in the western extremities of the FSM. However, the island is situated on the southern edge of a typhoon zone. In 1905, a typhoon blew through the area and completely destroyed the old capital of Kolonia.

People

The World Population Review estimated the population of Palikir to have been 6,942 in 2024, making it one of the world's most sparsely populated capitals. It is, nonetheless, one of Pohnpei's two major population centers, the other being the nearby town of Kolonia. The entire population of the FSM was estimated at 101,009 people in 2022.

About half of the nation's population is Chuukese, one of several Austronesian-speaking ethnic groups represented in the FSM, according to 2010 estimates. Other major ethnic groups include Pohnpeians (29.8 percent in 2010), Kosraeans (6.3 percent), and Yapese (5.7 percent). A small number of Polynesians live in the FSM, mainly on the Kapingamarangi atoll (a coral island enclosing a lagoon) of Pohnpei State.

English is the official language and the language spoken in government, business, and school settings. It is, however, a second language to most Micronesians. Most of Palikir's people speak Pohnpeian, one of several distinct Malayo-Polynesian languages spoken by the various indigenous groups throughout the FSM. The Pohnpeian language itself consists of several dialects.

Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion in the FSM, with Roman Catholics making up over half the population. This is followed by various Protestant denominations, the largest of which is the Congregational Church. Indigenous religions that held sway before the arrival of Western missionaries are still practiced to a lesser extent and are in some cases integrated into the various Christian faiths practiced locally; many people believe in the existence of spirits and their powers to influence the affairs of the living.

Economy

The economy of Palikir, and of the FSM as a whole, is dominated by subsistence agriculture and fishing. Staples include breadfruit, taro, coconuts, bananas, yams, cassava, and sweet potatoes. Poultry and pigs are the most common livestock raised for food. Tuna provides a significant amount of revenue for the nation, although while the country has ownership over the tuna stock that is harvested in its waters, domestic participation is almost nonexistent.

As is the case throughout the FSM, the government is Palikir's chief employer, with two-thirds of the labor force being government employees. Other employers include the service, tourism, and construction industries. The modest manufacturing sector includes fish processing plants and textile factories. Most of the area's exports, which account for only a fraction of the gross domestic product (GDP), include seafood products, coconut derivatives, black pepper, and other handicrafts and goods. These are primarily destined for markets in Japan, Hong Kong, Guam, and the United States.

The largest single source of revenue is in the form of assistance from the United States government, which provides about 70 percent of the country's GDP in the form of grant assistance. Between 1986 and 2001, the United States, under the terms of the Compact of Free Association (COFA), provided the FSM with over US$1 billion in grants and aid. The compact was renewed in 2004 to run until 2024, with the United States providing an additional US$2.1 billion. The renewed compact included a trust fund to provide income for the FSM after 2024. Despite this, many analysts considered the FSM's economic outlook fragile.

A large amount of food supplies and manufactured goods, as well as all fuel and oil, are imported. Palikir officials aim to bring about a more prosperous and diversified economy through the expansion of the underdeveloped commercial fishing and tourism industries, along with foreign aid. A relatively small number of foreigners visit annually, a reflection of an underdeveloped tourist and transportation infrastructure that is hampered by inadequate accommodations and facilities, limited air and water connections to the islands, and the isolated location of the islands. Still, the government in Palikir has made efforts to promote the area's ancient ruins and historic sites and to develop a new ecotourism sector.

Landmarks

Palikir was built expressly as a governmental administrative center to replace the adjacent town of Kolonia as the FSM's capital. To ensure that the new administrative complex would harmonize with the surrounding landscape, Palikir's designers laid out a series of low-rise buildings landscaped with native flora.

The modern buildings incorporate elements of traditional Micronesian building styles, including the use of numerous columns for both structural and aesthetic purposes. In addition, the main thoroughfare was built in an east-west direction to take advantage of natural lighting as well as the cooling trade winds.

As a bureaucratic extension of Kolonia, Palikir proper lacks notable landmarks of its own. Kolonia, which dates to the late nineteenth century, however, has several attractions of note. It once served as the Spanish colonial government headquarters. The ruins of a defensive wall, built by the Spanish following an indigenous revolt during which the Spanish governor was murdered, are still standing.

Other landmarks of note include the bell tower on the site where a Catholic church, built by German colonials at the beginning of the twentieth century, once stood. The church, like most of the old town, was destroyed by the Japanese during World War II. It was a group of Japanese Christian missionaries, however, who built a European-style Protestant church in town during the 1930s. This was one of the few structures that survived the World War II bombing raids that reduced most of the surrounding area to rubble.

History

The Palikir Valley, site of the present-day capital, has been inhabited since ancient times. By 1000 CE, the area had come under the control of people from Nan Madol, a cluster of islets located on the reefs and tidal flats just southeast of Pohnpei. In fact, the ruined walls, temples, and tombs of the Nan Madol civilization represent one of the Pacific's most important archaeological sites.

The first European explorers encountered Pohnpei at the beginning of the sixteenth century, but an organized colonization of the area did not take place until the late nineteenth century. In 1886 Spain established what would become Kolonia, despite fierce indigenous resistance. A little over a decade later, Spain sold its rights in Pohnpei to Germany.

The Germans maintained control over the area until World War I, when the island came under Japanese authority. The Japanese took advantage of Palikir's strategic position during World War II when they stationed thousands of troops on Pohnpei. They completed a fortified airfield at Palikir, which was eventually crippled by Allied bombers.

In the postwar era, Palikir and surrounding territories became a United Nations (UN) trust territory under American administration. Toward the end of the 1960s, local leaders began negotiating with the United States for political autonomy. The new FSM officially emerged in 1979. Four years later, FSM voters approved the COFA with the United States, under which the FSM retained authority over its internal affairs but relied on the United States for its defense.

As part of the agreement, the United States government funded the 1989 construction of the new national capital of Palikir. The new capital was built on the site where the old Japanese airfield had once stood. The FSM joined the United Nations in 1991. Under the COFA Micronesians are eligible to live anywhere in the United States and territories without needing a visa and to served in the US armed forces.

Bibliography

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