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Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Pacific Ocean |
Coordinates | 0°54′32″N134°18′17″E / 0.90889°N 134.30472°E |
Total islands | 5 |
Administration | |
Province | Papua |
Mapia Atoll (Indonesian: Kepulauan Mapia), historically known as the Freewill Islands or San David, is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It is located in Papua province of Indonesia, approximately 190 kilometers north of the city of Manokwari and 630 kilometers from the islands of Palau. It consists of two main islands, Bras (Berasi) and Pegun (Mapia), the smaller Fanildo, and two minor islands, Bras Kecil (Little Bras) and Fanildo Kecil (Little Fanildo). The islands constitute a part of West Supiori District within Supiori Regency, Papua. The population at the 2020 Census was 199. [1]
The atoll was once part of the Spanish Empire under the name of Güedes. According to Spanish researcher Emilio Pastor in a paper submitted to his government in 1948, a number of small islands in Micronesia (Kapingamarangi or Coroa, Mapia or Güedes, Ocea (now Kiritimati) or Matador, and Rongerik or Pescadores) continue legally under Spanish sovereignty. This is because the text of the German–Spanish Treaty of 1899 which transferred sovereignty of certain Spanish possessions in the Pacific to Germany, namely the Northern Mariana Islands (except Guam) and the Caroline Islands (including Palau), failed to include these smaller islands. Although the Spanish government studied the case in 1949 and accepted this interpretation, it has never formally reclaimed the islands. [2]
The atoll was part of Tidore Sultanate as part of the Papoua Gam Sio ("The Nine Negeri of Papua"), [3] and the local Mapia chieftain was given the title Sangaji Meraudi. Biak sailors have been sailing to the island for centuries, primarily from Supiori, after returning from this journey they will tattoo themselves in the shape seagull (Manmarmar). [4]
The extinct Mapia language was spoken on the islands until the end of the 20th century. As of 2000, according to Ethnologue, there was one elderly speaker of the language remaining on the islands. [5]
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oceania.
The Schouten Islands are an island group of Papua province, eastern Indonesia in the Cenderawasih Bay 50 km off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea. The group consists of the main islands of Biak, Supiori and Numfor, and numerous smaller islands, mostly covered in rain forest.
The Kai Islands of Indonesia are a group of islands in the southeastern part of the Maluku Islands, located in the province of Maluku. The Moluccas have been known as the Spice Islands due to regionally specific plants such as nutmeg, mace, and cloves that originally intrigued the European nations of the 16th century.
Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals.
Rongerik Atoll or Rongdrik Atoll is an unpopulated coral atoll of 17 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and is located in the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands, approximately 200 kilometers (120 mi) east of Bikini Atoll. Its total land area is only 1.68 square kilometers (0.65 sq mi), but it encloses a lagoon of 144 square kilometers (56 sq mi).
Yap State, is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The other states are Kosrae State, Pohnpei State, and Chuuk State.
Cenderawasih Bay, also known as Sarera Bay and formerly Geelvink Bay, is a large bay in northern Province of Papua, Central Papua and West Papua, New Guinea, Indonesia.
Misool, formerly spelled Mysol or Misol, is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. Its area is 2,034 km2. The highest point is 561 m and the main towns are Waigama, located on the island's northwest coast, and Lilinta on the island's southeast coast.
The German–Spanish Treaty of 1899, signed by the German Empire and the Kingdom of Spain, involved Spain selling the majority of its Pacific possessions not lost in the Spanish–American War to Germany for 25 million pesetas.
New Guinea is the world's second-largest island, with an area of 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq mi). Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the 150-kilometre wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The name "New Guinea" was given by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez during his maritime expedition of 1545 due to the resemblance of the indigenous peoples of the island to those in the African region of Guinea.
Supiori Regency is a regency in the Indonesian province of Papua. The Regency has an area of 634.24 km2 including the Aruri Islands group to the south, and had a population of 15,874 at the 2010 Census and 22,547 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 23,247 - comprising 12,056 males and 11,191 females. Until 8 January 2004, this area was part of the Biak Numfor Regency, from which it was split off in accordance with the Law dated 18 December 2003.
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to Oceania.
Mapia is an extinct Micronesian language of Indonesia. It was spoken on Mapia Atoll, 180 km north of the coast of New Guinea, part of Supiori Regency. The population emigrated early in the 20th century the only speaker as of 2000 was an elderly man who had remained behind on the island. The rest of the population of Mapia are now Biak-speaking immigrants.
The Thousand Islands are a chain of islands to the north of Jakarta's coast. It forms the only regency of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. It consists of a string of 342 islands stretching 45 km (28 mi) north into the Java Sea at West Jakarta Bay and in fact north of Banten Province. Pramuka Island is the regency seat. The islands, along with North Jakarta, is the only two regions in Jakarta with a coastline.