Angaur

, or in Palauan, is an island and state in the island nation of Palau.

, or in Palauan, is an island and state in the island nation of Palau. ==History== , 1991) Angaur was traditionally divided among some eight clans. Traditional features within clan areas represent important symbols giving identity to families, clans and regions. These features include a variety of stone platforms with historical and traditional importance. Traditional cemeteries are frequently located in or around some of these stone platforms. The large quantities of shell recovered from archaeological sites gives evidence for an intensive exploitation of the limited lagoon surrounding the island and for collecting and fishing outside of the reef as well. On the island, the localized areas of soil were intensively used for garden plots. The first sighting of Angaur, Babeldaob, Koror, and Peleliu recorded by Westerners was by the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos at the end of January 1543. They were then charted as Los Arrecifes (The Reefs in Spanish). In November and December 1710, these three islands were again visited and explored by the Spanish missionary expedition commanded by Sargento Mayor Francisco Padilla on board of the patache Santísima Trinidad. Two years later they were explored in detail by the expedition of Spanish naval officer Bernardo de Egoy. From 1909 until 1954 phosphate mining took place on Angaur, originally by the Germans, then the Japanese, and finally by Americans. Angaur is the site of a major World War II battle. The Battle of Angaur was part of the larger offensive campaign called Operation Forager that ran from June to Nov 1944. Many American and Japanese battle relics remain scattered throughout the island. The 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion under Lieutenant colonel Henry R. Paige served as garrison forces for the remainder of the War. Angaur is the only place in Micronesia that has feral monkeys; they are descended from macaques that escaped during the period of German occupation. Thus it is also called Monkey Island. Angaur is accessible by boats and small planes, and Belau Air has service to Angaur Airstrip. From 1945¹ to 1978 the U.S. Coast Guard operated a LORAN transmitting station, LORSTA Palau, as part of the worldwide LORAN navigation system. ImageSize = width:auto height:360 barincrement:42 PlotArea = left:35 right:10 top:20 bottom:15 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical format:yyyy Colors = id:white value:gray(1) id:darkgr value:gray(0.5) id:litegr value:gray(0.8) BackgroundColors = canvas:white DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:325 AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = unit:year gridcolor:darkgr increment:100 start:0 ScaleMinor = unit:year gridcolor:litegr increment:10 start:0 BarData = bar:1995 text: 1995 bar:2000 text: 2000 bar:2005 text: 2005 bar:2012 text: 2012 PlotData = align:left anchor:from fontsize:L width:15 shift:(4,-6) textcolor:black bar:1995 from:0 till: 193 bar:2000 from:0 till: 188 bar:2005 from:0 till: 320 bar:2012 from:0 till: 130 PlotData = bar:1995 at: 193 fontsize:L text: 193 shift:(-15,5) bar:2000 at: 188 fontsize:L text: 188 shift:(-15,5) bar:2005 at: 320 fontsize:L text: 320 shift:(-15,5) bar:2012 at: 130 fontsize:L text: 130 shift:(-15,5) Ucherbelau is the title of the traditional high chief from the state. ==Languages== According to the state constitution of 1982¹, Angaur's official languages are Palauan (and the Angauran dialect in particular), English and Japanese. It is the only place in the world where Japanese is a de jure official language, as it is only the de facto official language of Japan. At the time the constitution was written, many of the elders participating in the process had been educated in Japanese, as was the practice once Japan gained control of the South Seas Mandate in 1914. However, the results of the 2005 census show that in April 2005 there were no usual or legal residents of Angaur aged 5 or older who spoke Japanese at home at all. No residents of Angaur reported themselves or were reported as being of Japanese ethnic origin. One person born (but apparently not residing) on Angaur reported to speak Japanese and Palauan equally often at home. The 2012 mini census showed 7 people¹ aged 10 or older literate in any language other than Palauan and English for Angaur, out of a total population of 130. ==Political system== Angaur has its own constitution, adopted in 1982. The state government was established in 1982. The state of Angaur, with population of less than 150, has an elected chief executive, governor. The state also has a legislature elected every two years. The state population elects one of the members of the House of Delegates of Palau. == Education== The Ministry of Education operates public schools. Angaur Elementary School was established in 1945. A new building in another location opened in 1953. It moved to the original site in 1966 in a new building but it later moved back to the second site. Palau High School in Koror is the country's only public high school, so children from this community go there. ==References== ==External links== Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Palau to the UK

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