Wotho Atoll
Encyclopedia
Wotho Atoll is a coral atoll of 13 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain
of the Marshall Islands
. Its total land area is only 4.33 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi), but it encloses a lagoon of 94.92 square kilometres (36.6 sq mi). The name "Wotho" means either "entrance through the reef", or "island far away" according to different sources.
The population of Wotho Atoll was 160 in 1998.
ship America in 1835, although the Manila galleon
San Pedro under the command of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi
is also recorded as having visited the island in 1565. Wotho Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884. After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate
of the Empire of Japan
. the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986.
Ralik Chain
The Ralik Chain is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ralik means "sunset". It lies just to the west of the country's other island chain, the Ratak Chain...
of the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
. Its total land area is only 4.33 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi), but it encloses a lagoon of 94.92 square kilometres (36.6 sq mi). The name "Wotho" means either "entrance through the reef", or "island far away" according to different sources.
The population of Wotho Atoll was 160 in 1998.
History
The atoll was also known as Schantz Islands after Johan Eberhard von Schantz, who discovered the islands on his circumnavigation of the globe on the Imperial Russian NavyImperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
ship America in 1835, although the Manila galleon
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from...
San Pedro under the command of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi , also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo , was a Spanish conquistador who established one of the first European settlements in the East Indies and the Pacific Islands in 1565. He is the first Governor-General in the Philippines...
is also recorded as having visited the island in 1565. Wotho Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884. After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate
South Pacific Mandate
The was the Japanese League of Nations mandate consisting of several groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean which came under the administration of Japan after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.-Early history:Under the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, after the start of World...
of the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
. the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1986.-History:...
until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986.