28 RADIOLOGICAL CLEANUP OF ENEWEIAK AIOLL Description and History: 1526-1972 for extended periods at different times to work on the copra plantations on Ujelang andto visit the administrative headquarters on Ponape. Likewise, 29 DISCOVERY ERA: 1526 - 1886 subsequentincreases in population can be attributed to the return of the The recorded history of Enewetak begins in the l6th century and may be divided into four distinct eras. The first of these was the era of discovery Ujelang workers accompanied by Ujelang spouses. It should be noted that ~ the 1971 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) official census of281 dating from 1526 to 1886. This was followed by the German Protectorate ‘ and the 1972 census of 340 taken by J. A. Tobin include only those people from 1886 to 1914, the Japanese Mandate from 1914 to 1944, and the United States Trusteeship from 1944 to its expected expiration in 1981. The atoll was first reported as sighted by Spanish explorers in 1526. Three years later, a landing was made on Enewetak by Alvaro de Saavedra in October 1529. It was rediscovered on 13 December 1794 by Captain Thomas Butler who was engaged in the China trade. The atoll was given the name ‘‘Browne’s Range’ for a Mr. Browne, one of the associates in the firm employing Captain Butler. The name persisted, being used by the Japanese and even appearing on recent U.S. Hydrographic charts, although the ‘‘e”’ had been dropped and the islands had become ‘‘Brown Atoll.’” According to one source, the name Enewetak means ‘‘Land between West and of Enewetak in residence on Ujelang at the time. The 1972 figure of 432 includes these people as weil as those residing elsewhere.35.36 Estimates based on available census data indicate a growth rate of the Enewetak people from 1948 to 1973 of approximately 6 percent per year. Figure I-30 depicts projected population growth curves based on rates of growth of 3 percent, 5 percent, and 7 percent. If actual population growth lies within this range, these curves show that, in 1983, the population may be between 600 and 900 persons. Limitations on food supply or other resources might reduce population growth below the minimal curveof the chart, and, at some further time, the growth curve might tend to stabilize. At this time, however, there is insufficient data for an accurate East,’ but this is uncertain.38 projection.37 GERMAN PROTECTORATE: 1886 - 1914 12 11 LL 2 9 x aie fe0 EPRTt = 8 2 o ¢ j 5 6 1 PA aoshey | aT a 5 a peh eo a | eet ow 3% PER ED . —_ Le ee ee veAR tn ft en ar 71°72 «#73 «74 «#«+76 #76 #77 «+78 #+%79 198081 82 83 84 CALENDAR YEARS FIGURE 1-30. PROJECTED POPULATION CURVES, 1972-1986. 85 86 eae Be us 10 ee wo pee ee eee WA In 1886, Germany established a formal protectorate over the Marshal! Islands. The people of Enewetak, as well as other Marshallese, were given coconul seedlings by German traders and instructed in the growing, gathering, and converting of the meat of the coconut into copra. The Germans were also interested in whaling and established the Jaluit Company, a trading organization. Political and commercial administration was merged with the imperial administrator acting as the company’s chief official in residence. However, the atoll, being isolated, did not have much direct contact with the central government, and visits by foreigners were discouraged.39.40 German control was, on the whole, benign, and it did not arouse much antagonism in the Marshallese. Roads were built, health and sanitation were improved, and the islands were searched for potential sources of economic wealth. The Germans provided the islanders with protection from unscrupulous traders and helped them to enter the culture of the Western world.4! eo o a v4 JAPANESE MANDATE: 1914 - 1944 At the beginning of the First World War, Japan seized Enewetak, the other Marshall Islands, and all other German possessions in Micronesia.