Across the Ocean
Yap Main Islands were populated by migrants from either Eastern Indonesia or the Philippines. Though archaeologists have not conclusively determined when or how Yap was settled, the arrival of settlers may have occurred as far back as two thousand BC. Over the years, probably after many trials and errors, the migrants had established a very successful system of agriculture with swamp taro and a sustainable inshore fishing method that had enabled Yap to have a population of more than 40,000 at one point. Most of the other islands of Yap State, on the other hand, were populated by migrants from the Eastern Micronesia via Melanesia. Long before the Europeans “discovered” the islands, there had been frequent trading voyages among the islands of Micronesia by well-developed sailing canoes.

The Legend
Once upon a time there was a fifth island named Seepin, 56 Km/35 miles to the Northeast of Rumung. One day the people of Seepin had a vision that terrible white-skinned people in a huge craft were coming to the islands and they called a meeting of all the chiefs to discuss what the local response should be to the impending arrival of the foreign "ghosts." The discussion raged on and on for many months, with some chiefs favoring a wait and see approach and the leaders of Seepin strongly urging that all the islands use their magic to sink beneath the seas to flee from the outsiders. The debate dragged on and the chiefs seemed paralyzed and unable to make a final decision. The foreign ship was coming, just as the leaders of Seepin had forewarned. As the mast of the ship crossed the horizon the people of Seepin broke off the talks and tearfully bid farewell to their friends from the other islands. Determined to avoid contact with the outsiders they called upon their greatest magicians and sank the entire island beneath the waves and were never seen again.

Encounter with the West
In 1525 the Portuguese explorer Diego Da Rocha arrived in Ulithi and stayed there for four months. This was the oldest written record ever found in which the names of the islands of Yap State appear. Over the next two centuries more than twenty other explorers and traders of Spanish, British, Dutch and American origin passed through the region but it was not until 1869, when a German trading company was established in Yap, that continuous contact with the outside world began. In the 1880s, with four foreign trading companies, Yap served as the biggest coal supply and the collection/trading base for sea cucumbers and copra in the Western Caroline Islands. Pope Leo XIII upheld Spain’s claim to theses islands but granted trading rights to Germany and other interested countries.

Wars and Occupation
In 1899 Spain sold Micronesia to Germany for $4.5 million after losing the Spanish-American War. The German administration lasted from 1899 to 1914. The Japanese army occupied the islands at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. With approval of the League of Nations, Japan officially started a civil government in Micronesia in 1920. During WWII the Japanese fortified the islands and built airfields.  On March 30, 1944, the first bombing by the Allies began on Colonia, on the almost completed airfield at the southern part of Yap and the airfield under construction in Tomil. Intensive bombing lasted until September 1944 when allied ground troops gave up invading Yap. Gardening began in a large part of the islands for the Japanese troop’s survival while American planes made daily raids until the end of the war. After WWII the United States of America gained control of Micronesia by a United Nations Trust Territory agreement.
Independence
In 1979, after four foreign administrations and over one hundred years of foreign dominance, Yap took the first step towards independence by becoming a state of the newly formed Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) along with Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. In 1986 the FSM entered the Compact of Free Association with the U.S. and in 1991 became a member of the United Nations. Yap State is a constitutional democratic state which establishes two councils of traditional leaders together with its executive, legislative and judiciary branches. The councils have the right to veto any legislation that effect traditional customs.

Yap State Flag
The flag’s design symbolizes three cultural elements, a traditional Yapese canoe with sail hoisted, stone money and a five-pointed star for navigation. The flag was adopted in 1980.