According to the FSM Visitors website, scientific evidence suggests that the islands were first settled 2,000 to 3,000 years ago by migrants from Southeast Asia.
Portuguese explorers arrived on the islands of Yap and Ulithi in 1525, followed shortly thereafter by the Spanish who established a colonial government at Yap. The Spanish turned the colony over to Germany in 1899, but the Germans lasted only until 1914, when the Japanese took control.
During the early period of Japanese control, settlers poured in from Japan and industry grew up around sugar cane, mining and fishing. According to the Visitors Board, heavy bombing and Japanese exploitation during World War II destroyed much of the island's infrastructure and resources.
In 1947, the United Nations created the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI), which consisted of the current FSM as well as other areas such as the Marshall Islands. The United States was named the trustee of the TTPI.
Three decades later during a referendum held on July 12, 1978, the inhabitants of the islands of Yap, Kusaie, Chuuk and Pohnpei voted to form the sovereign state known as the Federated States of Micronesia. On May 10, 1979, the islands formed the first state and federal governments, with Tosiwo Nakayama chosen as the first president.
