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Micronesien |
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A group of more than 600 islands totaling only 270 square miles, located in the western Pacific Ocean north of the equator. These islands, along with what is now Palau, were part of the Spanish Caroline Islands until 1899, when they were sold to Germany, which issued stamps for use there. The Caroline Islands were seized by the Japanese during World War I and administered by them under a 1919 mandate of the League of Nations. Invaded and conquered by United States
forces in the Pacific campaigns of World War II, the islands were made
part of the United Nations-mandated U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific
in 1947, using U.S. stamps since that time. The islands were proclaimed
the Federated States of Micronesia and began issuing stamps in July
1984. Mail continues to be handled by the U.S. Postal Service.
Micronesia became fully independent in 1991. |
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