Ailinglaplap Atoll
Ailinglaplap or Ailinglapalap (Marshallese: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Template:IPAc-mh<ref>Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index</ref>) is a coral atoll of 56 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain in the Marshall Islands. It is located Template:Convert northwest of Jaluit Atoll. Its total land area is only Template:Convert, but it encloses a lagoon of Template:Convert. The economy of the atoll is dominated by coconut plantations. The population of the atoll was 1,175 in 2021.<ref name="2021census">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jabat Island is located off the coast of Ailinglaplap Atoll. The former president of the Marshall Islands, Kessai Note, was born on Jeh Island, Ailinglaplap Atoll.
"Ailinglaplap" translates as "greatest atoll" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (atoll) + {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (superlative suffix)), because the greatest legends of the Marshallese people were created there. The four major population centers on Ailinglaplap Atoll are the settlements of Wotja, at the westernmost end of the atoll, Jih in the northeast, and Airek and Bigatjelang in the south.
HistoryEdit
Captain Thomas Dennet of the British vessel Britannia sighted the atoll in 1797 on route from Australia to China and named it Lambert Island.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The British merchant vessel Rolla sighted several islands in the Ratak and Ralik Chains. On 6 November 1803 she sighted islands at Template:Coord, which was possibly Ailinglaplap Atoll. The next day six canoes of friendly natives came off.<ref>Foreign Ships in Micronesia: Marshalls - accessed 31 July 2015.</ref> Rolla had transported convicts from Britain to New South Wales and was on her way to Canton to find a cargo to take back to Britain.
In 1885, the German Empire claimed Ailinglaplap Atoll along with the rest of the Marshall Islands.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A number of European trading stations were established on the islands to Ailingkaplap as part of the copra trade. After World War I, the island came under the South Seas Mandate of the Empire of Japan. The base became part of the vast US Naval Base Marshall Islands. Following 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.
There are currently 4 Iroijlaplap (or paramount chief) of Ailinglaplap.
InfrastructureEdit
There are 3 airstrips on the atoll, which are served by Air Marshall Islands when its aircraft are operational:
- Ailinglaplap Airok Airport Template:Airport codes is located to the south: Template:Coord.
- Jeh Airport Template:Airport codes is located to the northeast: Template:Coord.
- Woja Airport Template:Airport codes is located to west: Template:Coord.
EducationEdit
Marshall Islands Public School System operates public schools:<ref>"Public Schools Template:Webarchive." Marshall Islands Public School System. Retrieved on February 21, 2018.</ref>
- Aerok Ailinglaplap
- Buoj Elementary School
- Enewa Elementary School
- Jah Elementary School
- Jeh Elementary School
- Jobwon Elementary School
- Katiej Elementary School
- Mejel Elementary School
- Woja Elementary School
Students are zoned to Jaluit High School in Jaluit Atoll.<ref>"Annual Report 2011-2012 Template:Webarchive." Ministry of Education (Marshall Islands). Retrieved on February 22, 2018. p. 54 (PDF p. 55/118). "As such, Jaluit High School enroll students from the Ralik and Iolab school zones including schools from Ebon, Namdrik, Kili, Jaluit, Ailinglaplap, Jabat, and Namu."</ref>
In the 1994–1995 school year Ailinglaplap had one private high school.<ref name=McMurrayetalp127>McMurray, Christine and Roy Smith. Diseases of Globalization: Socioeconomic Transition and Health. Routledge, October 11, 2013. Template:ISBN, 9781134200221. p. 127.</ref>
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Marshall Islands site
- {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }} Template:Sister project