Belau High Sea

Palau, or Belau, is the western part of the Caroline Islands, where about 340 islands stand between the Philippines, Indonesia, the Federated States of Micronesia and open Pacific water. Babeldaob is the largest island; Koror and the limestone Rock Islands lie to its south, separated by reefs and channels.

Austronesian settlers reached these islands by about 1000 BCE. Villages developed around fishing, taro cultivation, stone paths, clan lands and meeting houses, while navigators read winds, currents and reef passages to connect communities. Many small islands and sheltered lagoons made movement possible without secure open-sea harbors. The archipelago reefs also provided fishing grounds and sheltered passages between its districts.

In 1696, Caroline Islanders shipwrecked near Samar described their home to Jesuit Paul Klein, who used pebbles to make the first European map of the Palau area. Jesuit attempts from the Philippines in 1700, 1708 and 1709 failed, but Francisco Padilla reached the islands in 1710. Palau then entered Spanish knowledge as a chain of densely inhabited islands rather than an empty anchorage. Its western communities were led by ranking clans and villages whose rivalries and alliances shaped the group before European ships arrived.