It is likely that it was previously visited in 1522 by the Spanish sailor Gonzalo de Vigo, deserter from the Magellan expedition in 1521, and also the first European castaway in the history of the Pacific.

In 1903, the island was leased to a Japanese company, who hunted birds for feathers for export to Japan, and from there to Paris.

During World War I, Asuncion came under the control of the Empire of Japan and was subsequently administered as the South Seas Mandate.

The entire island is a massive stratovolcano which rises from the ocean floor to a height of 857 m (2,812 ft) above sea level,[4] which last erupted in 1906.

[5] Other vegetation includes Swordgrass (Miscanthus floridulus) grasslands on the upper slopes, forests of Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), with some Pandanus trees and Papaya (Carica papaya) on the lower slopes, along with native Pisonia.