[1] It is the smallest atoll in Micronesia, with a total surface of only 13 km2[2] and a land mass of less than 1 km2.
[3] Prior to European colonialism in Micronesia, Namoluk was allied with Ettal, Oneop, and Lukunoch, in wars against Moch, Satawan, Kuttu, and Ta.
The next year, the explorer Fyodor Litke made first foreign contact with the locals aboard the Senyavin.
Litke and the locals parted on good terms, and whalers and traders started using Micronesian waters more.
[4]: 19–20 Prior to the introduction of imported trading goods in the early twentieth century, the people of Namoluk relied on the Pacific Island diet of seafood, fruits such as coconuts and breadfruit, and taro.