Pacific Islands home front during World War II

The civilian population, culture and infrastructure of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia (Pacific Islands) were completely changed between 1941 and 1945 because of the logistical requirements of the Allies in their war against Japan (taemfaet and daidowa in Micronesian or sahaya kana tuta in Melanesian).

After the initial scramble for positions by the Spanish, Dutch, English and French in the 19th century, Guam was ceded to America by Spain in 1899 and German-Samoa changed hands to become a New Zealand colony during the First World War.

[7] Because of the vast amount of information recorded by the Allied armies in comparison with the local populations of the Pacific, many of the events of the time are seen from their perspective.

Americans experienced the Pacific Islands including the U.S. organized incorporated territory of Hawaii through cinema and books which divided the inhabitants into submissive hula dancers or cannibals.

[12] Similar racial tension led to a riot in Wellington, New Zealand, when American soldiers would not allow Māori into the Allied Services Club.

While some foreign servicemen respected the locals for their fitness, friendliness and work ethic, most viewed the indigenous people as culturally and biologically inferior.

[21] In communities that had very little contact with Europeans before the war, the sudden arrival—and rapid departure—of such an unfathomable mass of men and machines had lasting religious effects, such as the so-called "cargo cults".

[24] Asian indentured servants in New Caledonia could not officially be employed by the Americans; however, they were heavily involved in the black market supply of goods and labor that developed.

[25] Advanced education on a level not previously seen in the territories Japan had colonized became readily accessible to their general populace during occupation, most notably in the region of Micronesia, where from 1922 to 1936 the number of primary schools increased from 3 to 23.

[26] The island of Bougainville and several local communities lying on the north coast of New Guinea saw their first elementary education during the early years of Japanese settlement.

Michael Somare, the first prime minister of Papua New Guinea, claimed that he spent his first year of primary education being taught in a Japanese-language school.