Kosrae Constitution Day – January 11, 2027

History of Kosrae Constitution Day

Archeological evidence shows signs of Kosrae Island being settled in the early years of 10 and 1000 A.D., including the city of Leluh, which existed from about 1250 to 1850 A.D., having had a population of about 1,500 in its heyday and occupying some 27 hectares. The island featured burial pyramids for its noble natives.

Lvaro de Saavedra, a Spanish navigator returning from Tidore to New Spain on September 14, 1529, was the first Westerner to see Kosrae Island. In 1668, the island was formally handed to the Spanish, who essentially occupied it by 1885. When European explorers had their initial contact with Kosrae in 1824, the island had a highly stratified society, which was typical of the time for the nearby islands. Matrilineal lineage and clans, a feudal system centered on aristocracy (members of which possessed land that was worked by commoners), and villages made up of tiny families who would live together in cookhouses were all characteristics of Kosrae culture.

Congregationalists founded the first mission station on Kosrae in 1852, and by the 1870s, nearly the entire island had converted to Christianity. In the modern era, Kosrae is home to numerous Christian sects, and religion continues to play a significant part in society. Bully Hayes shipwrecked at Kosrae on March 15, 1874, after his ship, The Leonora, became stuck in Utwe harbor due to a storm. For seven months, Hayes resided in Utwe, terrorizing the people. British investigators detained him in September 1874, but he managed to escape on a 14-foot boat made from wood salvaged from the ruins of the Leonora.