Yapese Empire

The Yapese Empire was an ancient maritime empire located in the western Caroline Islands in the north Pacific region of Micronesia since around the 9th century, AD. In circa 950 AD, Yap became the seat of the empire when Gatcheper village in the chiefdom of Gagil (modern-day Gagil Municipality) established an expansive maritime trade network and exerted socioeconomic and political influence to its neighboring islands to the east. Although small and informal compared to other marine empires, the empire at its peak covered over 1,300 kilometers, stretching from the Yap main islands to parts of modern-day Chuuk State. The empire coexisted with the Tongan Empire located in the southern Pacific.