The Bonin Islanders, also known as the Ogasawara Islanders or Ōbeikei tōmin (欧米系島民, lit.'European–American Islanders') in Japanese, are a Euronesian ethnic group native to the Bonin Islands (or Ogasawara Islands).[1] They are culturally and genetically distinct from other Japanese ethnic groups such as the Yamato, Ainu, and Ryukyuans as they are the modern-day descendants of a multitude of racial and ethnic groups including the Europeans, White Americans, Polynesians, and Kanaks who settled Hahajima and Chichijima in the 19th century.[2][3][4]

History

The first documented instance of human occupation of the Bonin Islands took place in 1830, when Matteo Mazzaro, a British citizen from Ragusa, Austria-Hungary (now Dubrovnik, Croatia), who would serve as governor, settled the island of Chichijima. He was accompanied by Nathaniel Savory, a White American from Massachusetts, John Millencamp, an American, Henry Webb and Charles Robinson, both Englishmen, Joaquim Gonsales, a Portuguese man, and approximately twenty Native Hawaiians, whose personal names were not recorded. Though Savory was American, his expedition had been commissioned by British forces, making it a British settlement.[5]

Surnames

  • Savory (セボリ, Sebori)[6]
  • Robinson (ロビンソン, Robinson)
  • Washington (ワシントン, Washinton)
  • Gilley (ギリー, Girī)[7][8]
  • Gonzalez (ゴンザレス, Gonzaresu)[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Reflections on Ogasawara: Remote Islands with American and Japanese Identities". nippon.com. 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  2. ^ Hanae Kurihara Kramer (June 1, 2018). "Original Inhabitants but Not 'First Peoples': The Peculiar Case of the Bonin Islanders". The Asian-Pacific Journal. 16 (11).
  3. ^ "Not everyone is celebrating the Ogasawara Islands' anniversary". Japan Times. 24 June 2008.
  4. ^ David Chapman (June 15, 2009). "Inventing Subjects and Sovereignty: Early History of the First Settlers of the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands". The Asian-Pacific Journal. 7 (24).
  5. ^ "Chichi Navy Brochure". members.tripod.com. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  6. ^ Corporation), NHK (Japan Broadcasting. "The Ogasawara Islands: A Multicultural Heritage | Japanology Plus - TV - NHK WORLD - English". /nhkworld/en/tv/japanologyplus/. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  7. ^ "Ogasawara islanders look back on years of war separation:The Asahi Shimbun". The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on 2019-02-12. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  8. ^ Agency, VII Photo (2017-03-16). "Ogasawara, the Mother Islands: An Uncounted Story of the American-Japanese Community in the…". Medium. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  9. ^ Fackler, Martin (2012-06-09). "Fewer Westerners Remain on Remote Japanese Island". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
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