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Nauru
In 1798 the British
occupied the Island and named it Pleasant Island. It was annexed by
Germany in 1888, occupied by Australia in 1917, made a British mandate
in 1919, occupied by the Japanese during World War II, made a UN trust
territory in 1947, and achieved independence in 1968.
The map on the stamp is a German map of the Marshall
Islands.
Philippine Islands
The Philippines are an
archipeligo of over 7,000 islands. Ferdinand Magellan discovered and
exsplored them in 1521. They became a Spanish colony in 1542. After
the Spanish-American War they were ceded to the United States (1898),
but the Filipinos declared their independence and engaged in guerrilla
war with the United States until 1902 when peace was established
except among the Islamic Moros on the southern island of Mindanao.
The Tydings-McDuffie Act (1934) provided for a
transitional period until 1946, at which time the Philippines would
become completely independent. Under a constitution approved by the
people of the Philippines in 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines
came into being with Manuel Quezon y Molina as president. In 1946 the
Philippines became independent.
A set of six stamps with the same map was issued by the
Commonwealth in 1937 to mark the Thirty-third International
Eucharistic Conference. Only one of the stamps is shown.
The Japanese invaded the
Philippines December 8, 1941 and Manila fell on January 2, 1942. The
American and Filipino defenders withdrew to the Bataan peninsula.
Under Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright they fought a delaying
action for five month until April 9th when were forced to surrender.
General Wainwright and about 10,000 American and Filipino troops
escaped to Corregidor Island where, cut off from all supplies and
reinforcements, they held out for another month.
Following the surrender of Bataan the Japanese forced
70,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war to march 55 miles to San
Fernando where they were taken by train to Capas for the final 8 mile
march to Camp O’Donnell. Only 54,000 reached the camp.
The stamp was issued in May 7, 1943 to mark the first
anniversary of the Japanese conquest of the Philippines. It shows
Manila Bay, with Bataan peninsula and the island of Corregidor.
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