legatum limited , also known as legatum , is a private investment firm headquartered in dubai , united arab emirates .

with a long-term perspective , legatum invests proprietary capital in global capital markets .

the firm also invests in activities to promote entrepreneurship and free enterprise , programs to create the policies that promote prosperity , and initiatives to alleviate poverty .

legatum

is the silent founding backer of the legatum institute foundation and other branches of the legatum brand .
glassdoor has 18 legatum reviews submitted anonymously by legatum employees . read employee reviews and ratings on glassdoor to decide if legatum is right for you .
legatum fellows are expected to be fully engaged participants in the legatum community . expectations for engagement include :
the legatum center was established through a gift to mit by christopher chandler’s legatum foundation . legatum means legacy in latin . mr . chandler , the quieter of the two
legatum acquires building 6 in the dubai international financial centre ( difc ) as its new international headquarters , renaming it legatum plaza .
the legatum center at mit 77 mass ave , e48 - 401 cambridge , ma 02139 usa t + 1 . 617 . 324 . 1875 e legatum @ urltoken w http : / / legatum . urltoken / casestudies
quadir is now at mit running the legatum center for development and entrepreneurship , funded with a $ 50 million long - term investment by the legatum group .
level 3 , legatum plaza dubai intl . financial centre dubai , united arab emirates
the programme is led by hywel williams , senior adviser at the legatum institute .
glassdoor gives you an inside look at what it ' s like to work at legatum , including salaries , reviews , office photos , and more . this is the legatum company profile . all content is posted anonymously by employees working at legatum .
further social development initiatives through the legatum foundation , the development arm of the legatum group , have led to investments which have impacted over 270 million people since 1999 .
for more information on the legatum group and our other divisions , please visit urltoken .
the legatum foundation , the development arm of the legatum group , allocates capital to projects , people and ideas that create sustainable prosperity amongst the poorest and most marginalised in society .
legatum has granted over $ 1 million to the north haiti environment and economic empowerment programme .
legatum , admiring campell’s undeniable passion , later appointed him as chairman of the end fund .
legatum becomes a partnership , providing a structure for the firm to endure beyond its founders .
if you have any questions regarding the fellowship , please email legatum - fellowship @ urltoken .
the legatum prosperity index™ offers a unique insight into how prosperity is forming and changing across the world .
official site - legatum foundation is an international private investment organisation that promotes sustainable development throughout the world .
legatum is a global private investment firm with a 30 - year heritage of long - term value creation . in addition to investments in the global capital markets , legatum’s portfolio includes investments in the following initiatives :
legatum is a global private investment firm with a 30 - year heritage of long - term value creation .
by creating principled leaders , the legatum center is generating enduring solutions that tackle the world’s most pressing challenges .
dominic st . george is co - portfolio manager in legatum’s capital markets team , responsible for research and management of legatum’s investment portfolio . prior to joining legatum in 2016 , dominic was a partner at nevsky capital in london . dominic is aca qualified with deloitte and has a ba hons in economics from trinity college , dublin .
launched in partnership with independent public organisation legatum institute and funded by investment firm legatum group , the centre’s core goal is to promote entrepreneurship within both media and government with additional plans to provide resources and guidance for entrepreneurs .
legatum began addressing the scourge of neglected tropical diseases ( ntds ) in 2006 . the remarkable success of its pilot programmes in rwanda and burundi led to the establishment of the end fund by the legatum foundation in 2012 .
the future is something alan mccormick , managing director of the dubai - headquartered legatum group , strongly believes in .
institute for public policy research the ippr rose out of the ashes of labour ' s 1987 election defeat , aiming to invigorate leftwing thinking . the legatum institute the legatum institute is an independent policy , advocacy and advisory organisation .
legatum partnerships allow us to co - develop beautiful buildings that improve their surrounding areas while maintaining their cultural identity . buildings with smart and sustainable design that all shareholders find pride in . this is the legacy legatum is building .
legatum capital , the main piece of the legatum group , is a long - term commercial investment firm working in global capital markets . from its sovereign global heritage , the organization has experience investing in oil , steel , refining , banking and other sectors around the world . financial data for legatum capital was not available on the company’s website .
legatum ' s mission is to generate and allocate the capital and ideas that can help people live more prosperous lives .
legatum ' s story began more than a century ago . scroll down the page to learn more about our journey .
cumulative granting by the legatum foundation has impacted more than 100 million lives through 1 , 440 projects in 107 countries .
prosperity is more than just the accumulation of material wealth , it is also the joy of everyday life and the prospect of an even better life in the future . watch legatum institute ' s introduction video to the legatum prosperity index .
the legatum center has supported 235 fellows over the past 10 years and our community continues to strengthen year by year .
the next step on the journey , and legatum’s near - term vision , is to see the end fund work together with its partners to free a billion people of these diseases in the next ten years . legatum believes that nothing is impossible .
the legatum center empowers the mit community to accelerate social and economic progress across the developing world through innovation - driven entrepreneurship .
the legatum center supports entrepreneurs all around the world through the fellowship , seed grant , zambezi prize and open mic programs .
philip vassiliou is a chief investment officer and partner at legatum , primarily responsible for the oversight of legatum’s capital markets activities and the legatum ventures portfolio . mr vassiliou previously worked for the dubai development investment authority , promoting foreign direct investment , and in the equities & private wealth divisions of goldman sachs in new york and london . mr vassiliou is a graduate of babson college .
legatum center cases are available free to all registered users at thecasecentre . org . click on a case title below to access its record . if you are unable to access the cases or teaching notes through the website , please contact legatum @ urltoken .
this program’s origins actually date back to 2007 , when we piloted the program in west africa with legatum foundation and stromme foundation .
legatum’s involvement with the end fund remains very strong ; its role continuing to flourish , as adviser , donor and active partner .
the name legatum is derived from the latin word meaning a ‘legacy’ or ‘gift’ . the concept of serving and giving is deeply rooted in legatum’s values and expressed in its mission to generate and allocate the capital and ideas that help people live more prosperous lives .
miucrocapital story , october 10 , 2007 : “ legatum invests $ 8 . 4m in mumbai - based microfinance investment consultant , intellecap”
microcapital story , may 17 , 2007 : “share microfin ltd . receives historically largest indian microfinance equity investment from legatum and aavishkaar goodwell”
andrew doust is vice president of strategy at legatum , a private investment group . the legatum foundation ’s philanthropic portfolio invests in catalytic global development programmes and has allocated more than $ 100m to health , human liberty , education and economic empowerment projects in 107 countries .
damien tran is co - portfolio manager in legatum’s capital markets team , responsible for research and management of legatum’s investment portfolio . prior to joining legatum in 2012 , damien started as an investment analyst at merrill lynch in london in 1999 and then worked for ziff brothers investment and the children’s investment fund before founding his own fund . damien earned a msc in finance from essec business school in france .
legatum is a private investment partnership with a 30 year heritage of long term value creation through investments in global capital markets . legatum invests proprietary capital in listed businesses with a focus on identifying hidden or unrealised value in investment themes that are often played out over years .
following the de - merger of sovereign , christopher chandler founds legatum with mark stoleson , philip vassiliou and alan mccormick . based in dubai , legatum draws on sovereign’s investment heritage , navigates through the choppy markets following the great financial crisis and sets a course for the future .
in 2015 , the legatum institute was delighted to welcome students from the harris experience—a cultural and academic enhancement programme run by the harris federation .
. the institute continues to publish the annual legatum prosperity index™ , a global index that measures national prosperity based on both wealth and wellbeing .
microcapital story , may 31 , 2007 : “new zealand - based billionaire’s legatum group buys $ 4 . 5 million stake in indian microfinance firm”
. @ sanergy , cofounded by legatum fellows , mentioned in this recent news clip from @ watsupafrica on efforts to improve nairobi ' s sanitation .
located in central london , the centre for entrepreneurs is a non - profit joint venture between think tank , the legatum institute and entrepreneur luke johnson .
the goal of the legatum center is to support fellows who bring elements of mr . quadir’s quadruple win style of entrepreneurship to low - income countries .
legatum fellow , aukrit unahalekhaka was recently highlighted in agfunder news for raising 1 . 85m for his venture ricult . read the full article in agfunder .
i applied through a recruiter . the process took 1 day . i interviewed at legatum ( dubai ( united arab emirates ) ) in january 2017 .
it was for this reason that they established an organisation independent of the legatum name , sought and empowered a ceo to lead the new initiative , and invited other donors to join them in their endeavour . by relieving themselves of ownership , legatum instead became a passionate adviser , donor and active partner .
the royal family of hrh princess moudi in saudi arabia has committed to supporting legatum fellowships through a generous gift to the legatum center . the hrh princess moudi bint khalid fellowships prepare citizens and long - term residents of saudi arabia for entrepreneurial careers that contribute to economic and social progress in the region .
sovereign was disbanded in 2006 , the brothers struck out alone and now christopher chandler ' s legatum operates both a huge fund and a growing philanthropic arm . it has also set up the legatum institute
to promote the principles that drive the creation of global prosperity and the expansion of human liberty .
the centre is named after chandler ' s dubai - based legatum investment empire .
aid plays an important part in development but it ' s a very limited role ,
says alan mccormick , managing director of legatum global development .
actually funding people in poverty takes a much more creative view .
legatum is a private investment group with a 30 year heritage of global investment , allocating proprietary capital to businesses and to programmes that promote sustainable human development .
it was after the success in burundi and rwanda that legatum first began to think bigger about the issue at hand and consider a global fund for ntds .
the legatum foundation launches the luminos fund , a philanthropic partnership focussed on helping 121 million out - of - school children around the world restart their education .
in 2006 , the legatum foundation committed us $ 8 . 9 million to combat seven ntds in rwanda and burundi using two new concepts of treatment delivery .
since 1999 , legatum has allocated over us $ 110 million to 1 , 480 life - changing projects , impacting over 270 million lives globally . learn more
the firm’s mission is to generate and allocate the capital and ideas that help people live more prosperous lives . legatum has a particular focus on encouraging and enabling entrepreneurship , the engine of growth and development , with the view that it is the catalyst for improved governance and social transformation . legatum’s investment in the center equips legatum fellows with the skills they need to succeed , not just as entrepreneurs , but as agents for change who will transform society and improve global wellbeing .
the legatum group is a global investment company that promotes sustainable development of countries around the globe . it set up the legatum foundation in 2000 with a mission
to alleviate the misery of those living in abject poverty and elevate their basic living conditions
and mccormick is proud of the work his teams are doing .
in partnership with legatum , we are launching the speed school fund , a pooled donor fund that aims to get six million children back into school by 2030 .
“together with legatum , we went to a school where a group of children were being handed these pills that would keep these awful bugs at bay , ’’ recalls campbell . “i was sold from that point on . when i actually saw the children being given these pills i was convinced by the work that legatum had been doing for the past few years . our family foundation lined up very well with legatum’s vision for the end fund , which provided a real bang for your buck . ”
over the past decade , legatum has funded over 125 projects aimed at educating and rescuing those caught up in human trafficking and slavery in countries like ghana and ecuador .
the legatum fellowship helped me expand my vision , management skills , network and even my desire to help people . not only has this support given me the courage to launch my venture , but it has also taught me to think big because anything is possible . – javier lozano , ceo , clinicas del azucar , legatum fellow –
legatum’s philanthropic portfolio includes investments in activities to promote entrepreneurship and free enterprise , programmes to create the policies and ideas that promote prosperity , and initiatives to alleviate poverty .
the legatum center for development and entrepreneurship creates economic opportunity for ordinary citizens in low - income countries by supporting the innovative and transformative business concepts and technologies of aspiring entrepreneurs .
rohan agarwal is an investment analyst in legatum’s capital markets team , responsible for research and analysis of existing and potential investments in various markets across the world . prior to joining legatum in 2014 , rohan was an associate at pimco in new york . rohan is a graduate of yale university with a b . a . in applied mathematics and history .
the ideal legatum fellow will bring a deep level of know - how to his or her venture ( whether related to a technical field , geographic area and / or industry sector ) and thus have a competitive edge to lead their venture to success . it is key that these leaders are also self - motivated visionaries who embody the legatum mission .
the nine - storey 128 , 000 square foot building is to be renamed legatum plaza and the firm plans to move into two floors that will form its new global headquarters .
the legatum foundation is the development arm of the legatum group , allocating capital at the bottom of the prosperity ladder to projects , people and ideas that create sustainable prosperity . we are inspired by the belief that every life is of infinite value , and for over a decade have funded thousands of small , community - based organisations across the developing world .
entrepreneurship is the engine of growth and development and a catalyst for improved governance and social transformation . encouraging and enabling entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to lift people out of poverty and promote prosperity . legatum has invested in entrepreneurship by founding and supporting the legatum center for development and entrepreneurship at mit and the centre for entrepreneurs ( cfe ) in london .
harriet maltby , a government & economic policy researcher with the legatum institute , provides deeper insight into the facts behind the report results in the interview conducted via e - mail below .
aid by definition is not sustainable . ultimately all communities need businesses . the legatum foundation is always trying to identify private sector solutions and create an enabling environment for entrepreneurs .
using mit alumni and legatum fellow bilikiss adebiyi - abiola as an example , the economist discusses the business schools that are increasingly keen to teach entrepreneurial skills to their students . the economist
ideas have a profound influence on the formation of society ; from the values we embrace individually to the form of government we choose collectively . through the legatum institute in london , legatum invests in tackling the major challenges of our generation and seizing the major opportunities to ensure the legacy we pass on to the next generation is one of increasing prosperity and human flourishing .
join the legatum center for development and entrepreneurship at mit for a conversation on how entrepreneurs are launching innovation - driven ventures that create opportunities for women to participate in their local economies .
covering 96 % of the world’s population and 99 % of global gdp , the legatum prosperity index™ provides a more complete picture of global prosperity than any other tool of its kind .
12 . iceland —with a population of just over 320 , 000 people , the nordic island nation is in legatum ' s top 17 countries for governance for the second year running .
the legatum institute’s 2014 prosperity index judges countries both in terms of income and measures of wellbeing . when the index first launched in 2007 , the us tied for the # 1 spot .
the global investment group legatum has bought precinct building 6 of the dubai international financial centre ( difc ) - one of the few freehold buildings not directly owned by the financial free zone .
legatum is driven by a deeper purpose . our vision is to see a more prosperous world for all , and we are committed to using our capital to help make that a reality .
as one of the most reputable male city residences on the bloemfontein campus of the ufs , legatum provides a platform for each young man to develop his own unique approach to tertiary life , while ensuring that the necessary support and guidance is provided , resulting in a well - rounded gentleman . you were born to stand out . make the right choice . legatum welcomes you .
, supports the legatum center and its mission to bring prosperity to the developing world through entrepreneurship . the center also enjoys support from the mastercard foundation , with an eye toward projects in africa .
the main achievement of legatum in relation to ntds over the past decade can be encapsulated in the 330 million treatments their funding has unlocked . their work has also led to alan fenwick’s organisation sci winning the prestigious queen’s anniversary prize 2008 . fenwick’s gratitude and praise is grounded in the fact that legatum were willing to fund mda when other funders considered it either too risky or simply unproven .
in the same year legatum launches the africa awards for entrepreneurship programme , a pan - africa business competition that recognises and rewards the role models who are the inspiration for the continent’s continued growth .
the luminos fund is based on the success of the speed school programme funded by the legatum foundation which has helped over 110 , 000 children get back to school in west africa and ethiopia .
applications will be reviewed by legatum staff , as well as a committee of mit faculty and industry experts . evaluations will be based on the eligibility , applicant , and venture qualifications described above .
teaching notes for the cases are restricted to educators who may use them to facilitate class discussions . legatum cases are appropriate for undergraduate - and graduate - level courses in international business and entrepreneurship .
15 . austria — the german - speaking country is a non - mover , having come 15th in legatum ' s last index . it is due to elect a new president in december .
kamil zniber is an investment analyst in legatum’s capital markets team , responsible for research and analysis of existing and potential holdings . prior to joining legatum in 2016 , kamil was a senior associate in citadel’s long / short equity team out of london . kamil graduated from the huntsman program at the university of pennsylvania with a bsce from wharton and a ba degree from the college of arts and sciences .
fellowships the legatum center offers fellowships for incoming and current mit students who have demonstrated a commitment to impact in the developing world through their entrepreneurial ventures . the legatum fellowship is a selective , year - long leadership program that provides personalized programming , networking and mentorship , entrepreneurial skills and knowledge development , and financial support ( including tuition support , stipend and seed grants ) to launch and scale ideas .
with a further $ 3 . 3 million , legatum replicated this programme in rwanda , where they also had a presence . whilst a seemingly obvious approach , legatum and fenwick’s model was the first of this nature that had ever been undertaken . the overall model proved to be a very significant innovation , instantaneously making its mark on history . legatum was able to fund the entire project , implementing all work in the field through geneva global . in addition , pharmaceutical companies , glaxosmithkline , johnson & johnson , merck , pfizer and merck serono , played an overwhelmingly generous role of donating the majority of medicines .
jon springer : the entrepreneurship & opportunity index has shown the most growth globally , more than doubling since the legatum prosperity index began in 2009 . where do you see the exemplars of this in asia ?
legatum’s mission is to generate and allocate the capital and ideas that help people live more prosperous lives and this has led to investments in social development initiatives which have impacted over 270 million people since 1999 .
in 2012 , legatum established the end fund as an independent vehicle to bring together private donors to accomplish one big goal : to see an end to neglected tropical diseases ( ntds ) in our lifetime .
the brothers have cultivated an air of mystery . the legatum centre ' s director , iqbal quadir , describes christopher chandler as a
very global person who cares about how the world is shaping up
.
the legatum fortune technology prize will encourage business to tackle poverty through technology . at brainstorm tech , the discussion ranged from apple to the next xo laptop , and from changing tech standards to changing the world .
the global network for neglected tropical diseases , mainly in burundi and rwanda . legatum ' s funding launched country - focused programmes with an integrated approach to disease prevention that included governments , the pharmaceutical industry and local partners . legatum also facilitated the launch of the world ' s first integrated large - scale , multi - year , country - wide ntd study and associated follow - up programme , treating millions of people .
campbell’s appointment accelerated legatum’s search for a ceo , and soon enough , they met ellen agler who had been serving as “senior vice president for international programs” at operation smile , an international medical charity for children .
the legatum foundation partners with two leading anti - slavery activists and donors to create the freedom fund , an ambitious seven - year effort to raise and deploy $ 100 million to combat modern - day slavery .
david matthew is head of trading in legatum ' s capital markets team . prior to joining legatum in 2012 , david was the head of trading at montrica investment management and the head of european trading at tpg - axon capital management . david also worked in various roles at caxton europe asset management and deutsche bank . david is a cfa charterholder and holds a ba in economics from the university of california - irvine .
legatum development is looking for like - minded , accredited investors that share our vision and desire to create new developments together . if you are interested , please get in touch by filling out the form below .
here she had managed programmes to provide comprehensive care to children with cleft lips and cleft palates in over 60 countries in latin america , the middle east , africa and asia . her experience and expertise were a sure fit for legatum’s long - term vision for the global fund they were creating . and so , the baton was passed onto agler , whom legatum was confident would serve well as the end fund’s inaugural ceo .
legatum ventures also invests in companies that help improve the technological abilities of mfis . these investments include a usd 4 . 5m share in fino , which provides technological infrastructure for financial institutions , and a usd 2m for a 13 percent share of a . little . world , a company that provides banking services through mobile phones and biometrics . according to mix market , legatum ventures has invested usd 59 . 9m in microfinance .
mark stoleson is the president of both legatum capital and legatum global development . he received his ba in international relations from occidental college and a jd - llm from duke university law school . stoleson was president of sovereign global development and head of group investments at sovereign global investment . prior to joining sovereign he worked as an attorney for akin gump strauss hauer & feld llp , in moscow , russia and dallas , texas .
research - driven innovation the legatum center connects students to faculty and researchers across campus doing high - impact research at the intersection of development and entrepreneurship . starting in fall 2016 , the center started offering research assistantships for students seeking to understand and develop programmatic and policy interventions that promote systems change in the developing world through innovation - driven entrepreneurship . the legatum center also writes case studies as education tools for students and educators .
the legatum prosperity index offers another way to think about and rate how economies and quality of life within them are developing hand - in - hand . as noted in a recent report by the world bank on the
in addition to investments in the global capital markets , legatum’s portfolio includes investments in activities to promote entrepreneurship and free enterprise , programmes to create the policies and ideas that promote prosperity , and initiatives to alleviate poverty .
the legatum center for entrepreneurship at the massachusetts institute of technology is founded to challenge aid - based development orthodoxy and to promote a movement centred on free markets and entrepreneurship as the catalyst for economic and social change .
the firm continues to draw on its rich heritage of generating exceptional returns by investing in great companies . with the flexibility provided by proprietary capital , legatum takes a long - term approach to investing . with a global mandate , legatum is not bound by specific geographies or sectors , although historically the firm finds value where disruptive transitions create unique opportunities . a concentrated portfolio sees continued investment in opportunities with significant long - term potential .
launched in september 2011 , the speed school initiative in ethiopia is an expansion of the model first pioneered by the 2007–2010 west africa speed school initiative - a programme jointly funded by the legatum foundation and strømme foundation .
we at legatum value our greatest commodity , which is our members . standing firm on our three guiding pillars – honour , unity , and strength – we seek to instil a true sense of belonging within the brotherhood .
the legatum fellowship financial award can only be applied towards mit educational expenses , such as tuition , stipend , and / or medical insurance . funds from the legatum center may be received to supplement , but not to duplicate , financial awards from other mit departments or from other foundations , institutions , or organizations . the combined financial award from all sources may not exceed the maximum limitation as prescribed by mit’s cost - of - attendance budget .
mission : legatum’s mission is
to generate and allocate the capital and ideas that help people live more prosperous lives
and this has led to investments in social development initiatives which have impacted over 100 million people since 1999 .
this , however , is the firm’s first foray into the microfinance space . “we are committed to social development through legatum global development that promotes global prosperity by using market - based solutions to solve long term development . we chose india as a destination among all other markets , because we feel that there is a huge untapped opportunity in providing even the basic financial needs to the rural poor in india , ” said mark stoleson , president , legatum capital .
“from the beginning , in terms of realising a dream , following an idea , or sowing seeds , legatum have provided the most useful kind of support , ” says agler . “certainly not just in terms of funding but with marketing , legal support , going into the field to visit programmes , hiring employees . i still speak with alan every two weeks . legatum are there , wherever they are needed . they are absolutely exceptional - amazing partners . ”
new york ( fortune ) - - fortune this week announced the legatum fortune technology prize , an annual $ 1 million award intended to reward for - profit efforts to provide products and services to the poor through the use of technology .
georgina campbell flatter , meng ( oxon ) sm , is a senior lecturer in technological innovation , entrepreneurship , and strategic management at the mit sloan school of management and the executive director of the mit legatum center for development and entrepreneurship .
t he dubai - based legatum foundation has donated $ 150 , 000 to kick - start an ebola crisis fund to help stem the spread of the deadly disease sweeping west africa , by boosting local organisations raising awareness of transmission and infection .
- the paperwork and bureaucracy in dubai in relation to financial processes can lead to extended time taken to do simple tasks . - when corresponding with suppliers you may have to spell ' legatum ' phonetically to ensure they capture the name correctly .
the legatum prosperity index , 2017 - africa top 10 | @ legatuminst 1 . mauritius 2 . south africa 3 . botswana 4 . namibia 5 . ghana 6 . rwanda 7 . tunisia 8 . morocco 9 . kenya 10 . zambia urltoken
whilst on a trip to rwanda to see some of their development work being implemented by geneva global , the legatum leadership team were introduced to bill campbell , who was coincidentally staying in the same hotel . fate was again playing its part .
reflecting on legatum’s extraordinary journey in this sector , mccormick says : “the rwanda and burundi projects legatum catalysed in 2006 were an experiment . they accomplished far in excess of what we originally envisaged but that has now given us and others a vision to see these diseases eradicated in our lifetime . it can be done and it should be done . the end fund is a beautiful example of what can be done when people with a vision collaborate and work together on a problem . ”
why does an investment firm care about helping others ? legatum is driven by a deeper purpose . our vision is to see a more prosperous world for all , and we are committed to using our capital to help make that a reality .
working alongside government donors , philanthropists and pharmaceutical companies that had provided drugs , legatum gave $ 9m to start pilot programmes in burundi and rwanda , with the aim of distributing doses of the drug praziquantel , to treat schistosomiasis , in schools .
legatum ventures , the venture capital arm of legatum global development , has made a several investments in the microfinance sector . the group invested usd 20m in the unitus equity fund ii ( uef ii ) , a private equity fund investing in commercial microfinance institutions ( mfis ) around the world . while the financial data for the new fund was not yet available on mix market , its predecessor the uef is listed . to learn more about uef ii , please read this previous microcapital story .
mccormick had an international upbringing , living all over the world including kuwait , abu dhabi , colombia and india . he majored in politics and history at the university of london and spent eight years marketing businesses in the capital markets before joining legatum .
pronunciation : / le : ' ga : . tum / etymology : from legatus , the perfect passive participle of lego (
send , despatch
) . legatum ( genitive legati ) ; n , second declension : a bequest , legacy .
legatum is currently completing the renovation & addition to realize our ultimate goal of strong equity growth and reliable long term cash - flow . the project will repay a significant portion of the shareholder’s loan through a re - finance after construction is completed .
you ' ve likely never heard of legatum . it is an enormously successful investment company controlled by christopher chandler . you will be reading more about chandler in coming months . the institution of this prize and the center at mit ( created last year ) mark the beginning of his emergence from a deliberate strategy of anonymity . he is one of the world ' s great contrarian investors , worth many billions . legatum recently revealed that in india alone it currently controls $ 4 billion worth of investments .
final word : there are many more details within the report , and within the facts that makeup the legatum institute prosperity index worth exploring for businesses , entrepreneurs , government officials and ngos . ms . maltby highlights that readers using the report should note :
legatum is a private investment partnership with a 30 year heritage of long term value creation through investments in global capital markets . we invest proprietary capital in listed businesses with a focus on identifying hidden or unrealised value in investment themes that are . . .
grants for mit students exploring a venture idea in a developing economy , the legatum center offers seed grants . students can use these grants to travel to the field , immersing themselves in their local market and experiencing innovation - driven entrepreneurship opportunities first - hand .
feature also can shed light on matters as it allows sorting the legatum prosperity index in an infographic format by region , year of index , indices , place in ranking ( high , middle , low ) and combinations thereof . christopher chandler of new zealand ' s
through the legatum foundation we allocate capital to help the poorest and most marginalised people in society . always ambitious , the foundation takes on big challenges such as abolishing modern slavery , ending neglected tropical diseases and getting hundreds of thousands of impoverished children back into school .
the journey began in 2006 , when one of legatum’s partners , alan mccormick , read a newspaper article which explained that by combining modest funding with a little imagination , you could effectively treat this basket of malevolent diseases that had otherwise been neglected by donors . with a broader vision always in mind , legatum decided to set themselves a larger , more audacious goal - to not only treat these diseases , but to control and eliminate them all together , and in turn , effectively change the lives of more than a billion people .
legatum was founded by christopher chandler , who was the 488 th richest person in the world as of 2007 , according to forbes magazine . chandler and his brother richard began their successful investing careers by selling their parent’s department store in new zealand and investing the usd 10m in the hong kong real estate market . then , in 1986 , they co - founded sovereign global which split into legatum and orient global in 2006 . according to christopher chandler , the split was amiable and will now allow each brother to pursue new investment strategies .
the fellows of mit’s legatum center are on their way to having launched enterprises in 20 industries across 40 countries on five continents . one fellow’s venture uses mobile phones and predictive analytics to track patients’ symptoms for better care and has regularly been cited as one of the most exciting
legatum is a private investment partnership with a 30 year heritage of long term value creation through investments in global capital markets . the firm invests proprietary capital in listed businesses with a focus on identifying hidden or unrealised value in investment themes that are often played out over years .
as part of the legatum institute ' s ' the culture of prosperity ' programme , the history of capitalism series was a three - year project that was set up to investigate the origins and development of a movement of thought and endeavour that has transformed the human condition .
more than 30 million people are trapped in modern slavery , forced to work in brothels , mines , sweatshops , plantations and fishing fleets around the world . founded by legatum foundation in 2013 , in partnership with humanity united and walk free , the freedom fund is an active ingredient in a new abolitionist movement in the fight against modern slavery . building on fifteen years of anti - slavery work funded by legatum foundation , the freedom fund generates private funding , demonstrates how effective interventions can protect those at risk of being enslaved , invests in countries with the greatest incidence of slavery , brings together a community of activists committed to the cause and , ultimately , aims to bring an end to modern slavery . legatum hopes through the freedom fund to catalyse over $ 1 billion in new private antislavery investments over the coming decade .
through all of these efforts , we are shaping discourse on bottom - up development and systems change through principled entrepreneurial leadership . the legatum center for development and entrepreneurship at mit was founded to demonstrate the power of entrepreneurship to catalyze transformation in society and to improve global wellbeing .
“the end fund is special largely because of the legatum involvement , ” continues campbell . “they had a clear objective right from the beginning that they would try to be as efficient in the not - for - profit world as they were in the for - profit world . ”
through the legatum foundation , legatum invests in community - based organisations and projects that have improved the lives of over 270 million people through nearly 1 , 500 projects in more than 110 countries since 1999 . in many cases , only a modest initial grant is required to build upon an existing project and to ensure its sustainability . these projects are clustered into a series of strategic initiatives , each lasting three to five years . this approach maximises the impact of the grant and provides enough time to produce measurable results without encouraging over - reliance on a single donor .
the foundation requires that every grant demonstrates effectiveness , efficiency , and measurable results . it utilises the services of an advisory firm , geneva global , which vets each project and uses legatum ' s unique proprietary reporting metrics to monitor and evaluate progress over the course of any given grant .
“we were attending an event at the house of lords in the uk when christopher chandler , legatum’s chairman , asked alan fenwick how much it would cost to rid africa of ntds , ’’ recalls mccormick . “alan replied that between $ 1 - $ 2 billion would be required to bring down infection rates to manageable levels and in many cases eradicate these diseases . ’’ legatum concluded that this probably underestimated the funds required and while even this was a huge sum of money , in terms of global health it was paltry , and moreover perfectly realisable through the right vehicle .
“legatum have shown themselves to be world leaders in a cross section of support to poverty in the world , not just to health , not just to ngos , but to supporting small business and other projects when that funding was just not coming from anywhere else , ” he says .
“legatum’s initial $ 8 million investment brought together for the first time all the actors . from legatum as funders , doctors , pharmaceutical companies , delivery organisations , local communities , government health departments and schools . together , we solved the logistical problem of mapping the diseases and delivering the drugs to where they were needed , on a massive scale . the rest , as they say , is history , or at least , is becoming so . we can at last look forward to a time when these diseases are a footnote to the story of the developing world . ”
the legatum foundation launches the end fund , the first private philanthropy fund dedicated to controlling and eliminating neglected tropical diseases ( ntds ) . ntds are diseases of poverty that debilitate , blind , disfigure and cause early death to an estimated 1 . 4 billion of the world’s poorest people .
the tenth edition of the legatum prosperity index™ is published . capitalising on ten years ' worth of data , we can evaluate long - term changes in prosperity , pinpointing the drivers of progress and highlighting those nations that have made the greatest strides in turning their wealth into greater prosperity .
one key factor the survey considers is governance , which is broken down into three categories : effective governance , democracy and political participation , and the rule of law . legatum measured these variables by considering things like voter turnout , legislative independence , and the number of women in parliament .
more than 30 million people are trapped in modern slavery , forced to work in brothels , mines , sweatshops , plantations and fishing fleets around the world . founded by legatum foundation in 2013 in partnership with humanity united and walk free , the freedom fund is an active ingredient in a new abolitionist movement that is raising more than $ 100 million for the fight against modern slavery . building on fifteen years of anti - slavery work funded by legatum foundation , the freedom fund generates private funding , demonstrates how effective interventions can protect those at risk of being enslaved , invests in countries with the greatest incidence of slavery , brings together a community of activists committed to the cause and , ultimately , aims to bring an end to modern slavery . legatum hopes through the freedom fund to catalyse over $ 1 billion in new private antislavery investments over the coming decade .
in the second major investment by a foreign investor in an indian microfinance firm , legatum capital , a dubai - based privately - owned finance firm , committed a $ 25 million ( rs125 crore ) investment in share microfin ltd , a hyderabad - based microfinance institution which is india’s largest .
the $ 25 million investment makes legatum the majority shareholder with over 51 % stake in share . simultaneously , another investor , avishkaar goodwell india , invested $ 2 million in share . the combined capital infusion , $ 27 million , makes this the largest such deal in the indian microfinance sector .
the legatum center for development and entrepreneurship at mit is a community hub for students , alumni and faculty who seek to accelerate social and economic progress through innovation - driven entrepreneurship . the center was founded in order to demonstrate the power of entrepreneurship to catalyze transformation in society and to improve global wellbeing .
references : please provide the names and contact information for 3 - 4 professional references . references should be able to speak to your potential as principled entrepreneurial leader and / or your commitment to impacting change in the developing world . legatum staff will only contact references if you are invited for an interview .
legatum , which has a foreign institutional investor sub - account registered with india’s stock market regulator sebi , has investments of over $ 1 billion in india . its fii , crown capital , owns close to 5 % each in icici bank , hdfc , hdfc bank , uti bank and indiabulls financial services .
twenty - five - year - old legatum is a multi - billion dollar global fund managing proprietary capital . investing in india since 2005 , legatum has been a major investor , especially in the indian financial sector with significant shareholdings in banks like icici , hdfc and axis and institutions like hdfc limited and idfc . they are also a majority shareholder is share microfin , one of the largest hyderabad - based microfinance institutions . with the recent crisis in the microfinance sector , mark stoleson tells somasroy chakraborty & arijit barman that india will see a flight of foreign capital unless the situation is solved quickly . edited excerpts :
our vision is to see a more prosperous world for all , and we are committed to using our capital to help make that a reality . legatum’s philanthropic portfolio includes investments in activities to promote entrepreneurship and free enterprise , programmes to create the policies and ideas that promote prosperity , and initiatives to alleviate poverty .
reinaldo normand is an entrepeneur in residence at the martin trust center and the legatum center at the mit . reinaldo has extensive experience in founding and running bootstrapped and venture - backed gaming and consumer internet startups in the united states , china and brazil , and has raised over $ 60 million in venture capital .
legatum was born out of a desire to invest in developments that create a lasting impact for all shareholders . for us , the shareholders include our local community , the partners , and those who occupy the spaces we create . to make a lasting impact we collaborate with all these shareholders from vision to completion .
the global prosperity index is the flagship publication of the legatum institute . first published in 2007 , the index now benchmarks 149 countries around the world across nine distinct categories : economy ; education ; entrepreneurship & opportunity ; governance ; health ; personal freedom ; safety & security ; social capital ; and natural environment .
“the ebola crisis fund will meet an urgent and long term need for community health education and awareness raising especially in many remote areas , ” said andrew doust , legatum’s vice president of strategy . “improving health and hygiene practices generally will improve the resilience of communities to combat future outbreaks of ebola and other diseases . ”
springer : mongolia is 50 places ahead of india in the 2014 legatum prosperity index . what is going right in mongolia that the new prime minister to - be should keep up ( as the office is currently vacated ) and what is going wrong in india that the recently elected prime minister modi needs to fix ?
in rwanda , on the other hand , the government was unable to provide the required resources for a national plan ; a symptom of a country still struggling to recover after the 1994 genocide . legatum’s funding was therefore crucial and provided rwanda with an incredible opportunity to implement a fully integrated control project against seven ntds .
the program , called the west africa children ' s education strategic initiative , was co - funded by legatum foundation , the development arm of legatum group , a dubai - based global private investment firm . it was a $ 4 . 2 million three - year project in which geneva global served as grant manager and the strømme foundation , a norwegian international development organization , served as program creator . the essential component was the accelerated learning program , a 9 - month
speed school
that helped kids get caught up so they could pass public school entrance exams and enter ( some for the first time ) the formal education system .


the ryukyu islands ( 琉球諸島 ryūkyū-shotō , [ ɾʲɯːkʲɯː ] , english : / riˈuːkjuː / ) , more commonly known in japanese as the nansei islands ( 南西諸島 nansei-shotō , lit .

" southwest islands " ) and also known as the ryukyu arc ( 琉球弧 ryūkyū-ko ) , are a chain of japanese islands that stretch southwest from kyushu to taiwan : the ōsumi , tokara , amami , okinawa , and sakishima islands ( further divided into the miyako and yaeyama islands ) , with yonaguni the southernmost .

the larger are mostly high islands and the smaller ones are mostly coral islands .

the largest of the islands is okinawa .

the climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate ( köppen climate classification cfa ) in the north to tropical rainforest climate ( köppen climate classification af ) in the south .

the amami , okinawa , miyako , and yaeyama islands have a native population collectively called the ryukyuan people , named for the former ryukyu kingdom that ruled them .

the varied ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands , and the major islands have their own distinct languages .

in modern times , the japanese language is the primary language of the islands , with the okinawan japanese dialect prevalently spoken .

the outlying daitō islands were uninhabited until the meiji period , when their development was started mainly by people from the izu islands south of tokyo , with the people there speaking the hachijō language .

administratively , the islands are divided into kagoshima prefecture ( specifically the islands administered by kagoshima district , kumage subprefecture/district , and ōshima subprefecture/district ) in the north and okinawa prefecture in the south , with the divide between the amami and okinawa islands , with the daitō islands part of okinawa prefecture .

ryukyu islands

ryukyu
redirects here . for other uses , see ryukyu ( disambiguation ) .
ryukyu islands ( okinawa ) | cia foia ( foia . cia . gov )
other languages : nansei - shotō ( japanese ) , ryukyu islands ( english ) .
it takes approximately 28 h 51 min to get from ryukyu islands to yakushima , including transfers .
properties in satsuma province including the twelve islands and the
extra five
islands . the latter must be the amami islands .
motokawa m . biogeography of living mammals in the ryukyu islands . tropics 2000 ; 10 : 63–71 .
kimura m . paleogeography of the ryukyu islands . tropics 2000 ; 10 : 5–24 . pmid : 11075821
a revision of the genus amamiclytus ohbayashi from taiwan and the ryukyu islands ( coleoptera , cerambycidae ) .
in geography , the
ryukyu islands
( 琉球諸島 ) cover the okinawa , miyako , and yaeyama islands . some variant definitions include the amami islands and / or the daitō islands . in contrast , the northern half of the i…
are we missing a good definition for ryukyu islands ? don ' t keep it to yourself . . .
are we missing a good definition for ryukyu islands ? don ' t keep it to yourself . . .
second , the ryukyu economy had to be assimilated and controlled by japan . the bank of japan was constructed and opened offices in the ryukyu islands . japanese yen was introduced as the legal tender ; famous japanese portraits were printed in the japanese banknotes used daily in the ryukyu islands .
ryukyu islands .
the columbia encyclopedia , 6th ed . . . retrieved july 09 , 2018 from urltoken urltoken
nago weather station : 18 m . a . s . l . , 9 . 0 km away from ryukyu islands
. around this time
southern islands
replaced yaku as a collective name for the southern islands .
central okinawa ; southern okinawa island , kerama islands , kume - jima , tonaki , aguna islands , islands east of okinawa island . source : ethnologue 2016
text taken from wikipedia - ryukyu islands under the cc - by - sa - 3 . 0 on july 18 , 2014
20 . all objects of a cultural , religious , and historical character in the ryukyu islands will be preserved and protected .
a revision of the genus amamiclytus ohbayashi from taiwan and the ryukyu islands ( coleoptera , cerambycidae ) . - pubmed - ncbi
the ryukyu islands are located to the southwest of the japanese archipelago . archaeological evidence has revealed the existence of prehistoric cultural differentiation between the northern ryukyu islands of amami and okinawa , and the southern ryukyu islands of miyako and yaeyama . to examine a genetic subdivision in the ryukyu islands , we conducted genome - wide single nucleotide polymorphism typing of inhabitants from the okinawa islands , the miyako islands , and the yaeyama islands . principal component and cluster analyses revealed genetic differentiation among the island groups , especially between okinawa and miyako . no genetic affinity was observed between aboriginal taiwanese and any of the ryukyu populations . the genetic differentiation observed between the inhabitants of the okinawa islands and the miyako islands is likely to have arisen due to genetic drift rather than admixture with people from neighboring regions . based on the observed genetic differences , the divergence time between the inhabitants of okinawa and miyako islands was dated to the holocene . these findings suggest that the pleistocene inhabitants , whose bones have been found on the southern ryukyu islands , did not make a major genetic contribution , if any , to the present - day inhabitants of the southern ryukyu islands .
central okinawa ; southern okinawa island , kerama islands , kume - jima , tonaki , aguna islands , islands east of okinawa island . . source : ethnologue 2016
shotō
is replaced with
islands
in the list except for ryūkyū shotō ( 琉球諸島 ) , since the term
ryukyu islands
already exists in english . the japanese term refers only to the islands that comprise okinawa prefecture , while the english term refers to the entire chain of islands between kyushu and taiwan . ryūkyū rettō ( 琉球列島 ) refers to what was once the territory of the former kingdom , which are the amami islands , okinawa islands , miyako islands , and yaeyama islands .
the ryukyu islands { { ipac - en ( r ) , < > known in japanese as the ' ' nansei islands ( 南西諸島 ) and also known as the ryukyu arc ( 琉球弧 ) , are a chain of volcanic japanese islands that stretch southwest from kyushu to taiwan : the ōsumi , tokara , amami , okinawa , and sakishima islands ( further divided into the miyako and yaeyama islands ) , with yonaguni the southernmost . the largest of the islands is okinawa .
the quickest way to get from ryukyu islands to yakushima is by travel and plane and ferry which takes 10 h 13 min .
nishijima , s . , shokita , s . , and kawanabe , h . 1974 . a general description of the streams of the ryukyu islands . ecological studies of nature and conservation of the ryukyu islands , 1 : 113 - 143 . ( in japanese )
the ryukyu islands , japan , sakhalin , and the kuril islands are uplifted fragments of the ryukyu - korean , honshu - sakhalin , and kuril - kamchatka mountain - island arcs . dating from the mesozoic and cenozoic eras , those arcs have complex knots at their junctions , represented by the topography of the japanese islands of…
inamura kenpu , ryukyu shoto ni okeru wako shiseki no kenkyu ( research on wako remains in the ryukyu islands ) ( tokyo : yoshikawa kobunkan , 1957 ) , pp . 42 - 45 . [ ↩ ]
the ryukyu islands region constitutes the main portion of the ryukyu arc , which penetrates into kyushu as the west japan volcanic belt and terminates at mount aso . the influence of the arc is also seen in the trend of the many elongated islands off western kyushu , …
^ nussbaum , louis - frédéric . ( 2005 ) .
ryukyu islands
in japan encyclopedia , p . 801 at google books
— this article is about the history of the ryukyu islands southwest of the main islands of japan . okinawa prefecture japanese transcription ( s ) – japanese 沖縄県 – rōmaji okinawa ken okinawan transcr …
administratively , the islands are divided into kagoshima prefecture ( specifically the islands administered by kagoshima district , kumage subprefecture / district , and ōshima subprefecture / district ) in the north and okinawa prefecture in the south , with the divide between the amami and okinawa islands , with the daitō islands part of okinawa prefecture . the northern ( kagoshima ) islands are collectively called the satsunan islands , while the southern part of the chain ( okinawa prefecture ) are called the ryukyu islands in japanese .
ryukyu islands .
the columbia encyclopedia , 6th ed . . . encyclopedia . com . ( july 9 , 2018 ) . urltoken
otsuka h , takahashi a . pleostocene vertebrate faunas in the ryukyu islands : their migration and extinction . tropics 2000 ; 10 : 25–40 .
the cheapest way to get from ryukyu islands to yakushima is by travel and car ferry and ferry which costs $ 380 - $ 430 .
cruise to hong kong , recapping your adventures in japan , taiwan and the ryukyu islands by sharing stories and photos with your fellow guests .
map of the ryukyu archipelago and taiwan with the position of the collection sites .
they made ryukyu seem like as much of a distinctive and foreign country as they possibly could . japanese people were prohibited from visiting ryukyu without explicit permission and the ryukyu people were forbidden from taking japanese names , wearing japanese clothes , or adopting japanese customs .
even liuqiu islands are not belong to japan . the chinese will surely not allow the japanese to rob far further to china diaoyu islands ( chinese : 钓鱼岛 ; japanese : senkakus islands ) .
the islands other than tanegashima were grouped as the twelve islands and treated as part of kawanabe district , satsuma province . the twelve islands were subdivided into the near five ( 口五島 / 端五島 ,
) . the near five consisted of the ōsumi islands except tanegashima while the remote seven corresponded to the tokara islands . after the
created a set of inheritance documents that made reference to various southern islands . the islands mentioned were not limited to the twelve but included
mr . walker’s book begins with the osumi islands up north , just below kyushu , and works all the way down to yonaguni island , takara islands , amami islands , main island of okinawa , miyako islands ( which ishigaki island is a part of ) , yaeyama islands ( which yonaguni island is a part of ) . no island is left out unless it happens to be only as large as your front yard . it even includes the islands east of okinawa and west of okinawa , the kerama islands and the daito islands .
…by japanese merchants from the ryukyu islands , lying between japan and taiwan , and dye materials , pepper , and other special products from the south seas . …
the ryukyuan languages , their classification and assessment are a case in point . during the forced assimilation of the ryukyu kingdom into the emerging japanese nation state between 1872 and 1879 , the various language varieties of the ryukyu islands came to be designated as japanese dialects . the first such classification was made by a bureaucrat . matsuda michiyuki , a high - ranking official in the japanese foreign ministry , was the first to stress linguistic correspondences between japan and the ryukyu islands in the early 1870s . he claimed that the varieties spoken in the ryukyu islands were part of the japanese language .
kadena sotoku , ryukyu shi no saikosatsu ( a reconsideration of ryukyu history ) ( ginowan , okinawa : okinawa aki shobo , 1987 ) , pp . 289 - 90 . [ ↩ ]
see shin ryukyu shi : ko ryukyu hen ( a new history of the ryukyus : the ancient ryukyus ) ( naha , okinawa : ryukyu shimpo , 1991 ) , pp . 207 - 8 , and hokama , omoro soshi , pp . 158 , 253 - 59 . [ ↩ ]
the ryukyu islands are recognized by ecologists as a distinct subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion . the flora and fauna of the islands have much in common with taiwan , the philippines , and southeast asia , and are part of the indomalaya ecozone .
okinawa islands ( okinawa pref . ) - incl . okinawa island , izena island , iheya island , kumejima , iejima , and the kerama islands
us military control over okinawa began in 1945 with establishment of the okinawa advisory council . in 1952 , the us was formally granted control over ryukyu islands south of 29°n latitude , and other pacific islands , under the san francisco peace treaty between the allied powers and japan . the okinawa advisory council eventually became the government of the ryukyu islands which existed from 1952 to 1972 . sovereignty reverted to japan in 1972 .
rounding out your introduction to ryukyu culture , eat dinner at suitenrou restaurant in downtown naha where the upstairs dining room serves ample portions of typical okinawan foods during performances of classical ryukyu song and dance .
kuchino - shima volcano is one of the active volcanic islands in the northern ryukyu islands in southern japan . the small , 3x7 km wide island is located between the volcanic islands of nakano - shima and kuchinoerabu - jima and consists of 2 andesitic stratovolcanoes and a nw - se - trendi . . . [ more ]
ryûkyû shotô translates roughly as
various islands of ryûkyû ,
while ryûkyû rettô means
ryûkyû archipelago
or
ryûkyû chain of islands .
the nansei islands ( nansei ) are a 1200 km chain of approximately 200 islands that exhibit high levels of biodiversity and endemism ( itô et al .
the linguistic situation in the ryukyu islands is complex . the doyen of ryukyuan linguistics , hokama shuzen , proposes the following division of ryukyuan varieties ( from south to north ) :
jûen - eki 柔遠駅 .
okinawa compact encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典 . ryukyu shimpo , 1 march 2003 .
is an archipelago in the nansei islands , and are part of the satsunan islands , which is in turn part of the ryukyu archipelago . the 150 kilometres ( 81 nmi ) chain consists of twelve small islands located between yakushima and amami - oshima . the islands have a total area of 101 . 35 square kilometres ( 39 . 13 sq mi ) . administratively , the whole group belongs to toshima village , kagoshima prefecture , japan . only seven of the islands are permanently inhabited . the islands , especially takarajima , are home to the tokara pony .
tachihara , k . 2003 . the environment and biota of inland waters in the ryukyu islands , p . 33 - 41 . in nishida , m . , shikatani , n . , and shokita , s . ( eds . ) , the flora and fauna of inland waters in the ryukyu islands . tokai university press , tokyo . ( in japanese )
this paper will be posted in multiple installments . part 1 is displayed below . part2 will be uploaded in the next issue . part 1 1 . introduction 2 . the ryukyus and senkaku islands through the early modern era a . geographic position of the senkaku islands b . a consideration of the island names c . yukun kuba ( kubashima of yuku [ ryukyu ] ) : the islands in ryukyu ' s seas and japan ' s bays
kuramoto , m . 1965 . a record of rhacophorus leucomystax from the ryukyu islands . bulletin of fukuoka gakugei university . part 3 , natural sciences , 15 : 59 - 61 .
because of this , japan was unable to visibly occupy ryukyu or directly control the policies and laws there . the ryukyu royal government , the satsuma daimyo , and the shogunate itself all benefited from this strange arrangement .
properly known as the ryukyu islands , after the name of the independent kingdom that once flourished there , okinawa is home to a culture that ' s distinct from that of the mainland .
made up of some 6 , 850 islands , it was only a matter of time before japan threw its hat into the cruising ring . with that comes the opportunity to visit an island archipelago flung 1 , 000km across the south pacific , known as the ryukyu islands .
the name okinawa means
rope in the open sea
, a fairly apt description of this long stretch of islands between the four main islands of japan and taiwan . consisting of 49 inhabited islands and 111 uninhabited islands , okinawa has a subtropical / tropical climate . unlike the other japanese subtropical / tropical islands such as ogasawara islands , amami islands and tokara islands , there are frequent flights from all the major cities of japan , which helps okinawa remain one of the major tourist destinations for the japanese . every year there are more and more foreign visitors going to okinawa but the number still remains low compared to the tourist destinations on mainland japan .
the islands have a subtropical climate with mild winters and hot summers . precipitation is very high , and is affected by the rainy season and typhoons . except the outlying daitō islands , the island chain has two major geologic boundaries , the tokara strait between the tokara and amami islands , and the kerama gap between the okinawa and miyako islands . the islands beyond the tokara strait are characterized by their coral reefs .
this ticked off japan , so in 1609 the feudal lord of satsuma invaded the ryukyu islands and put an end to the kingdom ' s prosperity . the king was kidnapped , and the ryukyu kingdom was forced to swear allegiance to satsuma . the satsuma clan also took over all their trade as well .
— infobox military conflict conflict = volcano and ryukyu islands campaign partof = world war ii , the pacific war caption = two u . s . marines advance on wana ridge during the battle of okinawa . date = january ndash ; june , 1945 place = volcano islands and… …
kitahara shûichi . a journey to the ryukyu gusuku 琉球城紀行 , naha : miura creative ( 2003 ) , 84 .
01 . masaaki kimura ( 1991 ) .
the continent of mu was in ryukyu
. tokuma shoten .
azuma , y . 2007 . three new species of fossil terrestrial mollusca from fissure deposits within the ryukyu limestone in okinawa and yoron islands , japan . paleontological research , 11 : 231 - 249 .
which brings us to the next point – when the ryukyu kingdom finally was invaded . by japan . around 1590 , toyotomi hideyoshi asked the ryukyu kingdom to help him conquer korea . if successful , hideyoshi planned to take on china next . since the ryukyu kingdom was a tributary state of the chinese ming dynasty , they refused the request .
from the philippine sea . the ryukyus are composed of three principal groups : they are , from north to south , the amami islands ( part of kagoshima prefecture ) , the okinawa islands , and the sakishima islands ( both part of okinawa prefecture ) .
amami islands - incl . amami ôshima , kikaigashima , tokunoshima , okinoerabujima , and yoronjima
use of capsicum frutescens l . by the indigenous peoples of taiwan and the batanes islands
of the yaeyama islands because komi is an older name for iriomote . others consider that
the only land battle of the pacific war fought in japan took place in okinawa . before japan surrendered to the allied powers on september 15th 1945 , more than one quarter of the okinawan population was dead and a military government was set up for the ryukyu islands . us military authorities exercised exclusive control over the islands until 1972 . while the san francisco treaty of 1951 restored japanese sovereignty , occupation did not end for the ryukyu islands in spite of the fact that petitions had been handed in , in which more than two thirds of the ryukyu electorate asked for a return to japan in july 1951 .
( iii )
huangma , chikan [ chiwei yu ] , and gumi [ kumejima island ] are all islands in the middle of the sea . in front of them are machi [ kerama islands ] , ryukyu islands , and liyi [ ieshima island ? ] .
an explanatory note continues as follows :
from there , the route proceeds via rebi [ iheyajima ? ] , mengjia ci [ kakeromajima ? ] , and daluo [ oshima island ? ] to qi dao . rebi , mengjia , and daluo are the names of islands in the ryukyu sea . approximately four
sclater , j . a . 1950 . bionomic notes on some reptiles form okinawa shima , ryukyu islands , japan . ann . mag . nat . hist . ( 12 ) 3 : 113 - 116
the yonaguni pyramid is located just off shore on the south side of yonaguni island . yonaguni - jima is one of the yaeyama islands and the westernmost inhabited island of japan . it is the last of the islands in the ryukyu islands chain , and lies 108 kilometers ( 67 mi ) from the east coast of taiwan , between the east china sea and the pacific ocean .
eventually , japan began to harass china for total control over the ryukyu kingdom . japan ordered them to stop paying tribute to china in 1875 and china ' s relationship with the islands was abolished in 1879 . the kingdom itself was then abolished , and the islands annexed as okinawa prefecture . however , the ryukyuans were not truly considered a part of japan and the ryukyu people were not considered to be japanese .
in recent ryukyu studies , the
early modern ryukyus
represent the territory ( okinawa ) as it stood from the satsuma domain ' s invasion of the islands in 1609 through the disbanding of the ryukyu state by japan ' s meiji government in 1879 . see tomiyama kazuyuki , ed . , ryukyu , okinawa shi no sekai ( the world of ryukyu and okinawan history ) , vol . 18 of nihon no jidai shi ( history of japan ' s eras ) ( tokyo : yoshikawa kobunkan , 2003 ) , pp . 48 - 49 . [ ↩ ]
was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the ryukyu islands from the 15th century to the 19th century . the kings of ryūkyū unified okinawa island and extended the kingdom to the amami islands in modern - day kagoshima prefecture , and the sakishima islands near taiwan . despite its small size , the kingdom played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval east and southeast asia .
ryukyu was a tributary state of china , and since japan had no formal diplomatic relations with china , it was essential that beijing not realize that ryukyu was actually controlled by japan . so even though satsuma and japan were now in control of ryukyu , they had to leave them alone for the most part . otherwise china would know something was going on .
matsuoka , h . 2000 . the late pleistocene fossil birds of the central and southern ryukyu islands , and their zoogeographical implications for the recent avifauna of the archipelago . tropics , 10 : 165 - 188 .
, of which seven were inhabited . after world war ii , from 2 february 1946 all of the satsunan islands south of 30th latitude , including the tokara islands , were placed under united states military administration as part of the provisional government of northern ryukyu islands . however , the three northern inhabited islands in the archipelago , iōjima , kuroshima und takeshima , remained under the control of japan , and were placed under the administration of the village of mishima . the remaining tokara islands reverted to japan on 10 february 1952 and are now administered as the village of toshima .
thermonuclear bomb , code - named mike , detonated in the marshall islands in november 1952 .
) . these subtropical to temperate islands range from 24° to 31° north latitude ( fig .
liuqiu islands used to be a china tributary state with local sovereignty before the year 1871 .
( 927 ) , dazaifu was to offer when they were obtained from the southern islands .
• explore the distinctive culture , history and natural beauty of taiwan and its penghu islands .
china was more or less kept in the dark concerning the japanese influence on the ryukyu kingdom . though it was technically under the control of satsuma , ryukyu was given a great degree of autonomy . the reason for this was trade with china .
in english , the island chain as a whole is called ryukyu . in japanese , however , terminology is more complicated .
matsuda mitsugu , the government of the kingdom of ryukyu , 1609 - 1872 , yui publishing ( 2001 ) , 60n34 .
declassified in part - sanitized copy approved for release 2012 / 09 / 12 : cia - rdp79r00890a000900060027 - 3 co r sri f no islands ( 25 february 1958 , under article 3 of the japanese peace treaty of 1951 the united states exercises all powers of administrationlegislation , and jurisdiction over the ryukyu islands . a . in the treaty , japan agreed to concur in any s proposal to place the islands under vi trusteeship , but in absence such a proposal the vs now governs the islands .
given the nature of the map , the inclusion of the senkaku islands can in no way be offered as proof that the islands were part of chinese territory at the time . the atlas is centered on the
great qing dynasty ,
but it also includes such neighboring territories as japan , ryukyu , korea , and vietnam ( see general map , figure 1 - 1 ) . the detailed map ( figure 1 - 2 ) includes islands around ryukyu , but there is no indication regarding which of these islands belong to the qing and which to ryukyu . maps east 5 to east 2 ( right to left ) fairly accurately represent the relative positions of okinawajima and kumejima island as well as the miyako and yaeyama island chains . above ( that is , north of ) the string of islands are indicated , from right to left , chiwei yu , huangwei yu , and diaoyu yu . the general map , too , shows , in the bottom right corner , two or three unidentified islands to the left ( west ) of the ryukyu islands and gumi shan ( kumejima island ) that , from their location , can be regarded as the senkakus .
kawana , t . 2002 . neotectonics in the ryukyu arc , p . 59 - 83 . in kimura , m . ( ed . ) , establishment of the ryukyu arc and colonization of biota . okinawa times , naha . ( in japanese )
during the american occupation of amami , the japanese government objected to them being included under the name
ryukyu
in english , because they worried that this might mean that the return of the amami islands to japanese control would be delayed until the return of okinawa . however , the american occupational government on amami continued to called the
provisional government for the northern ryukyu islands
in english , though it was translated as in japanese .
the southwest islands ( 南西諸島 ; nansei - shotō ) reveal a japan you may not know exists : a chain of semitropical , coral - fringed islands evocative of hawaii or southeast asia .
now the japanese try to play bigger and extend their illegal and invalid occupancy to china diaoyu islands ( chinese : 钓鱼岛 ; japanese : senkakus islands ) , which is near china taiwan .
the ōsumi and tokara islands , the northernmost of the islands , fall under the cultural sphere of the kyushu region of japan ; the people are ethnically japanese and speak a variation of the kagoshima dialect of japanese . the amami , okinawa , miyako , and yaeyama islands have a native population collectively called the ryukyuans , named after the former ryukyu kingdom that ruled them . the varied ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands , and each island has its own distinct language . in modern times , the japanese language is the primary language of the islands , with the okinawan japanese dialect prevalent spoken . the outlying daitō islands were uninhabited until the meiji period , when their development was started mainly by people from the izu islands south of tokyo , with the people there speaking a hachijo dialect .
in both of these maps , the senkakus are just above ( north of ) and are much closer to the ryukyu islands than to either taiwan or the chinese mainland . the first impression one gets , therefore , is that the senkakus and the ryukyus comprise a unit - - strings of islands , one on top of the other . because there is no indication of who has jurisdiction over the islands , most readers will no doubt conclude that the senkakus belong to the ryukyu kingdom . while such a conclusion is at odds with that drawn by wu tianying , the two maps contained in the huang chao zhong wai yi tong yu tu suggest that the senkakus were regarded by qing china readers as being part of ryukyu . ( in fact , the detailed map shows even pengjia shan as being closer to ryukyu than taiwan , above one of the yaeyama islands , quite possibly iriomotejima island . )
liuqiu islands or lewchew ( chinese : 流求 , 琉求 , or 琉球 ; pinyin : liúqiú ; japanese : ryukyu - shoto , or nansei - shoto , or ryukyuan okinawa ) was the name given by the chinese to islands in the east china sea and nearby waters . liuqiu islands used to be a china tributary state with local sovereignty before the year 1871 . however , china was weak at the end of its qing dynasty and can not protect liuqiu islands from the japanese invasion . so the japanese occupy all liuqiu islands in 1879 . and china failed in first sino - japanese war in 1895 .
as well as the chinese emperor . in 1655 , the tribute relations between ryukyu and qing were formally approved by the shogunate .
genome - wide snp analysis reveals population structure and demographic history of the ryukyu islanders in the southern part of the japanese archipelago .
use of capsicum frutescens l . by the indigenous peoples of taiwan and the batanes islands | springerlink
appendix s8 . summary of estimated directions of gene flow for acropora tenuis in the nansei islands .
accidently , the japanese insist they
discover
diaoyu islands ( chinese : 钓鱼岛 ; japanese : senkakus islands ) in 1895 , in which year china failed in first sino - japanese war .
garrison and battery established at hakodate in ezo ; garrison established on kunashiri in the kuril islands .
after lunch , head back into naha and explore medieval shuri castle , the sprawling hilltop citadel where the ryukyu kings were based for more than 500 years . the architecture , interiors and relics reflect the unique blend of japanese and chinese influences that comprise ryukyu culture .
and a week before the seminar , a hawkish chinese military official argued that the japanese did not have sovereignty over the ryukyu islands because its inhabitants paid tribute to chinese emperors hundreds of years before they started doing so to japan .
sakai , robert k . , “the ryukyu ( liu - ch’iu ) islands as a fief of satsuma , ” in john k . fairbank , the chinese world order , harvard university press ( 1968 ) , 112 - 134 .
hasegawa , y . 1980 . notes on vertebrate fossils from late pleistocene to holocene of ryukyu islands , japan . the quaternary research ( daiyonki - kenkyu ) , 18 : 263 - 267 . ( in japanese with english abstract )
criterion ( ii ) : for several centuries the ryukyu islands served as a centre of economic and cultural interchange between south - east asia , china , korea , and japan , and this is vividly demonstrated by the surviving monuments .
while other nations were plotting invasions and developing schemes , the ryukyu kingdom earned a reputation as an honest broker . they were known to china as the
country of courtesy
. the ryukyu kingdom was filled with peace , trade , and a lively local culture .
, and the mortlock ( nomoi ) islands , atolls to the south , are culturally closest to chuuk . the remaining low islands to the west of chuuk also show linguistic and cultural relationships to chuuk , with the differences becoming more and more marked as distance increases . the low islands between namonuito and
fujita , h . 1989 . stratigraphy and geologic structure of the pre - neogene strata in the central ryukyu islands . journal of science of the hiroshima university , series c ( geology and mineralogy ) , 9 : 237 - 284 .
, island ( 1990 pop . 1 , 222 , 458 ) , 454 sq mi ( 1 , 176 sq km ) , w pacific ocean , sw of kyushu ; a part of okinawa prefecture , japan . it is the largest of the okinawa islands in the ryukyu islands archipelago . naha is the largest city and chief port .
tokara islands - incl . kuchinoshima , nakanoshima , tairajima , suwanosejima , akusekijima , gajashima , and takarajima
in chibishi ( 6 ) , the kerama islands shared between the first and second clusters ( figs .
zamami — popular among snorkelers and divers , with several deserted islands within 10 mins by taxi boat .
chiang ty , shaal ba . phylogeography of plants in taiwan and the ryukyu archipelago . taxon 2006 ; 55 : 31–41 . pmid : 16507522
the ryukyu kingdom was once an independent kingdom occupying the island chain , from yonaguni island in the southwest to amami ōshima in the north .
satsuma , the southernmost clan of feudal japan in kyushu , invaded independent ryukyu kingdom in 1609 and colonized her for 270 years until 1879 .
) . the first cluster consisted of the amami islands ( ayamaru [ 1 ] and kuninao [ 2 ] ) and the northern okinawa islands ( sesoko [ 3 ] and maeda [ 4 ] ; figs .
invaded the ryukyu islands in the 14th century . occupied by japan in the 17th century , china relinquished them to japan in 1879 . after world war 2 they were administered by the usa , and restored to japan in 1972 . the group includes
first let ' s talk about an okinawan dyeing technique called bingata . the islands of okinawa were originally a separate kingdom called ryukyu . this kingdom traded with china , korea , japan and southeast asia but had a unique culture all its own . some of the most famous textiles made in the ryukyu kingdom were bingata dyed textiles and basho - fu ( a woven abaca fiber textile ) .
on the whole , our results suggest that the yaeyama islands and the amami islands are potential source populations . on the other hand , the miyako islands , the kerama islands , and central western okinawa island are potential coral sink populations . in the southern nansei , corals are recruited from south to north , as previously thought , due to the kuroshio current . inside sekisei lagoon , migration data indicate a southwestward migration ( fig .
— this article is about the u . s . occupation government in okinawa ; for the earlier , native royal government , see ryūkyū kingdom . infobox former country conventional long name = united states civil administration of the ryukyu islands common name = … …
『薩摩と琉球』。鹿児島県の県立図書館。 (
satsuma and ryukyu .
kagoshima prefectural library official site . ) urltoken accessed 10 october 2007 . ( source in japanese . )
the next time i visit okinawa , i am taking robert walker’s okinawa and the ryukyu islands along with me . if anything , because in the back of the book , tucked in a cover , is a large beautiful folded map of the various island groups that make up the ryukyu islands , including a detailed full map of the main island of okinawa . on this folded map are also detailed maps of of naha city , the motobu peninsula , and the southern part of the main island of okinawa .
incidentally , since ancient times in okinawa there was a religious belief in onarigami , deities in the form of sisters ( onari in the old ryukyu language ) whose spiritual force protected brothers ( ekeri in the language ) . these onarigami were held to take the shape of white seabirds , butterflies , or turtles and protect the safety of vessels skippered by the ekeri . the islands of torishima , therefore , where countless birds flocked , were sacred islands to the okinawans . 10 thus uotsuri island , at times called kubashima and at times torishima , was doubly sacred to the people of okinawa . and this is to say that the senkaku islands ( kubashima ) as a whole , including uotsuri , kuba , minamikojima , and kitakojima islands , were considered customarily a part of the ryukyu islands by the people there during the early modern era .
recent histories of the ryukyus usually include a map with ryukyu at the center of east asia , which was created by ryukyu scholars after 1945 , but which roughly illustrates the international trade status of the ryukyus during the period when it was “the bridge to various kingdoms . ” ( scroll down )
beijing began its attempt to broaden the territorial dispute earlier this month when the communist party newspaper , the people ' s daily , ran an article in which two chinese academics challenged japan ' s sovereignty over the ryukyu chain of islands , which includes okinawa .
the amami islands in the northern nansei and some locations in the southern nansei ( miyako islands , hirakubo [ 10 ] , nakano [ 13 ] , and haemida [ 15 ] ) are not significantly different ( fig .
the ryukyu kingdom had been a foreign country that japan conquered and subjugated against the will of the king and his people . being a foreign nation , the kingdom’s people had to be assimilated into japan . the ryukyu people had different history and culture from the japanese . ethnically and linguistically different ryukyu people had to be japanized by means of assimilation programs . at least four assimilation programs were enforced — political , economic , educational and religious assimilation .
ryukyu islands ( south of kyushu ) extend for around 1 , 000 kilometers from 40 kilometers south of kyushu to 100 kilometers east of taiwan . some of the 200 or so islands are volcanic . most are made from coral . the islands in northern half of the island chain are part of kagoshima prefecture . the four island groups in the southern half are part of okinawa prefecture . the climate is considerable warmer than the main islands . the area is often struck by typhoons in the summer . during the winter months the temperatures are cool but the water visibility is at its best .
the name of is strongly associated with the ryūkyū kingdom , a highly centralized kingdom that originated from the okinawa islands and subjected the miyako and yaeyama islands , and the amami islands for some time . the name is generally considered outdated in japanese although some entities of okinawa still bear the name , such as the local national university .
other tropical or subtropical islands that may have significant geohistorical relationships with adjacent continents but are nevertheless not inscribed on the world heritage list include the caribbean islands . the caribbean islands are the islands at the boundary of the north american plate , the caribbean plate , and the south american plate ; they consist of the bahama islands , greater antilles , and lesser antilles . each of these island assemblages has unique ecosystems and biodiversities as a result of their processes of land formation . new findings have recently been reported in regard to the relationship between island formation in the caribbean islands and the origin and separation of the biota there . these findings suggest that animals dispersed across the sea in an age more recent than was presumed from the islands’ geological history , although the academic dispute continues .
in history , liuqiu islands territory to the east is xijie island ( chinese : 喜界岛 ; japanese : kikaijima island ) . liuqiu islands territory to the south is bozhaojian island ( chinese : 波照间岛 ; japanese : hateruma island ) . liuqiu islands territory to the west is yunaguo island ( chinese : 与那国岛 ; japanese : yonaguni island ) . liuqiu islands territory to the north is yanmei island ( chinese : 奄美大岛 ; japanese : amami island ) .
subsistence throughout the region was based primarily on fishing and horticulture , with fishing somewhat more important in the low islands and horticulture more important in the high islands . domestic animals were found only in some areas and were generally limited to dogs and chickens , although archaeology indicates that small numbers of pigs were also kept on a few islands .
appendix s9 . complex local ocean currents in may in the nansei islands , during the acropora tenuis spawning season .
another crucial fact that cannot be overlooked is a passage from the 1882 xu liuqiu guo zhi lue ( 続琉球国志略 ) by zhao xin - - the final chinese investiture envoy to ryukyu . the mission log includes the routes taken by both zhao ( 1866 ) and his predecessor , lin hongnian ( 1838 ) . earlier mission logs gave the chinese names for such islands as huangwei yu and chiwei yu , but zhao and lin calls them by their ryukyu appellations , namely , kuba and kumeaka , noting that he passed by the islands of diaoyu , kuba , kumeaka , and gumi ( kume ) . zhao no doubt simply jotted down the names given by the ryukyu sailors , but the fact that he used the ryukyu names unequivocally shows that the two last envoys ( lin hongnian and zhao xin ) did not consider the islands to belong to china . this is an extremely important point to which i will come back at the end of this section .
in a later article for the paper ' s sister publication , the global times , li said :
not only is japan obliterating the truth about the ryukyu issue , but it is doubling its aggressiveness and making provocations over the diaoyu issue . therefore it is necessary to revisit the ryukyu issue .
the general ' s remarks were not in isolation . they followed a lengthy piece by two chinese academics published a week earlier . ' ' it may be time to revisit the unresolved historical issue of the ryukyu islands , ' ' wrote zhang haipeng and li guoqiang .
kuroda , t . and ozawa , t . 1996 . paleoclimatic and vegetational changes during the pleistocene and holocene in the ryukyu islands inferred from pollen assemblages . chigaku zasshi ( journal of geography ) , 105 : 328 - 342 . ( in japanese with english abstract )
sagae , k . , humblet , m . , odawara , k . , chiyonobu , s . , sato , t . , kabamoto , j . , takayanagi , h . , and iryu , y . 2012 . stratigraphy of the ryukyu group in southern okinawa - jima , ryukyu islands , japan . journal of the geological society of japan , 118 : 117 - 136 . ( in japanese with english abstract )
inoue kiyoshi , senkaku retto : chogyo shoto no shiteki kaimei ( the senkaku islands : a historical elucidation of the diaoyu islands ) ( tokyo : gendai hyoron sha , 1972 ) , pp . 31 - 32 . [ ↩ ]
last , the japanese religious assimilation program was introduced to the ryukyu islands . “kokka shinto” ( national shinto religion ) was used as a means of brainwashing and controlling the island people . traditional ryukyuan religious worship sites called “utaki” were destroyed one after another to construct japanese torii and shinto shrines . today , even on the very small , uninhabited islands , shinto torii gates can be found .
adroit diplomatic and cultural strategy as bases for sustaining the economy , and achieving a sense of dignity , are lessons of the ryukyu kingdom legacy for taiwan .
daisuke araoka , yusuke yokoyama , atsushi suzuki , kazuhisa goto , kunimasa miyagi , keitaro miyazawa , hiroyuki matsuzaki , hodaka kawahata ; tsunami recurrence revealed by porites coral boulders in the southern ryukyu islands , japan . geology ; 41 ( 8 ) : 919–922 . doi : urltoken
so , for the ryukyu people , going to school was not delightful at all but very fearful . inferiority complex was implanted to the minds and hearts of island children . no universities or colleges were built by the japanese , because the “ryukyu people wouldn’t need college education” . all they needed was the basic skills of reading , writing , and speaking japanese so that they could follow the japanese orders , and the aim was to make ryukyu people followers , not leaders .
3 . it is the policy of the united states to develop and maintain on a long - term basis the facilities in the ryukyu islands by reason of the importance of the islands to the interests of the united states . u . s . civil administration will be conducted on the assumption of long - continued interest in such manner as to develop and maintain the well - being of the civil population and not prejudice ultimate decisions with respect to the international status of the islands and their form of government .
as i will make clear below , the early modern ryukyus 2 had vastly deeper ties with the senkaku islands than any other nation , china included . ( this was also the view of the countries of the west at the time , as i will show later in this paper . ) however , the ryukyu kingdom did not itself consider the senkakus to be part of its territory . ( indeed , during this era , nations throughout east asia did not view lonely islands in remote seas unfit for human residents - - in short , desert islands - - as belonging to any state . ) this means that during this period , from the perspective of international law , the senkaku islands were clearly not part of the ryukyu state . it is therefore correct to declare that the islands were terra nullius in terms of international law until 1895 , when the meiji government incorporated them into the territory of japan .
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the islands were the site of an ancient independent kingdom that had its capital at shuri , on okinawa . the chinese reached the islands in the 7th cent . but did not exact tribute until the 14th cent . in the 17th cent . the japanese prince of satsuma invaded the islands , which thereafter paid tribute to both japan and china . commodore matthew
the islands of the chain are considered in a number of groupings . listed from north to south , they are :
smits , gregory . visions of ryukyu : identity and ideology in early - modern thought and politics . honolulu : university of hawai ' i press , 1999 .
languages from risk of disappearance , facilitate the education of the ryukyu people in their own language and include their history and culture in textbooks used in school curricula .
genome - wide snp analysis reveals population structure and demographic history of the ryukyu islanders in the southern part of the japanese archipel . . . - pubmed - ncbi
the ryûkyû islands are a chain of islands stretching from just south of kyushu down to just before taiwan , just to the west of the kuroshio current which brings warm water from the south up to the ryukyus , japan , and korea .
of the twelve islands among others . after the kamakura shogunate was destroyed , the shimazu clan increased its rights . in 1364 , it claimed the
eighteen islands
of kawanabe district . in the same year , the clan ' s head
to begin with , the meiji government unilaterally abolished the ryukyu kingdom and established the okinawa prefectural government in naha that became the new capital . the shuri castle in the old capital became vacant since king sho tai and his ministers had been taken to tokyo . the name “okinawa” had to be used to abolish and destroy “ryukyu” .
the kingdom ' s territory expanded over the course of the 15th - 16th centuries , as the islands of the archipelago were absorbed into the kingdom one by one ; after 1624 , amami ôshima and a number of its neighboring islands were annexed by satsuma han . the amami islands today remain part of kagoshima prefecture while the rest of the ryûkyûs constitute okinawa prefecture .
1 . as a result of the terms of the surrender of the empire of japan to the forces of the allied powers , and the principles of international law governing the rights and duties of occupying powers , the government of the united states is responsible for the civil administration of the ryukyu islands , south of latitude 29° north . this responsibility is delegated to you and will be executed pursuant to this directive and other instructions from your government . the government of this area by the united states will be termed “u . s . civil administration of the ryukyu islands . ”
4 . the objective of the u . s . civil administration of the ryukyu islands will be the establishment of a stable political and economic structure stemming from and responsive to the will of the people as exerted through democratic processes . the u . s . civil administration will further the :
the new meiji constitution controlled the okinawan people . peace - oriented young ryukyuan men were drafted into japanese military forces . in order to avoid this , many young ryukyuans emigrated to hawaii , south america , and elsewhere . the japanese political assimilation program implemented throughout the ryukyu islands created chaos .
if , as china claims , jiao really meant the boundary between chinese and ryukyu territory , the reply would no doubt have been much simpler , such as ,
the island we just passed is chiwei yu , which is part of china , and the one up ahead is kumejima island , belonging to ryukyu .
clearly , neither wang ji nor his fellow travelers regarded the swirling kuroshio current as dividing chinese and ryukyu waters , and neither did they think that chiwei yu was part of china .
osozawa s , shinjo r , armid a , watanabe y , horiguchi t , wakabayashi j . paleogeographic reconstruction of the 1 . 55 ma synchronous isolation of the ryukyu islands , japan , and taiwan and inflow of the kuroshio warm current . int geol rev . 2012 ; 54 : 1369–1388 .
2 . you are authorized to redelegate the responsibility of u . s . civil administration of the ryukyu islands to a subordinate official designated as “director for u . s . civil administration of the ryukyus” [ page 914 ] and to issue to him appropriate instructions consistent with this and subsequent directives .
mention is made in the shoku nihongi under an entry for the year 699 of an island called “tokan” ( 度感 ) , which is usually identified with tokara , together with the islands of tane , yaku and amami , although “tokan” is also sometimes identified with tokunoshima , an island approximately 150 kilometres ( 93 miles ) away . however , an entry in the earlier nihon shoki for the year 654 mentions a
tokara country
( 吐火罗国 , tokara no kuni ) , but is in reference to tukhāra , the land of the tocharians , and has nothing to do with the tokara islands . during the 15th and 16th centuries , the islands came under the control of the shimazu clan of satsuma domain and the ryukyu kingdom . ryukyu ceded its territory in the tokara islands to satsuma in 1611 , which was confirmed by the tokugawa shogunate in 1624 .