# Capuchins print the first Yapese and Pohnpeian texts (1890 – 1899)

URL: https://allhistories.com/micronesia/timeline/1890-capuchins-print-the-first-yapese-and-pohnpeian-texts
Location: Yap, Federated States of Micronesia
Themes: main-event

Wikipedia's article on the Spanish Caroline Islands says the Capuchin Anthony of Valentia wrote a Yap grammar and dictionary in 1890, and that a catechism and prayer book were printed in the Pohnpeian language. The Micronesian Seminar adds that a Yapese catechism by Father Daniel, the first book in Yapese, was published in 1899. Missionaries needed local languages to preach and teach. The friars had arrived in 1886 and 1887, and by the 1890s they had lived on Yap and Pohnpei for several years. Spain's Carolines mission was funded by the colonial government, so the books appeared before the funding ended in 1899. German Capuchins continued the work. The Seminar says that between 1910 and 1912 they published a prayer book, a Bible history and a catechism in Yapese. These early books are among the first written records of the Yapese and Pohnpeian languages, though the sources do not describe their orthography. At this point in the timeline (1890), Luis Cadarso y Rey (29 Oct 1887 – Jan 1891) was Governor of the Eastern Carolines (Ponape), the senior Spanish official in the Eastern Carolines, based at Kolonia on Pohnpei; Mariano Torres de Navarra (1887 – 1888; 1889 – 1890) was Governor of the Western Carolines and Palau (Yap), the Spanish governor of the western part of the colony.

## Why it matters
The grammars and prayer books are among the earliest written materials in Yapese and Pohnpeian, and they opened the way to local-language literacy.

Ruler at the Time: [Luis Cadarso y Rey](https://allhistories.com/micronesia/rulers/luis-cadarso-y-rey-7)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Spanish Caroline Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Caroline_Islands)
- [micsem.org — yap](https://www.micsem.org/pubs/books/catholic/yap/)
- [guampedia.com — capuchins](https://www.guampedia.com/capuchins)