Yapese Empire

The Yapese Empire was an ancient maritime empire in the western Caroline Islands of Micronesia in the north Pacific, dating from around the ninth century AD. Around 950 AD Yap became the empires seat when the village of Gatcheper, in the chiefdom of Gagil, established an expansive maritime trade network and extended socioeconomic and political influence over neighboring islands to the east. Though small and informal compared to other maritime empires, at its peak it covered more than 1,300 kilometers, stretching from the Yap main islands to parts of what is now Chuuk State, and it coexisted with the Tongan Empire of the southern Pacific. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/