A beach on Agrihan (also known as Agrigan) in the Northern Mariana Islands in the 1960s.

A beach on Agrihan (also known as Agrigan) in the Northern Mariana Islands in the 1960s.

This island was populated by Ancient CHamorus prior to Spanish colonization, but they were forcibly removed after the end of the CHamoru-Spanish Wars in 1695 and forced to sail south to live in Guam. For the next three hundred years, relatively few people lived on Agrihan, but there would be different efforts to build plantations on the island initiated by economic interests from Germany, Japan and even the Kingdom of Hawai’i.

Population has remained low on the island up until today over concerns of volcanic activity. Incidentally, at 3,166 ft, the central volcano that forms the island, Mount Agrihan is the highest peak in the Marianas and Micronesia.