In the 19th century a French cartographer corrupted the Japanese word "munin" meaning "no mans land" to "bonin" and since then BONIN ISLAND.
Micronesian people might have lived here but there are no details. In 1675 there was an expedition sent by the Shogunate and a map was made but until 1830 the Island remained uninhabited.
2000 people live in the 24km2 Island and it belongs to Tokyo Prefecture although they celebrate that it hasn't been tinted by the city colors.
During the 19th Century many western ships landed in the Island but it was in 1827 when the first settlement arrived with Nathaniel Savory from Massachuttes, 22 other men and a women from Pearl Harbor. You can still bump into Savory descendants when you go to town.
In 1862 Tokugawa Shogunate officially proclaimed the Island and introduced Japanese immigrants from Hachijojima. Only 40 members of the Savory colony were allowed to stay.
During the WW2 Chichijima was used as the base for Japanese radio stations. It was frequently attached by the US and during one, George H. W. Bush ended in an aircraft attack landing near chichijima. In 1944 for strategic purposes during the historic battle of Iwo-jima, all the inhabitants of that time, 6886 people were evacuated.
The Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers allowed 129 western origin locals to stay in the Island and destroyed the remaining houses. During the 1950's it was used by the US to hold nuclear arms even though Japan is strictly anti nuclear arms.
