Volcano Islands uninhabited. The first recorded sighting by Europeans was in October 1543 by Spanish navigator Bernardo de la Torre on board of carrack "San Juan de Letrán" when trying to return from Sarangani to New Spain. Iwo Jima was charted as Sufre, the old Spanish term for sulphur. The islands were uninhabited until 1889, when the two northern islands were settled by Japanese settlers from the Izu Islands. They were annexed by Japan in 1891. The population was about 1,100 in 1939, distributed among five settlements: Higashi, Minami, Nishi, Kita and Motoyama (meaning "East", "South", "West", "North" and "Mountain of Origin",
Sangihe Islands main islands of the group are, north to south, Sangir Besar (or Sangir Island), Siau (or Siao), Tahulandang, and Biaro. The largest island is Sangir Besar and contains an active volcano, Mount Awu (). Tahuna is the chief town and port, also hosting the islands' sole airport, Naha Airport. The area came under Dutch control in 1677, and became part of Indonesia when it declared independence from the Netherlands in 1945. The Sangir language is spoken in the islands; this Austronesian language is also spoken in some islands in the Philippines, and on the extreme northern tip of Sulawesi. The