New Caledonia Their social organization is traditionally based around clans, which identify as either "land" or "sea" clans, depending on their original location and the occupation of their ancestors. According to the 2009 census, the Kanak constitute 94% of the population in the Loyalty Islands Province, 74% in the North Province and 27% in the South Province. The Kanak tend to be of lower socio-economic status than the Europeans and other settlers. Europeans first settled in New Caledonia when France established a penal colony on the archipelago. Once the prisoners had completed their sentences, they were given land to settle. According to
Governor of the South Pacific Mandate Nations placed the territory under the United States trusteeship as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The islands are now part of Palau, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands. The following is a list of the Governors the South Pacific Mandate, as well as their predecessors during the Japanese occupation of the territory between 1914 and 1922. Governor of the South Pacific Mandate The Governor of the South Pacific Mandate (officially known as the Director of the South Sea Agency) was an official who ruled the South Pacific Mandate, a League of Nations mandate in