#075 | Queen Anatahan And Her Harem Of Men
Anatahan Island
Anatahan is a tiny island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean with one of the most active volcanoes of the archipelago. The most recent eruption was in 2007 and it lasted till 2008. What made the island really famous though, is the strange story of the Queen of Anatahan and her 32 men.
Spain owned the island initially and had a large coconut plantation there producing around 125 tons of export yearly. But they eventually sold it to the Germans, who in turn sold it to Japan after World War I.
Shipwrecked Soldiers
Sometime around 1944, during World War II, 3 Japanese vessels were sunk by U.S. planes not far from the island. And the 31 Japanese surviving men swam to safety on Anatahan. There, they met Kikuichiro Higa and his live-in wife Kazuko who were overseeing the plantation.
So the 32 men and 1 woman lived on the island, surviving on local fruits, vegetables and animals while waiting for the war to end. They lived relatively comfortably and peacefully until Kikuichiro Higa died in 1946. That’s when things started to change.
Fight For The Queen
Being the only woman on an island filled with 31 men, she suddenly became the sole object of desire. To settle the disputes and…
