Which countries controlled the Marshall Islands before the United States took control during World War II?

Before the United States occupied the Marshall Islands during World War II, the islands were controlled by several foreign powers:

• Spain: Although the Spanish navigator Álvaro Saavedra made the first European contact in 1529, Spain did not actively exploit or colonize the region due to its limited resources.12
• Germany: In 1886, following an agreement with Great Britain, Germany established a protectorate over the Marshall Islands, having previously secured a coaling station on Jaluit Atoll through a treaty with local chiefs.12
• Japan: Japan seized the islands in 1914. Following World War I, Japan administered the territory as a League of Nations mandate until the United States took control during the Pacific War.132