Alamagan was once settled by the
Chamorros, who left behind archaeological evidence including stone columns (called
latte stones) and ceramics. From a European perspective, Alamagan was discovered in 1669 by the Spanish missionary
Diego Luis de San Vitores, who named it
Concepción (
Immaculate Conception in Spanish). It is likely that it was previously visited in 1522 by the Spanish sailor
Gonzalo de Vigo, a deserter from the
Magellan expedition in 1521 and the first European castaway in the history of the Pacific. In 1695, Alamagan's natives were forcibly removed to
Saipan, and three years later to
Guam. Following the sale of the Northern Marianas by Spain to the
German Empire in 1899, Alamagan was administered as part of
German New Guinea. During this time, a private firm, the Pagan Society, owned by a German and a Japanese partner, developed more coconut plantations. However, severe typhoons in September 1905, September 1907 and December 1913 destroyed the plantations and bankrupted the company. During
World War I, Alamagan came under the control of the
Empire of Japan and was administered as the
South Seas Mandate. Following
World War II, it came under the control of the
United States and was administered as part of the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Since 1978, it has been part of the
Northern Islands Municipality of the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. in 2009 The island was inhabited, and continued to be used for the production of
copra, with the main settlements of Song Song in the south and Patida camp in the northwest. However, by 1962 the population had dropped so much that the elementary school was closed for lack of students. Due to what was thought to be increased volcanic activity, the islanders were evacuated in December 1998 when an eruption was feared. However, analysis of the event concluded that it was excess rainwater entering fumaroles, causing extra steam, not an eruptive event. At the 2000 census, only six people were living on Alamagan. In September 2009,
Typhoon Choi-wan passed directly over Alamagan, destroying many of the island's trees and forcing the evacuation of the remaining residents to
Saipan. As of the
2010 United States census, the island was officially uninhabited at that time. In 2018, 18 embarked on a mission to repopulate the northern islands of Alamagan and Agrihan. They left Saipan aboard the M/V Super Emerald, and the families had originally come from Alamagan to resettle there. The months long project was coordinated by the mayor's office, and plans to have clean water and radio contact, and also to hopefully send more families there. One returning Marianan remarked " I was born and raised on Saipan but my family is from Alamagan. We are going to live there for a long time.... As of 2000, there is about 6 on the island, 0 in 2010, but 1 in 2020, in a place called "the village". The 2020 U.S. Census reports 1 person living in Alamagan village. In June 2020, the crew of a boat on its way to Pagan stopped with engine trouble and ultimately sank near Alamagan, with two crew members abandoning ship and staying at the village in Alamagan. In 2023, when an injured 30 year old had an emergency medical evacuation to Saipan from Alamagan, he was transported by sea aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter
Oliver Henry. ==Geography==