Changes

==Early Modern Period==

==Early Modern Period==

Kikaigashima was conquered by the Shimazu clan of Kagoshima domain in the early stages of the 1609 [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]], along with much of the rest of the Amami Islands. After that, the island came under Satsuma administration. While Satsuma assigned its own administrators to the island, they retained the political/geographic organization of the villages into ''[[magiri]]'', as put into place by the Ryûkyû Kingdom. Village heads were known as ''okite'' (掟) and ''yohito'' (与人), as they had been under the Kingdom.<ref name=satsuyu>Ono Masako, Tomita Chinatsu, Kanna Keiko, Taguchi Megumi, "Shiryô shôkai Kishi Akimasa bunko Satsuyû kikô," ''Shiryôhenshûshitsu kiyô'' 31 (2006), 228.</ref> Satsuma policies in the Amamis forced the people of the islands to devote their energies almost exclusively to the cultivation and refining of sugar, which was then very heavily taxed. These policies have been compared to plantation practices in the Caribbean and elsewhere in the world, and have been described as quite akin to "a structure of colonial extraction."<ref>Robert Hellyer, Defining Engagement, Harvard University Press (2009), 95.</ref>

Kikaigashima was conquered by the Shimazu clan of Kagoshima domain in the early stages of the 1609 [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]], along with much of the rest of the Amami Islands. After that, the island came under Satsuma administration, with a separate ''daikansho'' (branch office of the Amami ''[[daikan]]'') being established on the island in [[1693]]. While Satsuma assigned its own administrators to the island, they retained the political/geographic organization of the villages into ''[[magiri]]'', as put into place by the Ryûkyû Kingdom. Village heads were known as ''okite'' (掟) and ''yohito'' (与人), as they had been under the Kingdom.<ref name=satsuyu>Ono Masako, Tomita Chinatsu, Kanna Keiko, Taguchi Megumi, "Shiryô shôkai Kishi Akimasa bunko Satsuyû kikô," ''Shiryôhenshûshitsu kiyô'' 31 (2006), 228.</ref> Satsuma policies in the Amamis forced the people of the islands to devote their energies almost exclusively to the cultivation and refining of sugar, which was then very heavily taxed. These policies have been compared to plantation practices in the Caribbean and elsewhere in the world, and have been described as quite akin to "a structure of colonial extraction."<ref>Robert Hellyer, Defining Engagement, Harvard University Press (2009), 95.</ref>

Around 1800, the population of the island is believed to have been around 10,000 people. It is said that "the five grains" (i.e. all the major staples: rice, wheat, beans, ''awa'' millet, and ''kibi'' millet) were all grown on the island, but that the chief product grown there was [[sugar]].<ref name=satsuyu/>

Around 1800, the population of the island is believed to have been around 10,000 people. It is said that "the five grains" (i.e. all the major staples: rice, wheat, beans, ''awa'' millet, and ''kibi'' millet) were all grown on the island, but that the chief product grown there was [[sugar]].<ref name=satsuyu/>