Guam And The Northern Mariana Islands
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Two of the United States' most distant territories are located in the western Pacific Ocean, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Despite being separate political entities today, the two groups of islands have a shared geography, history, and culture. Today, they find themselves on the doorstep of Asia and straddling the world of the West and the East. Learn more about Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Technically, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are separate political entities, but the political separation is more of a historical accident. The Mariana Islands, located in the western Pacific Ocean, are an arc-shaped chain of 15 islands stretching over 1,500 miles or 2,400 kilometers. They are roughly equal distance between Japan, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea.

Politically, they are divided between Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which includes islands such as Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, as well as smaller volcanic islands in the north, most of which are uninhabited. The archipelago is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and has several active volcanoes, such as Pagan and Egrehan. The region also contains the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest oceanic trench, with the Challenger Deep Point reaching nearly 36,000 feet or 11,000 meters below sea level.

The islands are primarily limestone and volcanic in origin, with lush tropical vegetation in the south and more barren volcanic terrain in the north. The tropical marine climate brings weather temperatures and seasonal typhoons, influencing the island's ecosystem and agriculture. The island of Saipan is noted to have the world's most stable temperature. The islands are part of the greater region known as Micronesia, which includes such island nations as Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands.

The native people of the Mariana Islands are the Chamorro. Genetic evidence suggests that the Chamorro probably migrated from Southeast Asia sometime around 3,500 years ago. The Chamorro culture is matrilineal, meaning they trace kinship through the mother's line rather than the father's line. And they're organized into clans and have a very strict social hierarchy that's similar to a caste system. The Chamorro were excellent ocean navigators, which was necessary given the size of the archipelago.

Perhaps the best-known artifacts of the Chamorro culture are Lati stones. Lati stones are large pillars with a hemispheric stone at the top, and they served as pillars for raised buildings. Today, Lati stones are seen as a symbol of the Chamorro people. The recorded history of the Mariana Islands began in 1521 with the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan.

Magellan led a voyage to circumnavigate the globe, and Guam was the first island he reached after the long voyage across the Pacific Ocean. The fruits that Magellan and his crew found on Guam saved them from dying of scurvy, something which had already killed several of his crew members during the crossing. Despite being Portuguese, he was sailing under the flag of Spain and claimed Guam and the Mariana Islands for the Spanish crown.

However, it wasn't until 1667 that Spain formally colonized the islands based on Magellan's original claim. The Spanish named the islands the Mariana Islands after the Spanish queen Mariana of Austria, who was the widow of King Philip IV and the regent for her son, King Charles II. With the incorporation of the Marianas, as they did in Latin America, Spain brought Jesuits with them to convert the Chamorro people to Christianity.

The Chamorro did not quietly ascend to Spanish control. Clan leaders such as the chief Matapang led a rebellion against the Spanish, but diseases and superior weaponry eventually resulted in Spanish control of the islands. By the end of the 18th century, Catholicism had become deeply rooted in the culture, and Spanish governments had remained the norm for over 200 years. The big change in the island status occurred with Spain's war with the United States.

After Spain's defeat in the Spanish-American War in 1898, Guam was ceded to the United States under the Treaty of Paris. It became a U.S. naval base, while the rest of the Mariana Islands remained under Spanish rule. This was the start of the division of the Mariana Islands, which continues to this day.

With the loss of Guam, the largest and most important of the islands, the Spanish deemed the remaining islands of little value. In fact, there were an economic burden being so far away from Spain and so small with little in the way of natural resources. So in 1899, Spain sold the remaining islands under their control to Germany, which wanted to have an overseas empire but was late to the imperial game.

Other than being able to show the islands on a map, Germany did very little with them. The Germans used the islands primarily for coconut plantations and trading posts with minimal direct governance. Germany's control over the northern islands was brief. With the outbreak of the First World War, the Allies seized all of the German territories outside of Europe.

the Northern Marianas were seized by the Empire of Japan. After the war, the League of Nations granted Japan a mandate to administer the islands. Japan's approach to administering the islands was very different from the Germans. Much of this may have been due to simple proximity. Japan developed the Marianas extensively, including building infrastructure and sugarcane plantations, and it brought in a large number of Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean workers.

The indigenous Chamorro people became a minority during this period due to the influx of Japanese settlers and laborers. Japan considered the Marianas to be a part of the Japanese homeland. The Second World War once again dramatically changed the islands. The Japanese invasion and occupation of Guam began on December 8, 1941, just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, marking the start of Japan's expansion across the Pacific during World War II.

Guam, lightly defended by a small U.S. military garrison, fell quickly to Japanese forces on December 10, 1941. The occupation lasted nearly three years, during which the Chamorro people endured harsh conditions, including forced labor, imprisonment, beatings, and executions. The Japanese sought to integrate Guam into their wartime empire, imposing strict rules, including bans on the English language and American cultural symbols, while promoting Japanese customs and language.

Resistance by some Chamorros led to brutal reprisals. The occupation ended with the American recapture of Guam on July 21, 1944, following intense fighting during the U.S. military's broader campaign to retake the Mariana Islands. The Battle of Saipan and the Battle of Tinian were fierce, with large-scale civilian casualties, including many suicides. It was the first time that the war encountered Japanese civilians.

The Marianas played a key part in the conclusion of the war, as the island of Tinian was the point of departure for the missions that dropped atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the war, the United States resumed control of Guam. The newly created United Nations then established the Trust Territories of the Pacific. One of the territories was the Northern Mariana Islands, which was to be administered by the United States. The other Trust Territories included Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands.

The Trust Territories of the Pacific were never designed to be a permanent solution. Eventually, all of the Trust Territories had to make a decision, either to seek independence or to become a U.S. territory. All of the Trust Territories selected the independence route, except for one, the Northern Mariana Islands.

In 1975, the people of the Northern Marianas voted to become a Commonwealth of the United States. And in 1978, they officially became the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Guam remains an organized, unincorporated U.S. territory, meaning it does not have voting representation in Congress and residents can't vote in presidential elections. The status and geography of the islands have led to unique problems and opportunities.

For example, the Northern Mariana Islands faced significant controversy in the late 1990s and early 2000s due to garment factories. Because the Northern Marianas was a U.S. territory, under American law at the time, they could legally use the Made in USA label on any clothing manufactured in the territory. However, they weren't subject to every U.S. law. They were exempt from certain U.S. federal labor and immigration laws, including minimum wage standards.

This loophole created an enormous opportunity for the garment industry. Chinese workers, mostly women, were recruited under poor working conditions with low wages, long hours, and sometimes even forced labor. Employers confiscated workers' passports, making it difficult for them to leave or protest. The scandal led to the U.S. Congress passing legislation to extend federal labor and immigration laws to the Northern Mariana Islands in the mid-2000s.

effectively ending the garment industry there by 2009 as the factories could no longer exploit these loopholes. Guam has become one of the most important outposts for the U.S. military in the world. It has several military facilities on the island, including Naval Base Guam, Anderson Air Force Base, and Marine Corps Base Camp Blas. There are usually around 10,000 to 15,000 military personnel on the island at any given time.

The importance of Guam as a military outpost is probably only going to increase in the future. There's been talk for several years of the United States closing its bases on the island of Okinawa in Japan. There are about two to three times the number of military personnel on Okinawa compared to those in Guam. And should the Okinawa bases ever close, most of them would probably end up moving to Guam. In addition to government spending, both Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands economies are heavily dependent on tourism.

in particular visitors from Japan, South Korea, and the United States. One question you might be asking yourself at this point is, if the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam are part of the same island chain, share a similar culture and history, and they're both U.S. territories, why don't they merge? Since the division of the islands after the Spanish-American War, the topic of reunification has arisen many times.

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has a population of approximately 55,000, and Guam has a population of about 168,000. If they combined, they would be the second largest U.S. territory by population behind Puerto Rico. The subject has been raised many times. In 1958, a referendum on reunification in the Northern Marianas passed with 64% of the vote. That same year, the Guam legislature passed a resolution supporting reunification.

In 1969, the people of Guam rejected reunification in a referendum, and the people of the Northern Marianas again voted for it. It's been over 50 years since the last referendum. The issue is something which has been a low boil for decades. The topic keeps coming up, but it isn't something that's considered so important that it comes to the forefront.

It's possible at some point in the future, an event or person might bring the question to a point where it will be voted on again. But as of right now, nothing seems to be happening. One issue that might bring the issue to the forefront is the fact that there have been efforts to revive Chamorro culture, with language programs, traditional dance and arts, and greater attention to indigenous identity. An increase in Chamorro culture and identity could possibly spur reunification between the Chamorro people in the future.

I had the pleasure of visiting both Saipan and Guam back in 2007, near the beginnings of my world travels. Both are beautiful islands, and when you're there, you can't help but notice how much American culture can be felt in both places. And that's one of the reasons so many tourists visit from Japan and South Korea. It's the closest part of the United States that they can reach. Both Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands will continue to play an important role in the future due to their geography and ties to the United States.

regardless if they do so together or separately. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Benji Long and Cameron Kiefer. I want to give a big shout out to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon, including the show's producers. Your support helps me put out a show every single day. And also, Patreon is currently the only place where Everything Everywhere Daily merchandise is available to the top tier of supporters.

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