Difference between revisions of "Guam" - New World Encyclopedia
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− | '''Guam''' ([[Chamorro language|Chamorro]]: ''Guåhån''), officially the '''U.S. Territory of Guam''', is an island in the Western [[Pacific Ocean]] and is an | + | '''Guam''' ([[Chamorro language|Chamorro]]: ''Guåhån''), officially the '''U.S. Territory of Guam''', is an island in the Western [[Pacific Ocean]] and is an organized unincorporated territory of the [[United States]]. Its indigenous people are the [[Chamorros]], who first populated the island approximately 4000 years ago. It is the largest and southernmost of the [[Mariana Islands]]. Guam's U.S. military installations remain among the most strategically vital in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. |
==Geography== | ==Geography== | ||
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[[Image:GuamMap.png|thumb|260px|right|Map of Guam]] | [[Image:GuamMap.png|thumb|260px|right|Map of Guam]] | ||
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+ | Guam (or Guahan in Chamorro), the largest island in Micronesia, is 2414 kilometers southeast of Tokyo and 9656 km west of San Francisco, and has an area of 544 square kilometers (210 square miles). The northern part of the island is a forested coralline limestone plateau while the south contains volcanic peaks covered in forest and grassland. A coral reef surrounds most of the island, except in areas where bays exist that provide access to small rivers and streams. The island's population is most dense in the northern and central regions. The capital is Hagåtña, formerly Agana (pronounced Agaña). | ||
+ | The Mariana island chain was created as a result of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates colliding. The Marianas Trench lies to the east of the island chain. The Challenger Deep, the deepest point on earth, is southwest of Guam at 10,911 meters (35,797 feet) deep. | ||
+ | The island sustains occasional earthquakes due to being on the edge of the Pacific Plate. Unlike the Anatahan volcano in the northern Marianas, Guam is not volcanically active. | ||
[[Image:South Guam from space.JPG|200px]] [[Image:Guam from space.JPG|200px]] | [[Image:South Guam from space.JPG|200px]] [[Image:Guam from space.JPG|200px]] | ||
*Satellite images of southern and northern Guam. | *Satellite images of southern and northern Guam. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Guam has a tropical marine climate. The weather is generally warm and humid with little seasonal temperature variation. The mean high temperature is 86° Fahrenheit (30 °Celsius) and mean low is 76°F (24 °C) with an average annual rainfall of 86 inches (2,180 millimeters). The dry season runs from December through June. The highest risk of typhoons is during October and November. After Super Typhoon Pamela in 1976 wooden structures began to be replaced by concrete. | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[Image:snake_browntree.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Brown Tree Snake]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | Natural resources include commercial fishing (mostly servicing and unloading of long line fleets and commercial vessels, sport fishing of blue marlin, wahoo, mahi mahi, yellow fin tuna, and deep water reef fish, and tourism (especially from [[Japan]] but increasingly from China and Korea). | ||
+ | |||
+ | The slightly venomous but rather harmless brown tree snake (''Boiga irregularis''), thought to be a stowaway on a U.S. military transport during World War II, has killed a large percentage of the native bird population on the previously snake-free island. These snakes, that have no natural predators on the island, were blamed for frequent blackouts in the 1980s by shorting across lines and transformers. Many power poles now have a slick metal sheath to prevent the snakes from climbing. | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[Image:Marine toad Bufo marinus USGS Photograph.sized.jpg|thumb|250px|left|A [[Cane toad|Guam toad]].]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | Introduced feral pigs and deer, over-hunting, and habitat loss from human development have contributed to the loss of Guam's native plants and animals. The Spanish introduced pigs, dogs, chickens, the Philippine deer (Cervus mariannus), black francolins, and water buffalo. Other introduced species include cane toads imported in 1937, the giant African Snail—an agricultural pest introduced during WWII—and more recently frog species which could threaten crops in addition to providing additional food for the brown tree snake population. Tinangaja, a plant virus affecting coconut palms, has left dead and infected trees throughout the forests of Guam. The dense forests of northern Guam have been replaced by thick Leucaena brush, a native to the Americas, known in Guam as “tangan tangan.” | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[Image:Guam Grassland.jpg|right|thumb|200px]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | Wild fires have devastated large areas of forest. Poachers often start fires so deer would be attracted to the new growth. Invasive grass species that rely on fire as part of their natural life cycle grow in many regularly burned areas. As a result, grasslands and barren areas have replaced previously forested areas, leading to greater soil erosion. which leads to water quality problems for southern Guam, and destruction of marine life in reefs around the island. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
− | + | [[Image:Gadao_Guam.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Chief [[Gadao]] is featured in many legends about Guam before European colonization.]] | |
− | [[ | ||
− | + | [[Guam]] was first discovered by sea-faring people who migrated from [[Indonesia]] or the [[Philippines]] around 2000 b.c.e., according to legends and myths, archaeological evidence, [[Jesuit]] [[missionary]] accounts, and observations from visiting scientists like [[Otto von Kotzebue]] and [[Louis de Freycinet]]. | |
− | + | [[Portugal|Portuguese]] navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the island in 1521 during his circumnavigation of the globe. General Miguel López de Legazpi claimed Guam for Spain in 1565. Spanish colonization commenced in 1668 with the arrival of Padre San Vitores, who established the first Catholic mission. | |
− | == | + | [[Image:Svitores Guam.jpg|thumb|px200|Engraving showing the death of Padre [[San Vitores]], the first missionary to Guam.]] |
+ | |||
+ | The islands were then governed as part of the Spanish East Indies from the Philippines. Between 1668 and 1815, Guam was an important resting stop on the [[Spain|Spanish]] trade route between [[Mexico]] and the [[Philippines]]. Guam, along with the rest of the Mariana and [[Caroline islands]], was treated by Spain as part of their colony in the Philippines. The original inhabitant population dwindled significantly as a result of disease and rebellion against the Spaniards. Much of the adult male population was killed. While Guam's Chamorro culture is unique, the cultures of both Guam and the Northern Marianas were heavily influenced by Spanish culture and traditions. | ||
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+ | [[Image:Piti 1900.jpg|left|thumb|350px|The [[Villages of Guam|village]] of [[Piti, Guam|Piti]] shortly after Guam's capture by the Americans. | ||
+ | |||
+ | On June 21, 1898, Guam was captured by the [[United States]] in a bloodless landing during the [[Spanish-American War]]. By the Treaty of Paris (1898), Spain officially ceded Guam to the United States. Since then, Guam served as a way station for American ships traveling to and from the [[Philippines]]. The northern Mariana islands passed to Germany then Japan. | ||
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+ | During [[World War II]], Guam was attacked and invaded by the Japanese armed forces on December 8, 1941. The Northern Mariana Islands had become a Japanese protectorate before the war. It was the Chamorros from the Northern Marianas who were brought to Guam to serve as interpreters and in other capacities for the occupying Japanese force. The Guamanian Chamorros were treated as an occupied enemy by the Japanese military. After the war, this would cause some resentment by the Guamanian Chamorros towards the Chamorros in the Northern Marianas. To this day, Guam remains the only U.S. soil, with a sizeable population, that suffered under foreign military power occupation. | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[Image:Agat_1944.jpg|right|thumb|290px|[[Marines]] cross a bridge in [[Agat, Guam|Agat]] during the liberation of Guam in 1944.]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | Guam's occupation lasted for approximately thirty-one months. During this period, the indigenous people of Guam were subjected to forced labor, family separation, incarceration, execution, concentration camps and prostitution. The United States returned and fought the Battle of Guam in July 21, 1944, to recapture the island. The U.S. also captured and occupied the Northern Marianas. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The immediate years after [[World War II]] saw the U.S. Navy attempting to resume its predominance in Guam affairs. This led to resentment, and thus increased political pressure for greater autonomy from Chamorro leaders. The result was the Guam Organic Act of 1950, which established Guam as an unincorporated organized territory of the [[United States]] and, for the first time in Guam History, provided for a civilian government, and granted the people United States citizenship. | ||
+ | |||
+ | On September 11, 1968, the "Elective Governor Act" (Public Law 90-497), allowed the people of Guam to elect their own governor and lieutenant governor. Nearly four years later, Congress passed the "Guam-[[Virgin Islands]] Delegate" Act that allowed for one non-voting Guam delegate in the House of Representatives. In the meantime, Guam's local government had formed several commissions to address possible options for self-determination. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==Politics== | ||
[[Image:Wapa new parknet photos.jpg|right|thumb|400px|War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Asan, Guam]] | [[Image:Wapa new parknet photos.jpg|right|thumb|400px|War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Asan, Guam]] | ||
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− | + | Guam is governed by a popularly elected governor and a unicameral 15 member legislature. Guam elects one non-voting delegate to the US House of Representatives. During U.S. Presidential elections, citizens in Guam vote in a "straw poll" for their choice of president, but it doesn't count toward the general election results. | |
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− | + | In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a significant movement in favor of the territory becoming a commonwealth, which would give it a political status similar to [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]]. In Guam's first political status referendum in 1982, 49 percent of all Guam residents who voted chose a closer relationship with the United States via Commonwealth, 26 percent voted for statehood, while ten percent voted for the status quo. In 1988, the first Guam Commonwealth Act introduced into Congress. Delegates have subsequently reintroduced the bill with little success. | |
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− | The U.S. military maintains jurisdiction over bases comprising approximately one quarter of the island's area: | + | Competing movements with less significant influence exist, which advocate political independence from the United States, statehood, or a combination with the Northern Mariana Islands as a single commonwealth. These proposals however, are not seen as favorable or realistic within the U.S. federal government, which argues Guam does not have the financial stability or self-sufficiency to warrant such status. The same sources quickly provide evidence of Guam’s increasing reliance on federal spending, and question how commonwealth status or statehood would benefit the United States as a greater whole. |
− | + | ||
− | + | Guam is divided into nineteen villages. The U.S. military maintains jurisdiction over bases comprising approximately one quarter of the island's area: Andersen Air Force Base, Yigo; Naval Air Station, Tiyan (administered by the government of Guam); Guam Naval Station, Orote peninsula; Ordnance Annex, South Central Highlands (formerly known as Naval Magazine); and Naval communications station, Barrigada and Finegayan. | |
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== Economy == | == Economy == | ||
− | + | <center><gallery> | |
+ | Image:Whitespotted boxfish Ostracion meleagris photo Randall J E.jpg | ||
+ | Image:Royal angelfish Pygoplites diacanthus photo Patzner R.jpg | ||
+ | </gallery>Reef fish of Guam.</center> | ||
− | + | The economy depends largely on US military spending and tourism. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1.3-billion in 2004, from the U.S. Federal Treasury into which Guam pays no income or excise taxes. The Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam. Over the past 30 years, the tourist industry has grown to become the largest income source following national defense. The Guam economy continues to experience expansion in both its tourism and military sectors. | |
− | + | Sometimes called "America in Asia," Guam is a popular destination for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese tourists, and with over 20 large hotels, a DFS Galleria, Pleasure Island aquarium, SandCastle Las Vegas shows and other shopping and entertainment features in its chief tourism city of [[Tumon]], the island's economy has grown dramatically. It is a relatively short flight from Asia compared to [[Hawaii]], and a series of hotels and golf courses were built to cater to tourists. Today, about 90 percent of tourists to Guam are Japanese. Significant sources of revenue include duty-free designer shopping outlets, and the American-style malls: Micronesia Mall, Guam Premium Outlets, and the Agana Shopping Center, and various businesses catering to tourists in Tumon. | |
− | + | Guam has a 14 percent unemployment rate, and the government suffered a $314-million shortfall in 2003. Per capita gross domestic product was $15,000 in 2005. | |
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− | + | Exports totalled $45-million in 2004. Export commodities were mostly trans-shipments of refined petroleum products, construction materials, fish, food and beverage products. Export partners were Japan 67.2%, Singapore 11.6%, and the UK 4.8%. Imports totalled $701-million. Import commodities were petroleum and petroleum products, food, and manufactured goods. Import partners were Singapore 50%, South Korea 21.4%, Japan 14%, and Hong Kong 4.6%. | |
[[Image:Apra_Guam.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Apra Harbor from the air]] | [[Image:Apra_Guam.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Apra Harbor from the air]] | ||
− | + | Most of the island has mobile phone service, and high speed internet is now widely available through cable or DSL. Cell phones are used by a majority of residents, and the telephone service is extremely reliable, as compared to 20-25 years ago when phone outages were common. Guam was added to the North American Numbering Plan in 1997, removing barriers of high costs of international long-distance calls to the mainland. | |
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− | Most of the island has mobile phone service and high speed internet is now widely available through cable or DSL. Cell phones are used by a majority of residents, and the telephone service is extremely reliable, as compared to 20-25 years ago when phone outages were common. Guam was added to the North American Numbering Plan in 1997, removing barriers of high costs of international long-distance calls to the mainland | ||
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− | Guam is | + | As Guam is also part of the U.S. Postal System, mail to Guam from the mainland is considered domestic and no additional charges are required. Private shipping companies such as UPS, DHL or FedEx also regard Guam is domestic, although this is often not reflected in the shipping charges for many mail-order companies or websites. |
− | Most residents travel in Guam using personally owned cars. A limited bus system for residents exists but is not used by many residents. | + | Guam is served by the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport. There are no direct flights to Guam from the [[Continental United States|U.S. Mainland]]. Flights to Guam go through Hawaii, Japan, or Korea first and generally requires a layover and a plane transfer. Most residents travel in Guam using personally owned cars. A limited bus system for residents exists but is not used by many residents. |
− | == | + | ==Demographics== |
− | + | [[Image:Apra Guam.jpg|thumb|350px|Guam contains several [[military base]]s including the [[U.S. Navy|United States Naval]] Station on the [[Orote]] Pennisula shown here.]] | |
− | + | The population of 171,019 in 2006, represents more than a six fold increase since 1940, largely as a result of immigration after 1965. Guam has a high life expectancy of 78.58 years for the total population. | |
− | + | In 2000, only 37.1 percent of the population was of Chamorro ancestry. The largest immigrant population derives from the Philippines, 26.3 percent, followed by American military personnel and other Asian immigrants. Other Pacific islanders made up 11.3 percent, white 6.9 percent, other Asian 6.3 percent, other ethnic origin or race 2.3 percent, and mixed-race 9.8 percent. | |
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− | + | While 85 percent of the population are baptized into the Roman Catholic faith or belong to another Christian denomination, animistic beliefs persist, including a respect for ancestral spirits, or “taotaomo'na,” who are believed to occupy certain trees and other areas in the forests. Chamorros believe that their ancestors have lived in the Mariana Islands since the dawn of time, that the Mariana Islands are center of the universe and all human life began in Guam. While Spanish Catholic missionaries abolished the practices of persons referred to as “makahna,” who mediated between the spiritual and physical world, many persist. There is an enduring belief in the existence of persons' spirits beyond their physical life. Every year on All Soul's Day, Chamorros remember their ancestors by holding special memorial services and decorating their graves with flowers, candles, photographs, and other mementos. | |
− | + | The extended family or clan, is the core of society. This can include grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, cousins, and other relatives. Adoption is common. This enables childless women to raise a niece or nephew. Grandparents may exercise parental control over a grandchild. The groom's family sponsors any marriage, provides the bride with her wedding dress and other items of value. They throw a party to show they can provide for their new daughter. Upon marriage, the woman was expected to relocate to her husband's clan land, although today they live in whatever housing is available. | |
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− | + | English is spoken by 38.3% of the population, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, and other languages 3.5%, according to the 2000 census. The Chamorro language, which is spoken throughout the Mariana Islands, is an Austronesian language. | |
− | + | Chamorro society emphasizes respect for the elderly. There is a practice of sniffing the right hand of an elderly person to express one's deep regard. Clan elders held power and authority before colonial rule. There are two classes: the “manakhilo” (high people) and “manakpapa” (“low people”). The former includes wealthy families from the capital of Hagåtñta who have held positions of power since the colonial era. Most clans have members in both social classes. The rich and the poor live side by side within family compounds in rural villages. | |
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− | + | ==Culture== | |
− | + | A symbol of Chamorro strength, pride, resistance, and survival, is the latte stone, a megalithic structure used to elevate houses in the pre-colonial period. First built around 800 c.e., latte stones are large coral blocks composed of a trapezoidal stone pillar called a “haligi,” and a hemispherical cap called a “tasa.” Construction of these stones ceased after the onset of wars against Spanish colonizers. Jungle areas and sites in which latte stones are located are considered sacred. In precolonial years people buried family members beneath latte stones and thus ancestral spirits are assumed to reside there. | |
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− | + | In Chamorro culture, the sharing of food is part of a system of give and take reflecting a sense of obligation between people. Daily foods include rice, fish, breadfruit, and taro, in addition to imported canned goods, and fresh and frozen meats and vegetable. Each village celebrates the feast day of its patron saint. These feasts draw large crowds, and large quantities of food are prepared. | |
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− | + | [[Image:UOG Campus.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The [[University of Guam]].]] | |
− | Image: | ||
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− | In | + | Ninety nine percent of people age 15 and over can read and write. The Guam Public School System serves the entire island of Guam. In 2000, a total of 32,000 students attended Guam's public schools. Guam's public school system has been criticized for having poor management and inadequate facilities. Lack of funding and corruption are often cited as the causes. Private schools had a total attendance of 6000 in 2000, though attendance had increased prior to that time. In 1998 the U.S. Department of Defense opened schools for children of American military personnel. These schools had an attendance of 2500 in 2000. The University of Guam and Guam Community College offer courses in higher education. |
− | + | As a culture rooted in oral traditions, Guam has little written literature. A few Chamorro novels have been published. A literary journal published by the university's literature faculty motivates poets and other creative writers. There exists a growing community of local painters and woodcarvers. The University of Guam's Fine Arts Theater, Southern High School's Performance Center, and the Tiyan Theater are popular venues for locally written and produced plays and musical performances. | |
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− | The | ||
− | + | ==References== | |
+ | Carter, Lee D., William L. Wuerch, and Rosa Roberta Carter, eds. “Guam History: Perspectives,” Volume One, 1997. | ||
− | + | Cunningham, Lawrence J. “Ancient Chamorro Society,” 1992. | |
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− | + | Thomas, James O., “Trapped With The Enemy: Four years as a civilian POW in Japan,” | |
− | + | ISBN: 1401044131 | |
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− | + | Rogers, Robert F., “Destiny’s Landfall: A History of Guam,” University of Hawaii Press, 1995. ISBN 0824816781 | |
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==External links== | ==External links== |
Revision as of 20:31, 1 December 2006
Territory of Guam Guåhån |
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Motto: Where America's Day Begins | ||||||
Anthem: Fanoghe Chamorro |
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Capital | Hagåtña | |||||
Largest city | Dededo | |||||
Official languages | English, Chamorro | |||||
Government | Territory of USA | |||||
- | President | George W. Bush (R) | ||||
- | Governor | Felix Perez Camacho (R) | ||||
Independence | none (territory of the USA) | |||||
Area | ||||||
- | Total | 543.52 km² (192nd) 209.85 sq mi |
||||
- | Water (%) | negligible | ||||
Population | ||||||
- | July 2006 estimate | 170,000 (186th) | ||||
GDP (PPP) | 2000 estimate | |||||
- | Total | $3.2 billion (167th) | ||||
- | Per capita | $21,000 (2000 est.) (35th) | ||||
Currency | United States dollar (USD ) |
|||||
Time zone | Chamorro Standard Time - (UTC+10) | |||||
Internet TLD | .gu | |||||
Calling code | +1-671 |
Guam (Chamorro: Guåhån), officially the U.S. Territory of Guam, is an island in the Western Pacific Ocean and is an organized unincorporated territory of the United States. Its indigenous people are the Chamorros, who first populated the island approximately 4000 years ago. It is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. Guam's U.S. military installations remain among the most strategically vital in the Pacific Ocean.
Geography
Guam (or Guahan in Chamorro), the largest island in Micronesia, is 2414 kilometers southeast of Tokyo and 9656 km west of San Francisco, and has an area of 544 square kilometers (210 square miles). The northern part of the island is a forested coralline limestone plateau while the south contains volcanic peaks covered in forest and grassland. A coral reef surrounds most of the island, except in areas where bays exist that provide access to small rivers and streams. The island's population is most dense in the northern and central regions. The capital is Hagåtña, formerly Agana (pronounced Agaña).
The Mariana island chain was created as a result of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates colliding. The Marianas Trench lies to the east of the island chain. The Challenger Deep, the deepest point on earth, is southwest of Guam at 10,911 meters (35,797 feet) deep.
The island sustains occasional earthquakes due to being on the edge of the Pacific Plate. Unlike the Anatahan volcano in the northern Marianas, Guam is not volcanically active.
- Satellite images of southern and northern Guam.
Guam has a tropical marine climate. The weather is generally warm and humid with little seasonal temperature variation. The mean high temperature is 86° Fahrenheit (30 °Celsius) and mean low is 76°F (24 °C) with an average annual rainfall of 86 inches (2,180 millimeters). The dry season runs from December through June. The highest risk of typhoons is during October and November. After Super Typhoon Pamela in 1976 wooden structures began to be replaced by concrete.
Natural resources include commercial fishing (mostly servicing and unloading of long line fleets and commercial vessels, sport fishing of blue marlin, wahoo, mahi mahi, yellow fin tuna, and deep water reef fish, and tourism (especially from Japan but increasingly from China and Korea).
The slightly venomous but rather harmless brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis), thought to be a stowaway on a U.S. military transport during World War II, has killed a large percentage of the native bird population on the previously snake-free island. These snakes, that have no natural predators on the island, were blamed for frequent blackouts in the 1980s by shorting across lines and transformers. Many power poles now have a slick metal sheath to prevent the snakes from climbing.
Introduced feral pigs and deer, over-hunting, and habitat loss from human development have contributed to the loss of Guam's native plants and animals. The Spanish introduced pigs, dogs, chickens, the Philippine deer (Cervus mariannus), black francolins, and water buffalo. Other introduced species include cane toads imported in 1937, the giant African Snail—an agricultural pest introduced during WWII—and more recently frog species which could threaten crops in addition to providing additional food for the brown tree snake population. Tinangaja, a plant virus affecting coconut palms, has left dead and infected trees throughout the forests of Guam. The dense forests of northern Guam have been replaced by thick Leucaena brush, a native to the Americas, known in Guam as “tangan tangan.”
Wild fires have devastated large areas of forest. Poachers often start fires so deer would be attracted to the new growth. Invasive grass species that rely on fire as part of their natural life cycle grow in many regularly burned areas. As a result, grasslands and barren areas have replaced previously forested areas, leading to greater soil erosion. which leads to water quality problems for southern Guam, and destruction of marine life in reefs around the island.
History
Guam was first discovered by sea-faring people who migrated from Indonesia or the Philippines around 2000 B.C.E., according to legends and myths, archaeological evidence, Jesuit missionary accounts, and observations from visiting scientists like Otto von Kotzebue and Louis de Freycinet.
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the island in 1521 during his circumnavigation of the globe. General Miguel López de Legazpi claimed Guam for Spain in 1565. Spanish colonization commenced in 1668 with the arrival of Padre San Vitores, who established the first Catholic mission.
The islands were then governed as part of the Spanish East Indies from the Philippines. Between 1668 and 1815, Guam was an important resting stop on the Spanish trade route between Mexico and the Philippines. Guam, along with the rest of the Mariana and Caroline islands, was treated by Spain as part of their colony in the Philippines. The original inhabitant population dwindled significantly as a result of disease and rebellion against the Spaniards. Much of the adult male population was killed. While Guam's Chamorro culture is unique, the cultures of both Guam and the Northern Marianas were heavily influenced by Spanish culture and traditions.
[[Image:Piti 1900.jpg|left|thumb|350px|The village of Piti shortly after Guam's capture by the Americans.
On June 21, 1898, Guam was captured by the United States in a bloodless landing during the Spanish-American War. By the Treaty of Paris (1898), Spain officially ceded Guam to the United States. Since then, Guam served as a way station for American ships traveling to and from the Philippines. The northern Mariana islands passed to Germany then Japan.
During World War II, Guam was attacked and invaded by the Japanese armed forces on December 8, 1941. The Northern Mariana Islands had become a Japanese protectorate before the war. It was the Chamorros from the Northern Marianas who were brought to Guam to serve as interpreters and in other capacities for the occupying Japanese force. The Guamanian Chamorros were treated as an occupied enemy by the Japanese military. After the war, this would cause some resentment by the Guamanian Chamorros towards the Chamorros in the Northern Marianas. To this day, Guam remains the only U.S. soil, with a sizeable population, that suffered under foreign military power occupation.
[[Image:Agat_1944.jpg|right|thumb|290px|Marines cross a bridge in Agat during the liberation of Guam in 1944.]]
Guam's occupation lasted for approximately thirty-one months. During this period, the indigenous people of Guam were subjected to forced labor, family separation, incarceration, execution, concentration camps and prostitution. The United States returned and fought the Battle of Guam in July 21, 1944, to recapture the island. The U.S. also captured and occupied the Northern Marianas.
The immediate years after World War II saw the U.S. Navy attempting to resume its predominance in Guam affairs. This led to resentment, and thus increased political pressure for greater autonomy from Chamorro leaders. The result was the Guam Organic Act of 1950, which established Guam as an unincorporated organized territory of the United States and, for the first time in Guam History, provided for a civilian government, and granted the people United States citizenship.
On September 11, 1968, the "Elective Governor Act" (Public Law 90-497), allowed the people of Guam to elect their own governor and lieutenant governor. Nearly four years later, Congress passed the "Guam-Virgin Islands Delegate" Act that allowed for one non-voting Guam delegate in the House of Representatives. In the meantime, Guam's local government had formed several commissions to address possible options for self-determination.
Politics
Guam is governed by a popularly elected governor and a unicameral 15 member legislature. Guam elects one non-voting delegate to the US House of Representatives. During U.S. Presidential elections, citizens in Guam vote in a "straw poll" for their choice of president, but it doesn't count toward the general election results.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a significant movement in favor of the territory becoming a commonwealth, which would give it a political status similar to Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. In Guam's first political status referendum in 1982, 49 percent of all Guam residents who voted chose a closer relationship with the United States via Commonwealth, 26 percent voted for statehood, while ten percent voted for the status quo. In 1988, the first Guam Commonwealth Act introduced into Congress. Delegates have subsequently reintroduced the bill with little success.
Competing movements with less significant influence exist, which advocate political independence from the United States, statehood, or a combination with the Northern Mariana Islands as a single commonwealth. These proposals however, are not seen as favorable or realistic within the U.S. federal government, which argues Guam does not have the financial stability or self-sufficiency to warrant such status. The same sources quickly provide evidence of Guam’s increasing reliance on federal spending, and question how commonwealth status or statehood would benefit the United States as a greater whole.
Guam is divided into nineteen villages. The U.S. military maintains jurisdiction over bases comprising approximately one quarter of the island's area: Andersen Air Force Base, Yigo; Naval Air Station, Tiyan (administered by the government of Guam); Guam Naval Station, Orote peninsula; Ordnance Annex, South Central Highlands (formerly known as Naval Magazine); and Naval communications station, Barrigada and Finegayan.
Economy
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The economy depends largely on US military spending and tourism. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1.3-billion in 2004, from the U.S. Federal Treasury into which Guam pays no income or excise taxes. The Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam. Over the past 30 years, the tourist industry has grown to become the largest income source following national defense. The Guam economy continues to experience expansion in both its tourism and military sectors.
Sometimes called "America in Asia," Guam is a popular destination for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese tourists, and with over 20 large hotels, a DFS Galleria, Pleasure Island aquarium, SandCastle Las Vegas shows and other shopping and entertainment features in its chief tourism city of Tumon, the island's economy has grown dramatically. It is a relatively short flight from Asia compared to Hawaii, and a series of hotels and golf courses were built to cater to tourists. Today, about 90 percent of tourists to Guam are Japanese. Significant sources of revenue include duty-free designer shopping outlets, and the American-style malls: Micronesia Mall, Guam Premium Outlets, and the Agana Shopping Center, and various businesses catering to tourists in Tumon.
Guam has a 14 percent unemployment rate, and the government suffered a $314-million shortfall in 2003. Per capita gross domestic product was $15,000 in 2005.
Exports totalled $45-million in 2004. Export commodities were mostly trans-shipments of refined petroleum products, construction materials, fish, food and beverage products. Export partners were Japan 67.2%, Singapore 11.6%, and the UK 4.8%. Imports totalled $701-million. Import commodities were petroleum and petroleum products, food, and manufactured goods. Import partners were Singapore 50%, South Korea 21.4%, Japan 14%, and Hong Kong 4.6%.
Most of the island has mobile phone service, and high speed internet is now widely available through cable or DSL. Cell phones are used by a majority of residents, and the telephone service is extremely reliable, as compared to 20-25 years ago when phone outages were common. Guam was added to the North American Numbering Plan in 1997, removing barriers of high costs of international long-distance calls to the mainland.
As Guam is also part of the U.S. Postal System, mail to Guam from the mainland is considered domestic and no additional charges are required. Private shipping companies such as UPS, DHL or FedEx also regard Guam is domestic, although this is often not reflected in the shipping charges for many mail-order companies or websites.
Guam is served by the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport. There are no direct flights to Guam from the U.S. Mainland. Flights to Guam go through Hawaii, Japan, or Korea first and generally requires a layover and a plane transfer. Most residents travel in Guam using personally owned cars. A limited bus system for residents exists but is not used by many residents.
Demographics
The population of 171,019 in 2006, represents more than a six fold increase since 1940, largely as a result of immigration after 1965. Guam has a high life expectancy of 78.58 years for the total population.
In 2000, only 37.1 percent of the population was of Chamorro ancestry. The largest immigrant population derives from the Philippines, 26.3 percent, followed by American military personnel and other Asian immigrants. Other Pacific islanders made up 11.3 percent, white 6.9 percent, other Asian 6.3 percent, other ethnic origin or race 2.3 percent, and mixed-race 9.8 percent.
While 85 percent of the population are baptized into the Roman Catholic faith or belong to another Christian denomination, animistic beliefs persist, including a respect for ancestral spirits, or “taotaomo'na,” who are believed to occupy certain trees and other areas in the forests. Chamorros believe that their ancestors have lived in the Mariana Islands since the dawn of time, that the Mariana Islands are center of the universe and all human life began in Guam. While Spanish Catholic missionaries abolished the practices of persons referred to as “makahna,” who mediated between the spiritual and physical world, many persist. There is an enduring belief in the existence of persons' spirits beyond their physical life. Every year on All Soul's Day, Chamorros remember their ancestors by holding special memorial services and decorating their graves with flowers, candles, photographs, and other mementos.
The extended family or clan, is the core of society. This can include grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, cousins, and other relatives. Adoption is common. This enables childless women to raise a niece or nephew. Grandparents may exercise parental control over a grandchild. The groom's family sponsors any marriage, provides the bride with her wedding dress and other items of value. They throw a party to show they can provide for their new daughter. Upon marriage, the woman was expected to relocate to her husband's clan land, although today they live in whatever housing is available.
English is spoken by 38.3% of the population, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, and other languages 3.5%, according to the 2000 census. The Chamorro language, which is spoken throughout the Mariana Islands, is an Austronesian language.
Chamorro society emphasizes respect for the elderly. There is a practice of sniffing the right hand of an elderly person to express one's deep regard. Clan elders held power and authority before colonial rule. There are two classes: the “manakhilo” (high people) and “manakpapa” (“low people”). The former includes wealthy families from the capital of Hagåtñta who have held positions of power since the colonial era. Most clans have members in both social classes. The rich and the poor live side by side within family compounds in rural villages.
Culture
A symbol of Chamorro strength, pride, resistance, and survival, is the latte stone, a megalithic structure used to elevate houses in the pre-colonial period. First built around 800 C.E., latte stones are large coral blocks composed of a trapezoidal stone pillar called a “haligi,” and a hemispherical cap called a “tasa.” Construction of these stones ceased after the onset of wars against Spanish colonizers. Jungle areas and sites in which latte stones are located are considered sacred. In precolonial years people buried family members beneath latte stones and thus ancestral spirits are assumed to reside there.
In Chamorro culture, the sharing of food is part of a system of give and take reflecting a sense of obligation between people. Daily foods include rice, fish, breadfruit, and taro, in addition to imported canned goods, and fresh and frozen meats and vegetable. Each village celebrates the feast day of its patron saint. These feasts draw large crowds, and large quantities of food are prepared.
Ninety nine percent of people age 15 and over can read and write. The Guam Public School System serves the entire island of Guam. In 2000, a total of 32,000 students attended Guam's public schools. Guam's public school system has been criticized for having poor management and inadequate facilities. Lack of funding and corruption are often cited as the causes. Private schools had a total attendance of 6000 in 2000, though attendance had increased prior to that time. In 1998 the U.S. Department of Defense opened schools for children of American military personnel. These schools had an attendance of 2500 in 2000. The University of Guam and Guam Community College offer courses in higher education.
As a culture rooted in oral traditions, Guam has little written literature. A few Chamorro novels have been published. A literary journal published by the university's literature faculty motivates poets and other creative writers. There exists a growing community of local painters and woodcarvers. The University of Guam's Fine Arts Theater, Southern High School's Performance Center, and the Tiyan Theater are popular venues for locally written and produced plays and musical performances.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
Carter, Lee D., William L. Wuerch, and Rosa Roberta Carter, eds. “Guam History: Perspectives,” Volume One, 1997.
Cunningham, Lawrence J. “Ancient Chamorro Society,” 1992.
Thomas, James O., “Trapped With The Enemy: Four years as a civilian POW in Japan,” ISBN: 1401044131
Rogers, Robert F., “Destiny’s Landfall: A History of Guam,” University of Hawaii Press, 1995. ISBN 0824816781
External links
Government
- Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Member, U.S. Congress
- Guam Election Commission
- Guam Code Annotated
- Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation
News
- Marianas Variety "Guam's only true independent news source"
- Pacific Daily News, A Gannett Newspaper
- KUAM, Guam's Primary News Channel
Overviews
- Guampedia from the Guam Humanities Council and the University of Guam
- Open Directory Project - Guam directory category
- U.S. Library of Congress - Portals to the World: Guam
- myMicronesia - Guam
- The World Factbook on Guam
Military
- Guam Power Authority Sea Water Air Conditioning Project
- Commander, Naval Forces Marianas (COMNAVMAR) Guam
- Andersen Air Force Base (AAFB) Guam
- War in the Pacific - Liberation of Guam
- Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi, Japan's "No-Surrender" Soldier
Other
- Guam Visitors Bureau
- Guam Chamber of Commerce
- Challenger Deep - Marianas Trench
- University of Guam Planetarium
- Guam Humanities Council
- Map of Micronesia
- Maps - Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
- The Brown Tree Snake on Guam How the arrival of one invasive species damaged the ecology, commerce, electrical systems, and human health on Guam: A comprehensive information source.
- Pictures of Tourist spots on Guam
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