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Guam (/ˈɡwɑːm/ ⓘ GWAHM; Chamorro: Guåhan [ˈɡʷɑhɑn]) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean.[4][5] Guam's capital is Hagåtña, and the most populous village is Dededo. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States, reckoned from the geographic center of the U.S. In Oceania, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia.
Indigenous Guamanians are the Chamorro, who are related to the Austronesian peoples of the Malay Archipelago, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Polynesia. But unlike most of its neighbors, the Chamorro language is not classified as a Micronesian or Polynesian language. Rather, like Palauan, it possibly constitutes an independent branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family.[6][7] As of 2022, Guam's population was 168,801. Chamorros are the largest ethnic group, but a minority on the multi-ethnic island. The territory spans 210 square miles (540 km2; 130,000 acres) and has a population density of 775 per square mile (299/km2). The Chamorro people settled Guam and the Mariana islands approximately 3,500 years ago. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, while in the service of Spain, was the first European to visit and claim the island on March 6, 1521. Guam was fully colonized by Spain in 1668. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Guam was an important stopover for Spanish Manila galleons. During the Spanish–American War, the United States captured Guam on June 21, 1898. Under the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the U.S. effective April 11, 1899.
Before World War II, Guam was one of five American jurisdictions in the Pacific Ocean, along with Wake Island in Micronesia, American Samoa and Hawaii in Polynesia, and the Philippines. On December 8, 1941, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Guam was captured by the Japanese, who occupied the island for two and a half years. During the occupation, Guamanians were subjected to forced labor, incarceration, torture and execution.[8][9][10] American forces recaptured the island on July 21, 1944, which is commemorated as Liberation Day.[11] Since the 1960s, Guam's economy has been supported primarily by tourism and the U.S. military, for which Guam is a major strategic asset.[12] Its future political status has been a matter of significant discussion, with public opinion polls indicating a strong preference for American statehood.[13][14]
An unofficial but frequently used territorial motto is "Where America's Day Begins", which refers to the island's proximity to the International Date Line.[15][16] Guam is among the 17 non-self-governing territories listed by the United Nations, and has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1983.[17]
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- ^ a b c d "Australia-Oceania :: Guam (Territory of the US)". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ "Guam". Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
- ^ "Guam | Data". data.worldbank.org. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ "U.S. Territories". DOI Office of Insular Affairs. Archived from the original on February 9, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
- ^ "Definitions of Insular Area Political Organizations". U.S. Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2007. Office of Insular Affairs. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
- ^ Blust, Robert (2000). "Chamorro Historical Phonology". Oceanic Linguistics. 39 (1): 83–122. doi:10.1353/ol.2000.0002. S2CID 170236058.
- ^ Smith, Alexander D. (2017). "The Western Malayo-Polynesian Problem". Oceanic Linguistics. 56 (2): 435–490. doi:10.1353/ol.2017.0021. S2CID 149377092.
- ^ War Restitution Act : hearing before the Subcommittee on Insular and International Affairs of the Co...|National Library of Australia Archived April 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Catalogue.nla.gov.au (September 20, 1994). Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- ^ "Statement of David B. Cohen Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs Before the House Committee on Resources Regarding the Report of the Guam War Claims Review Commission|July 21, 2004 Archived January 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine." Office of Insular Affairs. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
- ^ Higuchi, Wakako (2001). "The Japanisation Policy for the Chamorros of Guam, 1941–1944" (PDF). The Journal of Pacific History. 36 (1): 19–35. doi:10.1080/00223340120049424. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 20, 2013.
- ^ "Guam police arrest suspect in memorial theft". Marine Corps Times. Associated Press. July 7, 2007. Archived from the original on May 15, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ^ Rogers, Robert F. (1995). Destiny's Landfall: A History of Guam. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1678-0.
- ^ Staff (April 2016). "UOG poll: Guamanians prefer statehood". KUAM-TV. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ Freymann, Eyck (October 14, 2020). "Counter China by Making Guam a State". Foreign Policy. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ Mack, Doug (2017). The Not-Quite States of America: Dispatches From the Territories and Other Far-Flung Outposts of the USA. W.W. Norton. p. 114. ISBN 9780393247602.
- ^ Grabowski, John F. (1992). U.S. Territories and Possessions (State Report Series). Chelsea House. p. 39. ISBN 9780791010532.
- ^ "Non-Self-Governing Territories – Official U.N. Website". Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
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