GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development
.
Chamorro
, 26.3%
Filipino
, 11.3%
Pacific
, 6.9%
White
, 6.3% other
Asian
, 2.3% other, 9.8%
Mixed
[
1
]
(2005 est.)
1
1
Beach scenery in Guam
Guam
(
/ˈɡwɑːm/
(
listen
)
;
Chamorro
:
) is an organized,
unincorporated territory
of the
United States
located in the western
Pacific Ocean
. It is one of five
U.S. territories
with an established civilian government.
[
3
]
[
4
]
Guam is listed as one of 16
Non-Self-Governing Territories
by the
Special Committee on Decolonization
of the
United Nations
.
[
5
]
The island’s capital is
Hagåtña
(formerly Agaña). Guam is the largest and southernmost of the
Mariana Islands
.
The
Chamorros
,
Guam’s
indigenous
people, first populated the island approximately 4, 000 years ago.
[
6
]
The island has a long history of European colonialism. Discovered by
Ferdinand Magellan
during a Spanish expedition on March 6, 1521, the first colony was established in 1668 by Spain with the arrival of settlers including
Padre San Vitores
,
a Catholic
missionary
. For more than two centuries Guam was an important stopover for the Spanish Manila Galleons that crossed the Pacific annually. The island was controlled by
Spain
until 1898, when it was surrendered to the United States during the Spanish-American War and later formally ceded as part of the
Treaty of Paris
.
As the largest island in
Micronesia
and the only U.S.-held island in the region before
World War II
,
Guam was captured by the
Japanese
on December 8, 1941, hours after the bombing of
Pearl Harbor
,
and was occupied for two and a half years
.
During the occupation
,
the people of Guam were subjected to acts that included torture
,
beheadings and rape
,
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7
]
and were forced to adopt the Japanese culture.
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]
Guam was subject to fierce fighting when US troops recaptured the island on July 21, 1944, a date commemorated every year as Liberation Day.
[
9
]
Today
,
Guam’s economy is supported by its principal industry
,
tourism
,
which is composed primarily of visitors from Japan
. Guam’s second-largest source of income is the
United States military
.
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10
]
Contents
It is believed that Guam was first discovered by people from southeastern
Indonesia
around 2000 BC. Most of what is known about pre-contact («Ancient») Chamorros comes from legends and myths, archaeological evidence, Jesuit missionary accounts, and observations from visiting scientists like
Otto von Kotzebue
and
Louis de Freycinet
.
When Europeans first arrived on Guam
,
Chamorro society had three classes
:
matua
(upper class),
achaot
(middle class), and
mana’chang
(lower class). The
matua
were located in the coastal villages, which meant they had the best access to fishing grounds, whereas the
mana’chang
were located in the interior of the island.
https://searc
from Publication digest https://academic2.ru/Guam_5370210
