Guam

Guam

The Territory of Guam (Guåhån in Chamorro) is an island in the Western Pacific Ocean and is an organized unincorporated territory of the United States. Its inhabitants are largely Chamorros, who first populated the island approximately 3,500 years ago. It is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. The capital is Hagåtña, formerly Agana (pronounced Agaña). Guam's economy is mainly supported by tourism (particularly from Japan) and United States armed forces bases. The latter takes up one-third of the entire land mass of the island. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes History of Guam
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Guam's history of colonialism is the longest among the Pacific islands. Guam's first contact with western civilization occurred when Ferdinand Magellan reached the island in 1521 during his around the world voyage. General Miguel López de Legazpi claimed Guam for Spain in 1565. Spanish colonization commenced in 1668. Between 1668 and 1815, Guam was an important resting stop on the Spanish trade route between the Philippines and Mexico. While Guam's Chamorro culture is unique (even when compared to neighboring Northern Mariana Islands), the cultures of both Guam and the Northern Marianas were heavily influenced by Spanish culture and traditions.

The Philippines, at one point, gained possession of the island of Guam after defeating Spain but lost it back years later. The Philippines' rule on Guam was considered the best in Guam's history.The United States took control of the island in 1898 after the Battle of Guam of 1898 in the Spanish-American War. Guam was the southernmost island in the Marianas Group and this political change started Guam and the Northern Marianas (including Saipan and Tinian) down separate paths. Guam came to serve as a way station for American ships traveling to and from the Philippines.

During World War II, Guam was attacked and invaded by the Japanese armed forces in 1941. The Northern Mariana islands had become a Japanese protectorate before the war. The Northern Mariana Chamorros, as a result, were allies of the Japanese. The Guam Chamorros were treated as an occupied enemy by the Japanese military. The United States returned and fought the Battle of Guam in 1944 to recapture the island from Japanese military occupation. While the Northern Marianas were also liberated from Japanese rule and came under the U.S. political rule and commonwealth status, some cultural rift between Guam and Northern Mariana Chamorros remains.

The Organic Act of 1950 established Guam as an unincorporated organized territory of the United States, provided for the structure of the island's government, and granted the people United States citizenship.

Politics of Guam

The population of Guam is largely proud of its U.S. connection, and its economy is greatly dependent on the US military bases. The U.S. connection also contributes to Guam's status as a Japanese tourist destination. The Guamanian population is generally culturally sympathetic toward the U.S., based especially in common tribulations during WWII, and on good relations with the U.S. military since.

Maintenance of the status quo vis-à-vis the current political relationship between the territory and the U.S. is, however, not without controversy. There is a significant movement in favor of Guam becoming a commonwealth in political union with the U.S. (i.e., the political status of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands). Competing movements with less significant influence exist, one of which advocates political independence from the United States, while another movement advocates statehood. These proposals however, are not seen as favorable or realistic within the U.S. federal government, who argue 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.

In whatever form it takes, most people on Guam favor a modified version of the current territorial status, involving greater autonomy from the federal government (similar to the autonomy of individual states). Perceived indifference by the U.S. Congress regarding a change-of-status petition submitted by Guam has led many to feel that the territory is being unjustly deprived of the benefits of a more equitable union with the U.S.

See: List of Guam Governors

Transportation and Communications in Guam
Guam is served by Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport.

Economy

Guam's economy depends primarily on tourism, the United States military base presence, and other federal spending. Although Guam receives no foreign aid, it does receive large transfer payments from the general revenues of the US Federal Treasury into which Guam pays no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam.

Guam is a favorite destination for Japanese tourists. Guam is a relatively short flight from Japan compared to Hawaii, and a series of tourist hotels and golf courses were built to cater to the tourists. Today, about 90 percent of tourists to Guam are Japanese. Big sources of revenue to the area are the many duty-free designer shopping outlets, and the American-style Micronesia Mall.

The main tourist beach, Tumon Bay has beautiful white sand, and Tumon Bay is now a marine preserve, teeming with fish. Recently completed infrastructure projects have brought underground fiber-optics and new roads to the busy Tumon area.

The economy had been booming since 2000 due to Japanese tourists, but took a downturn with the rest of Asia. Guam has a 14% unemployment rate, and the government suffered a $314 million shortfall in 2003 alone.[1]

Geography of Guam

Guam is located at 13°26'31?N, 144°46'35?E. Guam has an area of 212 mi² (549 km²). The northern part of the island is a coralline limestone plateau while the south contains volcanic peaks. A coral reef surrounds most of the island. Guam is the southernmost island in the Mariana Island chain and is the largest island in Micronesia. Guam lies along the Marianas Trench, a deep subduction zone at the edge of the Pacific plate. The Challenger Deep, the deepest point on earth, is southwest of Guam at 35,838 ft (10,923 meters) deep. The island experiences occasional earthquakes. In recent years, quakes with epicenters near Guam have had magnitudes ranging from 7.0 to 8.2. Guam is divided into 19 municipalities (often called villages).

Weather

The climate is characterized as tropical marine. The weather is generally warm and humid with little seasonal temperature variation. The average mean temperature is 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) with an average annual rainfall of 86 inches (2,180 millimeters).

The dry season runs from December through June. The remaining months constitute the rainy season. The highest risk of typhoons is during October and November.

An average of three tropical storms and one typhoon pass within 180 nautical miles (330 km) of Guam each year. The most intense typhoon to pass over Guam recently was Typhoon Pongsona which struck Guam in December 2002.

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