Guam History - the history of Guam
   
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Vacation 2 USA   >   Guam   >   History
Vacation 2 USA   >   History   >   Guam History

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Guam History


Guam was first discovered and inhabited by sea-faring people who came from Asia (possibly Indonesia or the Philippines), around about 2000 BC. These people, the Chamorros, developed a complex society, and traded with other islands in Micronesia.

On March 6th, 1521, the first Europeans arrived: Ferdinand Magellan's ships, on their expedition to circumnavigate the globe. The Chamarros natives of the islands welcomed the Spanish with food and drink. The Chamarros expected to be paid, whereas the Europeans believed these supplies to be gifts, so the Chamarros stole iron from the decks of the Spanish ships. The Spanish retaliated by killing several islanders and burning homes. Magellan consequently named Guam and the other Mariana Islands, "Las Islas de los Ladrones" (The Islands of Thieves).

In 1667, Spain claimed the islands and established a colony there. In 1668, Padre San Vitores, the first Spanish missionary, arrived. He renamed the islands "Las Marianas" after Mariana of Austria, widow of King Philip IV of Spain, and remained on the islands until his murder in 1672.

On June 21st, 1898, Guam was captured by US forces during the Spanish-American war, and was ceded to the United States by the subsequent Treaty of Paris which ended the war. (Spain later sold the Northern Mariana Islands to Germany).

During World War II, Japanese forces invaded the islands and subjected them to a brutal 31-month occupation. The islands were eventually recaptured in the Battle of Guam which took place between July 21st and August 10th of 1944

Following World War II, a series of acts relaxed the U.S. administration of Guam, established the island as an unincorporated organized territory of the United States, granted US citizenship to all persons born on Guam since 1899, allowed a non-voting Guam delegate in the US House of Representatives, and allowed the islanders to elect their own governor and lieutenant governor. In 1982, Guam residents overwhelmingly voted for a closer relationship with the United States as a Commonwealth. However, progress towards implementing the decision has been slow.

In recent years, Guam has suffered a number of setbacks, including the 1990s Asian economic crisis, and September 11th attacks, damaging the tourism industry, the 1990s military cutbacks affecting the military-dependant part of the island's economy, and the supertyphoons Paka in 1997, and Pongsona in 2002.


The Island of Guam: Description and History from a 1934 Perspective

By Evelyn Gibson Nelson

BookSurge Publishing
Released: 2005-09-20
Paperback (240 pages)

The Island of Guam: Description and History from a 1934 Perspective
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Product Description:
A 1934 study of Guam. Chapters include include, Description of Guam, Prehistoric Guam, Early Chamorro Inhabitants of Guam, The Spanish Occupation of Guam, and The American Occupation of Guam. The appendixes includes exerpts from early narratives relating to Guam, statistics and Chamorro legends and folklore.

A History of Guam

By Lawrence J. Cunningham

Bess Press
Paperback (344 pages; 1)

A History of Guam
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Guam: A Natural History

By Reilly Ridgell

Bess Press
Paperback (208 pages; 1)

Guam: A Natural History
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Guam 1941 & 1944: Loss and Reconquest (Campaign)

By Gordon Rottman

Osprey Publishing
Released: 2004-07-25
Paperback (96 pages)

Guam 1941 & 1944: Loss and Reconquest (Campaign)
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Product Description:
The island of Guam was the first Allied territory lost to the Japanese onslaught in 1941. On 10 December 5,000 Japanese troops landed on Guam, defended by less than 500 US and Guamanian troops, the outcome was beyond doubt. On 21 July 1944 America returned. In a risky operation, the two US landing forces came ashore seven miles apart and it was a week before the beachheads linked up. Only the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa would cost the Americans more men than the landings on Guam and Saipan, which immediately preceded the Guam operation. In this book Gordon Rottman details the bitter 26-day struggle for this key Pacific island.

A Complete History of Guam

By Paul & Sanchez, Pedro, C. Carano

Charles E. Tuttle Co.
Hardcover
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The Sacrifice of Guam, 1919-1943 (The Pictorial History of Guam)

By Don A. Farrell

Micronesian Productions
Hardcover (251 pages)
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The Pictorial History of Guam: Liberation 1944

Micronesian Productions
Hardcover (192 pages)
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Product Description:
As with the first volume in the Pictorial History of Guam series, the primary purpose of this book is to help record the story of the Chamorros and the events that make up the history of their island.

Liberation, 1944 : The Pictorial History of Guam

Micronesian Productions
Hardcover
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Complete History of Guam

By P. Carano

Tuttle Publishing
Hardcover (452 pages)
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COMPLETE HISTORY OF GUAM

By Paul Carano

Hardcover
Lowest Used Price: $44.00
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