Guam, the westernmost unincorporated territory of the United States, is the largest and southernmost island of the Marianas archipelago. It is located between Hawaii and the Philippine Islands, and serves as a gateway to other parts of Micronesia and the Far East. The island is approximately 30 miles long, 4 to 12 miles wide, and has a total area of 212 square miles. It is situated 13 degrees north of the equator in the Western Pacific, 6,000 miles west of San Francisco, 1,500 miles southeast of Tokyo, 2,100 miles east-southeast of Hong Kong, and 1,500 miles east of Manila. The southern part of Guam is made up of volcanic hills that range in altitude up to 1,300 feet, while the central and northern parts have limestone plateaus with steep cliffs that drop down to narrow coasts. The climate is tropical, with a usual temperature range of 74 to 92 degrees fahrenheit. There are two seasons, rainy and dry, with the rainy season from June to November, and the dry season from Decamber to May.
The name "Chamorro" or "Chamoru" was given by the Spanish to the language and people of the Mariana Islands. It is not known exactly where the language and people originated because there were no written records on Guam prior to the work of Father Diego San Vitores, a Jesuit missionary, in 1668. It is believed that Chamorros had arrived in the Mariana Islands as early as 2,000 B.C., based on artifacts and burial remains that have given clues as to body size, tools, possible diet, and the famous latte stones. The Chamorro language is a member of the Austronesian family of languages, stretching from Madagascar to Easter Island. The Chamorros currently live on the islands of Guam, Saipan, Rota, Tinian, Pagan, Anatuahan, and Alamagan. Aside from subsequent migration to other places, the Chamorros are uniquely found in this chain of islands.
The recorded history of Guam actually began in 1521, when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magillan sailed into Umatac Bay on the island's southwest coast. In the 1600's the Spanish galleons, which stopped at Guam to replenish their supplies of food and water on their annual voyage from Mexico to the Phillipines, brought missionaries, soldiers, and officials to Christianize the indigenous Chamorro people and to administer the island as a colony of Spain. For the next three hundred years, Spanish influence altered many traditions, some to the point of extinction, such as the clan system, single names, and matriarchal rule. Many practices and instirutions were transformed or super- imposed: architecture; family surnames; loan words in Chamorro; and Catholicism.
The United States obtained Guam as part of the settlement of the Spanish-American War in 1898, administering the island through the Department of the Navy. The Japanese occupied the island for two and a half years during World War II. The United States liberated the island and rebuilt it, eventually granting U.S. citizenship to the inhabitants in the Organic Act in 1950. After President Kennedy lifted the travel restrictions in 1962, the island experienced/underwent greater western influences and eventually became a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States.
Guam is the most modern of the Micronesian islands. The economy is strong, with established banking institutions, insurance companies, recreational and service facilities, off-shore coprorations, light manufacturing industries, media and telecommunications, hardware stores, construction, hotels, and many federal offices and agencies. The visitor industry is one of the major contributors to the economy, along with the U.S. military and the construction industry. Telecommunications, one of the best in the region, offers up-to-date technology, satellite systems, undersea fiber optic copper cables, and a postal and shipping service that guarantee access and delivery between Guam and every corner of the globe.
Guam's government is patterned after the U.S. three-branch form of government--the executive, legislative, and judicial. There is an elected governor, a unicameral legislature with twenty-one senators voted by the public at-large, a non-voting representative in the U.S. Congress, a Superior Court and a newly established Supreme Court that have jurisdiction over local legal matters, and a U.S. District Court with jurisdiction over federal and consitutional issues.
Chamorros live in a modern environment akin to most commuities in the mainland U.S. Although tradition in many activities is still present, social agendas include modern forms of entertainment and sports and popular barbecues and fiestas. The latest fads and fashions, art and music, modern appliances and the conveniences of the computer age--all of these contribute to a way of life that is slowly transforming into the hustle and bustle of a burgeoning metropolitan community.