Officially named the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands it is a commonwealth in political union with the U.S. Located in a strategic region in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands which are located in between Hawaii and the Philippines. The population is estimated at just over 80,000 which are spread mainly over the 3 islands called Saipan, Tinian and Rota. The islands have the lowest male to female sex ratio in the world with 76 men for every 100 women.
The tropical marine climate is tempered by the seasonal northeast trade winds. The is little variation in temperature throughout the year with there being a wet season July to November and dry season December to June.
Europeans first explored the island in 1512 when Ferdinand Magellan landed on nearby Guam and claimed the island for Spain. The native Chamorros delivered refreshment upon first meeting the fleet and helped themselves to a small boat. This created a clash of cultures as in the Chamorro there was little or no private property. This misunderstanding led to 6 locals being killed and and a village being burnt to the ground. The island unfortunately required the infamous name form the Spanish Islas de los Ladrones ("Islands of the Thieves"). Magellan fled the archipelago under attack three days later.
90-95% of the native population died from diseases that were carried by the Spanish or they intermarried with non-Chamorro settlers under Spanish rule. The island was repopulated with settlers bought in from the Philippines and the Caroline Islands. Despite all obstacles the Chamorro population resurged and along with the Filipino and Carolinian languages are the main in use today. Due to the Chamorros’ being concentrated on Guam by the Spanish for cultural and religious assimilation the Carolinians that had settled there were considered indigenousness to the Northern Marianas. Today both are considered the indigenous and both languages are official in the commonwealth.
Guam was an important port of call for the Spanish that traveled to Mexico carrying cargo and gold between the Philippines and there are several lost Spanish galleons off the coast of Guam.
The island was renamed as Las Marianas after Mariana of Austria in 1668. Spain ceded Guam to the United States after the Spanish-American War in 1898 and the rest of the Marianas were sold to Germany. With the defeat of Germany in World War I, Japan were awarded the islands by mandate of the League of Nations.
In 1941, hours after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan launched and attack on Guam. The Chamorros from the Northern Marianas were bought into to Guam and were harsh in their treatment of the local Chamorros. This created a long standing rift that saw attempts to reunify the two populations rejected in the 1960’s.
After the United States claimed the Mariana Islands back in 1944 they also recaptured Guam and invaded Tinian, which provided the launching point for the Enola Gay (the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima).
After Japan’s defeat the island was administered by the United States and became a commonwealth in political union in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978, the islands do not have representation in the U.S. Senate but are represented in the U.S. House of Representative by a delegate who may vote in committee but not on the House floor.
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