Mariana Islands

The islands are an island arc located in a tectonically active region in the western part of the Pacific Ocean . The archipelago is located 2500 km from the Philippines and at the same distance from Papua New Guinea ^[3] .

The islands stretch between 12 and 21 degrees north latitude by about 800 km. The islands consist of 15 large islands: Agihan , Agrihan , Alamagan , Anatahan , Asuncion , Guam , Guguan , Maug , Pagan , Rota , Saipan , Sarigan , Tinian , Farallón de Medignilla and Farallón de Paharos .

Geologically, the islands can be divided into two groups: the older southern island arc (Guam, Rota, Tinian, Agihan, Saipan) and the young volcanic northern arc (the other islands of the archipelago) ^[4] . The southern islands were formed approximately 15-20 million years ago (in the Late Eocene - the early Miocene ). All of them have a similar structure and are covered with a layer of limestone - the remains of ancient coral reefs. The group experienced several uplifts ^[4] . The northern group is part of the Mariana arc, in a place where the Pacific Plate descends under the Philippine . All the islands of this group are stratovolcanoes . Most of the islands are surrounded by coral reefs. The reefs of the southern islands are older and better developed. In the area of ​​the islands there are about 50 underwater volcanoes and 11 volcanoes form islands ^[3] .

According to archaeological data, the first people appeared on the islands 2000 years BC. er and were from southeast Asia ^[7] . Later, the first settlers became known as Chamorro . The islanders had a social division. Heads of families were considered women. Since the XVI century, the colonialists unsuccessfully tried to eradicate matriarchy. About 1000 years ago, the Chamorro culture changed, which was also manifested in architecture. The islanders began to build the so-called latte stones , which were used as bases of houses and for religious purposes ^[7] .

On March 6, 1521, the sailors of the expedition Fernand Magellan became the first Europeans to see the islands (the Spanish ships stopped at Umatak Bay near the island of Guam ). Because of the first unpleasant meeting with Chamorro, Magellan gave the islands the name Las Islas de los Ladrones (“Islands of Thieves”), as the local aborigines stole some items from Magellan’s ships, taking advantage of the team’s weakness after a tiring transition across the Pacific Ocean ^[8] . In 1565, the islands were formally declared the property of the Spanish crown. In 1668, missionaries headed by Diego Luis San Vitores arrived on the islands. He gave the islands a new name in honor of the Spanish Queen Marianne of Austria , the widow of Philip IV .

The colonization of the Mariana Islands began. Soon San Vitores was killed, leading to armed clashes. The population of the islands declined from 150 thousand people at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards to 5 thousand in 1741 ^[8] . Many Chamoros were forced to move to Guam (only the Rota islanders resisted, hiding from Spanish soldiers in the hills of the island). Began settling the islands of Spaniards and Filipinos. In 1815-1885, the northern islands of the archipelago were settled by residents of the neighboring Caroline Islands . After the end of Spanish domination, when the Chamorro was allowed to return to their native islands, it turned out that many attractive lands were occupied by the Carolynians ^[8] .

After the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded the southern part of the Mariana Islands to the United States , and sold the northern part to the German Empire under a treaty of February 12, 1899 ^[9] . After the First World War, the Mariana were put under the control of Japan by the League of Nations (the main occupation of the Japanese on the islands was the cultivation of sugar cane), after the Second World War - the United Nations under the control of the US (the Americans took possession of the islands in 1944, and bombed off the island of Tinian Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively). In 1978, the United States granted the islands a special status: the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam were considered to be unincorporated by the organized territories of the United States. In 1986, residents of the islands were granted the status of US citizens ^[10] .

According to the 2000 census, the population of the islands was 224,026 people. According to the 2010 census, the population decreased to 213,241 people. Most of the inhabitants live on four islands: Rota , Tinian , Saipan and Guam ^[4] .