Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The imperial powers have used the islands of Micronesia for military bases since the nineteenth century and for nuclear testing since the World War II era. Naturally, the indigenous residents of these islands have often protested such use of their homeland. The first contact Guam had with Europeans occurred in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan landed there. In 1565 the Spanish officially claimed the island and used Guam as a base for ships plying the Pacific. In 1668 the Spanish tried systematically to colonize the island, establishing a Jesuit mission, but this effort met resistance. By 1690 the indigenous Chammoro population had fallen – mainly through disease rather than fighting – from 100,000 to 5,000. With Spanish and Filipinos settling on the island, the population balance changed forever. Since then, Guam has been ruled by several imperial powers. In 1898 with the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, the United States took Guam. During World War II the Japanese took over, but after the war the US seized about a third of the island, and, in spite of considerable opposition from some of the Guamanians, created large military bases, which were important in the Korean and Vietnam Wars . Although the initial protests failed to prevent the establishment of the bases, legal battles continued, with the US losing a lawsuit in 1986 and being forced to pay compensation to the dispossessed ... log in or subscribe to read full text