The history of Guam starts with the early arrival around 2000 BC of Austronesian people known today as the Chamorro Peoples. The Chamorus then developed a "pre-contact" society, that was colonized by the Spanish in the 17th century. The present American rule of the island began with the 1898 Spanish–American War. Guam's history of colonialism is the longest among the Pacific islands.
The demographics of Guam details an array of demographic statistics relating to the territory of Guam. This includes statistics on population, including the Indigenous population; religious affiliations; language; and immigration. The Demographics of Guam provides an overview of the history of Guam, as well as a depiction of the villages in the United States territory and its populace. The population of Guam, as of July 2021 was 168,801.
Stand Ye Guamanians, officially known as the Guam Hymn, is the regional anthem of Guam. The original English lyrics and music were written and composed in 1919 by Ramon Manilisay Sablan. The lyrics were slightly modified by the U.S. government prior to official adoption in 1952. In 1974, Lagrimas Untalan translated the English lyrics into CHamoru, which were made official in 1989. The CHamoru version is more widely used today.
Chamorro is an Austronesian language spoken by about 58,000 people, numbering about 25,800 on Guam and about 32,200 in the Northern Mariana Islands and elsewhere. It is the native and spoken language of the Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands. Chamorro has three distinct dialects: Guamanian, Rotanese, and that in the other Northern Mariana Islands (NMI).
The Chamorro people are the Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia, a commonwealth of the US. Today, significant Chamorro populations also exist in several U.S. states, including Hawaii, California, Washington, Texas, Tennessee, Oregon, and Nevada, all of which together are designated as Pacific Islander Americans according to the U.S. Census. According to the 2000 Census, about 64,590 people of Chamorro ancestry live in Guam and another 19,000 live in the Northern Marianas.
Taotao Mo'na, also commonly written as taotaomona or taotaomo'na, are spirits of ancient giant inhabitants believed to protect the mountains and wild places of the Mariana Islands, which include Luta, Saipan, Tinian and Guam, in Micronesia. Belief in Taotao Mo'na is present throughout these islands.
Piti is a village located on the central west coast of the United States territory of Guam. It contains northern and eastern coastlines of Apra Harbor, including Cabras Island, which has the commercial Port of Guam and the island's largest power plants. Piti was a pre-Spanish CHamoru village and, after Spanish colonization, became the primary port town on Guam. The town was largely destroyed during the 1944 liberation of Guam and the population relocated during the wartime construction of Apra Harbor.
Sinajana is the smallest of the nineteen villages in the United States territory of Guam by area. It is located in the hills south of Hagåtña. The village's name may have come from the word "china-jan," cookware used to cook wild yams that once grew in the area.
Kantan Chamorrita is an ancient style of improvised rhyming "debate" indigenous to the Chamoru natives of the Mariana Islands, comparable to modern-day "battle rapping" or poetry slams.
The Refaluwasch people are a Micronesian ethnic group who originated in Oceania, in the Caroline Islands, with a total population of over 8,500 people in the Northern Mariana Islands. They are also known as Remathau in the Yap's outer islands. The Carolinian word means "People of the Deep Sea." It is thought that their ancestors may have originally immigrated from Asia and Melanesia to Micronesia around 2,000 years ago. Their primary language is Carolinian, called Refaluwasch by native speakers, which has a total of about 5,700 speakers. The Refaluwasch have a matriarchal society in which respect is a very important factor in their daily lives, especially toward the matriarchs. Most Refaluwasch are of the Roman Catholic faith.
Edward Jerome Baza Calvo is an American politician who served as the 8th Governor of Guam from January 3, 2011 to January 7, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Calvo was a five-term Senator within the Legislature of Guam. He became the Governor of Guam, having defeated Democrat Carl Gutierrez in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Calvo chose Senator Ray Tenorio as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor of Guam.
Antonio "Tony" Manibusan Palomo was a Guamanian politician, historian, journalist, columnist, and academic. Palomo served as a senator in the Legislature of Guam and the director of the Guam Museum from December 1995 to June 2007.
The Guam Museum, formally the Senator Antonio M. Palomo Guam Museum & Chamorro Educational Facility, is a museum focusing on the history of Guam, a U.S. territory in Micronesia. A permanent building to house the museum's collection opened in Hagåtña on November 4, 2016. The Guam Museum had been housed in temporary locations since World War II.
Women in Guam are residents of the unincorporated territory of the United States of Guam.
The culture of Guam reflects traditional Chamorro customs in a combination of indigenous pre-Hispanic forms, as well as American, Spanish and Mexican traditions. Post-European-contact CHamoru Guamanian culture is a combination of American, Spanish, Filipino, other Micronesian Islander and Mexican traditions. Few indigenous pre-Hispanic customs remained following Spanish contact, but include plaiting and pottery, and there has been a resurgence of interest among the CHamoru to preserve the language and culture. Hispanic influences are manifested in the local language, music, dance, sea navigation, cuisine, fishing, games, songs and fashion.
"Do It Again" is a song by American singer Pia Mia featuring fellow American singer Chris Brown and American rapper Tyga. It was released on May 4, 2015, through Wolfpack and Interscope Records. Mia recorded "Do It Again" in 2013, when she decided to sample J Boog's 2011 song "Let's Do It Again" after attending his concert in Guam. Brown and Tyga asked Mia to be included on the song when it was played in a studio session in 2014. It was written by Mia and Tyga alongside George Veikoso, Marc Griffin, and producer Nic Nac. "Do It Again" is a pop and R&B song, with a mix of hip hop and electronic dance music genres. The lyrics include references to Guamanian culture such as Two Lovers Point. Music critics described it as a "summer song".
Two Lovers Point is a prominent cape and seaside cliff in Tamuning, Guam, that overlooks northern Tumon Bay and the Philippine Sea. One of four National Natural Landmarks on Guam, it is closely associated with the folktale of two doomed lovers and is a major tourist attraction.
United States Naval Hospital Guam is a U.S. Navy medical facility on the U.S. territory of Guam. It provides a broad range of medical services to active-duty U.S. military personnel under Joint Region Marianas. Besides the main hospital, the hospital runs a medical clinic and a dental clinic on Naval Base Guam.
Liberation Day on the U.S. territory of Guam is an annual commemoration of the invasion by U.S. military forces on July 21, 1944, which ended the Japanese occupation that had begun in 1941. Begun in 1945, it is Guam's largest celebration. Festivities include a queen contest, summer carnival, fireworks display, and mile-long parade on Marine Corps Drive in Hagåtña from Adelup to Paseo de Susana, as well as solemn memorials and visits to massacre sites. It is organized by the Guam Island Fair Committee.
An epidemic of smallpox in 1856 on the west Pacific island of Guam, then under the control of Spain, resulted in the death of over half of the population, or about 4,500 people. The population collapse led Spanish authorities to transfer the population of Pago to Hagåtña, ending a settlement dating back before colonization. It also led the Governor of the Spanish Mariana Islands to encourage immigration to Guam.
