Guam is the largest and most southerly island of the Marianas Islands, which were occupied by the Chamorro Indians from 1500 BC. It was claimed by the Spanish in 1565 and ruled by Madrid until the Spanish-American War of 1898. The Spanish governor was unaware of the war and, when a US frigate entered Hagåtña harbor with guns blazing, he apologised to the captain for not having a reciprocal salute ready. He surrendered the island the next day.
US rule was interrupted by the Japanese invasion of 1941, to be reinstated after fierce fighting three years later. The island has been
an important US strategic base since then. Its facilities were provisionally earmarked for substantial expansion following the US withdrawal from the Philippines. However, the end of the Cold War and the overall retrenchment of the American military have forced the government of Guam to look to other means for its long-term future.
Politics on the island are based on the US system: the most recent gubernatorial election in November 2002 was won by the Republican Felix Camacho, while the simultaneous legislature elections gave the Democrats a three-seat majority in the 15-seat assembly.
GovernmentUnder the terms of the 1950 Organic Act of Guam, the island has internal self-government and its citizens are also citizens of the USA, but are not eligible to vote in US elections. The Governor is popularly elected to serve a four-year term; the local legislature has 15 members elected for 2-year terms in single-seat constituencies. Guam comes under the jurisdiction of the US Department of the Interior and sends one delegate to the House of Representatives.
EconomyThe main components of Guam’s economy are tourism and the US military for whom the island is a vital staging post for operations through the Pacific region. Tourism has expanded rapidly despite the island’s remote location and small size: Guam now receives over 1 million visitors annually, of whom 90% come from Japan.
A range of crops, including maize, cassava, bananas and coconuts, are grown for domestic consumption. Guam is also an important re-export center for distribution of goods throughout the Pacific, particularly to Micronesia.
Government policy presently concentrates on attracting foreign investment, principally from Asia, and has been examining the country’s potential as an offshore financial center. However, the development of the latter is not favored by the extensive competition in the Pacific and Guam’s tax laws.
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