Government, politics, education, economics and religion
Candelaria Flores Taitano Rios (1932-2009) was an accomplished public servant in many sectors of the community. She was a leader in the development of educational programs, the Democratic Party of Guam, and for numerous civic organizations and public events.
Candelaria Taitano Rios Read Post »
Emilie Green Johnston (1924-2011) is a significant figure to historians and researchers of Guam history. Along with Guam historian/professors Paul Carano and Marjorie Driver, Johnston helped found the College of Guam’s (now the University of Guam) first research center.
Emilie Green Johnston Read Post »
Rosa Aguigui Reyes (1915-2007) is distinguished as being the first woman elected to the Guam Congress, in 1946. She was a pioneer in politics and in education. Reyes was born 7 February 1915 to Bienvenida Mata Tyquiengco and Ignacio Babauta Aguigui. She graduated from Agana High School before World War II.
Rosa Aguigui Reyes Read Post »
Mary Essie Underwood (1906-1998), also known as Sister Mary Inez, was one of the first three Sisters of Mercy from North Carolina who came to Guam in 1946 to establish a community of women religious and Catholic schools.
Mary Essie Underwood Read Post »
Elizabeth Pangelinan Perez Arriola (1928 – 2002) is most widely recognized in Guam history for her stand on issues affecting the family. A six-term Guam senator, Arriola took tough stances against legalizing casino gambling and abortion, and championed legislation on a wide range of issues affecting Guam and its culture, focusing special concern on women, youth and senior citizens.
Elizabeth Perez Arriola Read Post »
Eleven CHamoru men, kidnapped in Guam by Alonso de Salazar’s crew of the Victoria on 10 September 1526, to work the ship’s water pumps, became the first known Pacific crew members of a European based vessel. The Victoria was the only surviving ship of a seven ship fleet dispatched by Spanish Emperor Charles V.
Whaling Influence in the Marianas Read Post »
The matao fashioned the iron they acquired from trading with visiting ship crews into traditional tools, including punches, drills, fish hooks and adze blades. The most prominently mentioned application was canoe construction, a major preoccupation of high status men. The Marianas outrigger canoe played a vital role as the integrating mechanism for the islanders’ cultural unity, connecting their tano’ tasi (land of the sea) via inter-island transportation, communication and trade.
The Matao Iron Trade Part 3: Appropriation and Entanglement Read Post »
Between 1565 and 1665, Guam’s southwest coast received sporadic visits from Spanish vessels, including the first wreck of a trade galleon (San Pablo, 1568), as well as the first encounters with Dutch and English mariners. However, a more significant exchange venue was established in the 30-mile wide Rota Channel to trade with the Spanish ships crossing regularly from New Spain (Mexico) to the Philippines.
The Matao Iron Trade Part 2: Galleon Trading and Repatriation Read Post »
Members of the matao, the highest-ranking strata of Mariana Islands society in the 16th and 17th centuries, carried on the first sustained cultural interaction and commercial exchange between Pacific Islanders and Europeans. From Ferdinand Magellan’s 1521 visit through the establishment of the 1668 Spanish Jesuit mission, these island traders, primarily from Guam and Rota, regularly bartered food staples and craftwork for iron goods with Spanish exploration and trade vessels, Dutch expeditions and English privateers.
The Matao Iron Trade Part 1: Contact and Commerce Read Post »
Clotilde “Ding” Castro Gould (1930-2002) was a beloved storyteller, educator and advocate for Chamorro language and culture. Through her sense of humor and gift for weaving stories and songs together about Chamorros and life on Guam, Gould helped create and shape Chamorro language resources and programs on Guam, as well as advanced cultural awareness of the Marianas in the larger Pacific region.
Clotilde “Ding” Castro Gould Read Post »
