Search results for gallery
European Colonization’s Impact on Trade in Micronesia
The Age of European Exploration in the Pacific began in 1521 with Ferdinand Magellan’s search for the Spice Islands (now the Moluccas). He was soon followed by many others, and by 1565 Spain had virtually full control of navigation routes across the Pacific. Oceania became, as Pacific historian Oskar Spate called it, a “Spanish lake.”
Port of Guam
Guam’s commercial port, operated by the Port Authority of Guam, is located at Cabras Island in the village of Piti. It is Guam’s only deepwater port and it handles approximately 90 percent of the island’s total imports.
Apra Harbor
Apra Harbor is a deep water port located on the west coast of Guam. It is home to both the commercial Port of Guam and Naval Station Guam.
Governor Carlos Camacho
Governor Carlos G. Camacho (1924–1979) served as not only Guam’s last appointed governor, but also its first elected governor after the Guam Elected Governor Act was passed in 1968.
Communications and Transportation Advancements
Guam made huge strides in improving telecommunication and transportation throughout the 20th century under American rule. A myriad of modern vehicles fill island streets. Almost every house has a television and a telephone and many have computers and internet as well.
Guam’s Strategic Value
The strategic significance of Guam is due to the enduring importance of its location and its topography to major maritime nations in the Pacific Ocean. Guam, some 30 miles long and 10 miles wide, is the largest of the Mariana Islands, an archipelago of high volcanic islands in Micronesia, a huge expanse of small islands scattered across the western Pacific.
Early Transpacific Telecommunications
The first step in telegraphic communications for Guam took place soon after Guam and the Philippines were taken over by the United States following the Spanish American War in 1898. John W. Mackay, an American silver magnate, offered to lay a cable across the Pacific, planning to set the rate of $1 per word instead of the $1.72 then being charged for cablegrams in other parts of the word.
Postal History of Guam
When the Americans arrived in Guam in 1899 they brought a supply of United States stamps overprinted “GUAM.” These stamps were used for about one year after which regular US postage stamps were used.
Newspapers
The Guam News Letter, and its later evolution, the Guam Recorder were the first two regularly printed Guam newspaper publications.
Governor Ricardo J. Bordallo
Ricardo Jerome Bordallo (1927-1990) was the first popularly elected governor to serve two terms (1975-1978 and 1983-1986). Governor Carlos Camacho had also served two terms though one was an appointed and the other elected.