Guam is an island in the western Pacific ocean and is one of the five U.S. territories with an established civilian government.The island's capital is Hagatma.The local language is Chamorro. The total population is less than 200,000.
The island has a long history of European colonialism, beginning in 1521 and was controlled by Spain until 1898, when it was surrendered to the United States, following the Spanish-American war.
During WW II, Guam was captured by the Japanese on December 8, 1941, hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and was occupied for two and a half years. During this occupation, the people of Guam suffered terribly and were forced to adopt the Japanese culture. It was recaptured by the American troops on July 21, 1944, a date still commemorated every year as Liberation Day.
Today, Guam's economy is mainly supported by tourism, the majority of visitors coming from Japan.
Guam's second-largest source of income is the United States military. With the proposed increased military presence, as a result of the relocation efforts of U.S. marines from Okinawa to Guam, to begin in 2010 and to last for the next several years thereafter, the total amount of land that the military will control may grow to over 40% of the entire landmass of Guam. Some 80,000 people will be stationed there during the construction of the new base.
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