Language/Chamorro/Culture/Guam-Timeline

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Historical Timeline for Guam - A chronology of key events

History of Guam[edit | edit source]

5,000 years ago (3000 BC), coastal inhabitants of southern China, cultivators of millet and rice, began to cross the Strait of Formosa to settle in Taiwan. Around 2000 BC. AD, migrations take place from Taiwan to the Philippines. New migrations soon begin from the Philippines to Celebes and Timor and from there to the other islands of the Indonesian archipelago. Around 1500 BC. AD, another movement leads from the Philippines to New Guinea and, beyond, the islands of the Pacific Ocean. The Austronesians are undoubtedly the first navigators in the history of mankind.
Plaque commemorating the arrival of Fernand de Magellan in the bay of Umatac. The first known contact with Europeans occurs in March 1521 when the navigator Fernand de Magellan2 anchored in a bay on the island. In 1528, Álvaro de Saavedra took possession of part of the Marianas archipelago in the name of the King of Spain. In 1565, Miguel López de Legazpi planted a cross on the island showing his membership in the Spanish crown, which lasted until 1898, when it was ceded to the United States after the Spanish-American War.
During World War II, Guam was attacked by the Empire of Japan and conquered three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, after the First Battle of Guam in December 1941. As part of the Mariana Islands and Palau campaign during the he summer 1944, the island was reconquered by the United States during the second battle of Guam just after the invasion of Tinian.
It remains an important base for the United States military in the Pacific. Andersen Air Force Base has been used for strategic bombing raids among other things since that time, and Naval Base Guam is one of three that can accommodate US Navy aircraft carriers in the region.
On June 5, 2015, Guam became the first territory in the United States to adopt same-sex marriage3, the first marriages being celebrated on June 9, 20154.
On August 8, 2017, during escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea, the latter threatened to strike the island of Guam. She clarified her plan a few days later: fire 4 missiles simultaneously which would pass over Japan and crash 30 or 40 km from the coast5. The governor of Guam, however, explains on CNN that he is not worried about the threat of North Korean missiles because, according to him, the island is equipped with the latest anti-missile protection shield available to date.