Academic Year 1967-1968, Unit 11: Other Island Dependencies and Trusteeships Page: 1
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UNIT 11
Other Island Dependencies and Trusteeships
THOUSANDS OF ISLANDS dot the central and south-
ern Pacific Ocean. Unit 10 treated three groups
of these islands-the Marianas, the Marshalls,
and all of the Carolines except Guam-which
collectively are known as Micronesia and offi-
cially are named the U.N. Trust Territory of the
Pacific Islands. This unit concerns six islands or
groups of islands located in the vast Pacific area
that sweeps from southeast of Micronesia to the
south and on toward the northwest. From the
multitude of islands in this area, those selected
for discussion here are representative of the Pa-
cific island dependencies and territories adminis-
tered either by the United States or by some other
designated member of the United Nations. They
are Guam, American Samoa, the Ryukyus, the
Fijis, the Solomons, and New Guinea.
These six island groupings are strategically lo-
cated militarily and economically. They are in a
part of the world where it is crucially important
for the United States and other free world na-'
tions to have access to good harbors and to mod-
ern landing fields suitable for piston-powered and
jet aircraft. Any Pacific island that offers even
one such asset is a valuable piece of real estate
in international waters.[In time of peace as well
as war, harbors and landing fields are among the
elements required in the Pacific communications
complex connecting the West with the Far Eastj
One section of this unit is devoted to each of
the island areas treated. Each section is a brief
strategic study designed to highlight the physical
environment and the cultural-political geography
of the territory discussed.
GUAM
GUAM IS THE SOUTHERNMOST and the most popu-
lous island in the Mariana archipelago. Although
it is one of the Marianas, it is not a part of the
U.S. Trusteeship Islands, the subject of Unit 10.
Of the islands in the western Pacific Ocean be-
tween Hawaii and the Philippines, Guam is the
largest. In length, it runs for about 30 miles; in
width, it ranges from about 4 to 9 miles; and in
area, it measures about 212 square miles. It lies
13 above the equator; 1,300 miles from Yoko-
hama, Japan; 1,500 miles southeast of Manila,
1Philippines; and 6,000 miles southwest of San
Francisco, California.
The climate of Guam is warm and humid.
Temperatures range from 70 to 90 Fahrenheit,
with a mean annual temperature of 810. Trade-
winds cool the island during the dry season,
which starts in December and runs through April.
May and June are the hottest months, and most
of the rain falls between July and September.
Average yearly precipitation ranges from 85 to
100 inches.
Guam is a volcanic island. Its northern half is
a high rolling plain reaching 400 feet above the
ocean, with steep cliffs abruptly forming the
coastline. The central portion containing the cap-
ital, Agana, is flat to the sea, but has some low
hills inland. To the south, rough mountains rise
from 700 to 1,334 feet above the sea level. The
highest peak is Mount Lamlam (meaning "light-
ning" in the Chamorran dialect). In the waters
just south of the island are two of the deepest
parts of any ocean, Challenger Deep and Nero
Deep, each measuring 6 miles to the ocean bed.
Guam was discovered by Ferdinand Magellan
in 1521. Along with the rest of the Marianas, it
was annexed by Spain in 1565. For the galleons
sailing between Hispanic America and the Philip-
pines, Apra Harbor on the west coast of Guam
became the main stop-over point. Spanish ad-
ministrators and Roman Catholic missionaries
worked together to concentrate most of the in-
digenous population of the Marianas in villages
on the island of Guam.
When the Spanish-American War started in
1898, U.S. naval forces took over Guam to gain
control of the harbor at Apra. The Treaty of
Paris, which ended the war, ceded Guam to the
United States. Spain sold the other islands of the
Marianas to Germany in 1899, and Japan occu-
pied them during World War I. Under the terms
of the Treaty of Versailles, these islands were
awarded to Japan as a mandate at the close of
World War I.
On 10 December 1941, four days after Pearl
Harbor, the Japanese occupied the island of
Guam. On 21 July 1944, U.S. forces landed,
and after six days of bitter fighting, they!
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Air University (U.S.). Academic Year 1967-1968, Unit 11: Other Island Dependencies and Trusteeships, pamphlet, January 1967; Georgia. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1009962/m1/5/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.