List of populated places in Guam |This article is part of the
series: Politics and government of The United States territory
of Guam is divided into nineteen municipalities more commonly
called villages. Each municipality is governed by an elected
mayor. Village populations range in size from under 1,000 to
over 40,000. As of the 2000 census, the total population of Guam
was 154,805.  Many villages have rich histories reaching back
thousands of years. Artifacts from ancient Chamorro settlements
can be found in every village of Guam. When Spain colonized
Guam, the island was divided into separate districts. Each
district consisted of a parish with a village center governed by
an alcalde, appointed by the island's governor. Many Chamorro
were forced to live in the new villages, each centered on a
church, so that they could learn Christianity and be more
closely monitored by the Spanish. In the 18th century, there
were six parishes on Guam: Hagåtña, Hagat, Humåtak, Malesso',
Inalåjan, and Pago. Prior to Spanish