The U.S. Territory of Guam is the largest and southernmost
island of the Mariana Islands in the North Pacific Ocean. The
southern maritime boundary of Guam borders the Federated States
of Micronesia, and the northern maritime boundary borders the
Northern Marianas Islands. Guam is surrounded by coral reefs
near its shore. What is Guam's maritime history? Guam's
indigenous population, the Chamorros, came to the island about
4,000 years ago from Malaysia. Ferdinand Magellan made the first
European contact with Guam in 1521. Spain began colonizing the
island in 1668 and it served as an important stop for provisions
and rest on the Manilla Galleon trade route between Mexico and
the Philippines. In 1898, the United States took control of the
island following the Battle of Guam in the Spanish-American War.
During World War II, the Japanese invaded Guam in 1941 and
treated the people of Guam as enemies in an occupied territory.
The United States retook the island in 1944. Following the war,
the Guam Organic Act of 1