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POP Cultures: People of Micronesia
Micronesia, the “little islands,” is a geographic and cultural region that is comprised of over 2,500 islands spread across the vast north, west and central Pacific Ocean in an area equivalent in size to the continental United States. Although the term Micronesia refers to their relatively small land mass, the individual islands actually vary in size and shape—from high islands with tall mountains and rain forests, to low lying atolls. Compared to Polynesia and Melanesia, Micronesia is the least studied of the Pacific islands regions but it has a lot of historical significance as a site of European and Asian economic exploits and Christian missionization, as well as the location of some of the bloodiest battles of World War II. More importantly, Micronesia is a place rich in cultural resources and history, home to diverse and vibrant peoples, and a strategic location for international geopolitical interests.
POP Cultures: People of Melanesia
The vast Pacific Ocean is dotted with numerous islands of various size, shape, topography, climate and resources. Over thousands of years, a diverse array of peoples and cultures have evolved, sharing with each other an ability to adapt to and survive the environmental conditions and challenges unique to life in the islands.
People of Pacific Cultures (POP Cultures)
Every four years, the different islands of the Pacific region gather to share in a special celebration of the arts. For two weeks, thousands participate in the Festival of Pacific Arts—FoPA, or FestPac as we call it here on Guam—which showcases singing, dancing, painting, weaving, carving, live demonstrations, storytelling, canoe building, and other forms of artistic traditions unique to this part of the world. It is also a time to celebrate the people of Oceania, to share history and knowledge, raise cultural awareness and create memories. More than two dozen Pacific Island states, nations and territories send hundreds of delegates, each prepared to enjoy a giant love fest for the arts and Pacific Island cultural traditions and peoples.
SMS Cormoran: 90th Anniversary
In 2007, Guam commemorated the 90th anniversary of the scuttling of the SMS Cormoran II. The festivities included wreath-laying ceremonies at Apra Harbor and the US Naval Cemetery in Hagåtña, and a series of lectures and an exhibit. Surviving descendants of the original crew and other German representatives were invited to participate. Hosted by the Guam Visitors Bureau and the Department of Parks and Recreation, the week-long celebration was just one way to remember and celebrate the Cormoran and its crew.
Voices of Our Elders
Anyone who has grown up in a Chamorro household on Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands likely can attest to the importance the elders, our manaina, have in our families. Parents, grandparents and the older generations of aunts, uncles and cousins, grow in status because of their age and experience.
Manila Galleon Trade Route-La Nao de China: A Legacy in the Marianas
First Global Trade Route in the Pacific. From 1565 to 1815, Spanish galleons sailed the Pacific Ocean between Acapulco in New Spain (now Mexico) and Manila in the Philippine islands. In between these two far flung colonies lay the Mariana Islands, known then as Las Islas de Los Ladrones, which became a stepping stone between the Americas and Asia.
Navigation and Cargo of the Manila Galleons
The Manila Galleon Trade Route was the major route traveled by Spanish galleons from 1565 to 1815 across the Pacific connecting Acapulco in New Spain (Mexico) to the east and Manila, Philippines in the west. The galleons carried spices, porcelains and other luxury goods from Asia and gold and silver from the Americas in one of the largest complexes of global exchange of people and goods in human history. The Mariana Islands was one stop along the route. CHamorus participated in trade with the galleons and provided water and food to the passing ships. What follows is a description of the trade route and the cargo transported by the Spanish galleons as they plied across the often dangerous waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Stops Along the Manila Galleon Trade Route
When Miguel López de Legazpi’s expedition departed Mexico in 1564 with four ships across the Pacific to claim Guam and the Philippines for King Philip II of Spain, only one ship would return homeward from Manila, the San Pablo. Under the command of Legazpi’s grandson, Felipe de Salcedo, and navigated by Andrés de Urdaneta, the San Pablo was the first Spanish galleon to successfully return from Manila across the Pacific carrying mainly spices in 1565, thus beginning the 250-year long galleon trade.
Forzado System and the Mariana Islands
The Spanish Forzado System. Before the Mariana Islands served as an official penal colony for political prisoners and criminals from Spain and her territories in the 19th century, the forzado system, or forced labor, brought many individuals to the islands in the form of conscripted laborers and soldiers. The forzado system imposed sentences of forced labor not only on those convicted of crimes, but others deemed “undesirable” by governing officials and provincial elite.
La Nao de China: The Spanish Treasure Fleet System
The Manila Galleons. On 15 August 1568 the Spanish galleon San Pablo, anchored off the southwest coast of Guam, was hit by a sudden violent storm and was blown and battered onto a nearby coast. The 132 men sailing from Spain’s newly established Philippine colony began a three-month stay on Guam which allowed for intensive interaction with the CHamoru people, alternating between periods of trade and cooperation, and confrontation and violence. The Spanish sailors eventually converted the galleon’s boat into a large bark to return to the Philippines.