THE HISTORY OF SAIPAN.

THE HISTORY OFSAIPAN

BY:KRISTINANIEDO

CHAPTER 1 THE

SPANISH ADMINISTRATION

1668-1898

THESPANISHADMINISTRATION (1668-1898)

AFTER FERDINAND MAGELLAN'S BRIEF BUT CONSEQUENTIAL VOYAGE TO THE MARIANA ISLANDS IN 1521, THE MARIANA ISLANDS CAME TO THE ATTENTION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY. THE SPANISH CROWN SEIZED THESE ISLANDS IN 1565, AND THEY SOON DEVELOPED INTO SIGNIFICANT RESUPPLY PORTS FOR GALLEONS TRAVELING THE TRADE ROUTE BETWEEN ACAPULCO AND MANILA. THE SPANISH MOCKINGLY REFERRED TO THEM AS ISLAS DE LOS LADRONES, OR ISLANDS OF THIEVES. A CENTURY LATER, IN 1668, THE JESUIT PRIESTS WHO FOUNDED A MISSION ON GUAM AND GAVE THE ISLANDS THE NEW NAME OF MARIANA DE AUSTRIA THE QUEEN REGENT OF SPAIN STARTED THE FORMAL SPANISH COLONIZATION OF THE ISLANDS. OVER THE COURSE OF THE FOLLOWING 30 YEARS, THE PRIESTS WORKED TO CONVERT ANIMISTIC CHAMORROS THROUGHOUT THE ARCHIPELAGO TO THE CATHOLIC RELIGION WITH THE HELP OF A SMALL GARRISON OF SOLDIERS. BY THE EARLY 1700S, CHAMORROS FROM THE OTHER MARIANAS ISLANDS HAD BEEN SUCCESSFULLY RELOCATED TO MISSION COMMUNITIES ON GUAM. THE ONLY OTHER ISLAND THAT REMAINED PERMANENTLY POPULATED THROUGHOUT THE SPANISH ERA WAS ROTA. TRAGICALLY, HOWEVER, FORCED RELIGIOUS CONVERSION AND RELOCATION TOGETHER WITH INTERMITTENT CONFLICT AND EXOTIC ILLNESSES LED TO THE ERADICATION OF OVER 90% OF THE CHAMORRO PEOPLE AS WELL AS MANY OF THEIR TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PRACTICES AND ORAL TRADITIONS.

A HAMLET WAS BUILT ON SAIPAN, WHICH HAD BEEN WITHOUT A PERMANENT POPULATION FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY BY IMMIGRANTS FROM THE CENTRAL CAROLINE ISLANDS, WHICH ARE LOCATED SOUTH OF THE MARIANAS. IN CONTRAST TO CHAMORROS, THE CAROLINIANS' WAY OF LIFE AND TRADITIONAL PRACTICES HAD NOT YET BEEN IMPACTED BY SPANISH COLONIALISM. IN ORDER TO REACH LANDFALLS HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY, THEY BUILT DURABLE TRANS-OCEANIC SAILING CANOES AND USED A SOPHISTICATED NAVIGATING SYSTEM THAT RELIES ON STARS, WAVES, AND FAUNA. BECAUSE OF THEIR EXPERTISE IN SAILING AND NAVIGATING, THE SPANISH USED THE CAROLINIANS TO FERRY PEOPLE AND GOODS BETWEEN GUAM, WHERE THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT WAS BASED, AND THE OTHER ISLANDS IN THE ARCHIPELAGO.

BEGINNING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, CHAMORROS FROM GUAM STARTED RELOCATING TO SAIPAN THE ARRIVAL OF THE JESUIT PRIEST DIEGO LUIS DE SANVITORES IN 1668 MARKED THE START OF THE ISLANDS' PERMANENT SETTLEMENT. ALONG WITH HIM WERE PRIESTS, CIVILIANS, FEMALE TROOPS, AND SEVERAL FILIPINOS. HIS JOURNEY WAS FUNDED BY MARIANA OF AUSTRIA, THE REGENT OF SPAIN, AND HE CHANGED THE ISLANDS' NAME TO THE MARIANAS IN HER HONORABLE NAME., QUEEN MARIANA OF AUSTRIA. QUEEN OF SPAIN.

CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS OF RELIGION WERE FOUNDED BY SANVITORES AND HIS COLONISTS. SINCE THE ISLANDERS OPPOSED BEING CONVERTED TO A RELIGION THAT DID NOT ALIGN WITH THEIR TRADITIONAL BELIEFS, A NUMBER OF REVOLTS FOLLOWED THOSE EFFORTS. IN RESPONSE, THE SPANISH SEPARATED THE INHABITANTS OF THE MARIANAS INTO VILLAGES AND RELOCATED THEM INTO ENCLAVES. DURING THE REMOVAL PROCEDURE, SEVERAL ISLANDERS DIED. MORE PEOPLE PERISHED AS A RESULT OF THE QUICK SPREAD OF DISEASE WITHIN THE SETTLEMENTS, WHICH FURTHER REDUCED THE POPULATION. THE SPANISH DEPLOYED TROOPS IN 1680 UNDER THE COMMAND OF JOSÉ QUIROGA, WHO SERVED AS THE MARIANAS' PROTEMPORE GOVERNOR FROM 1680 UNTIL 1696. AFTER A SERIES OF UPRISINGS, SIEGES, KILLINGS OF MISSIONARIES, AND CHURCH FIRES THAT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE "CHAMORRO WARS" AND CAUSED MANY ISLANDERS TO ESCAPE TO THE HIGHLANDS, HE BROUGHT THE PEOPLE UNDER CONTROL. IN RETALIATION, THE ENTIRE INDIGENOUS POPULATION OF THE NORTHERN MARIANAS ISLANDS OF ROTA AND SAIPAN WAS TRANSFERRED TO GUAM. AFTER TAKING THE OATH OF LOYALTY TO THE SPANISH MONARCH AND ADOPTING SPANISH CULTURE, THE CHAMORRO PEOPLE STARTED TO PLANT GRAIN (MAIZE), CONSUME RED MEAT, AND WEAR CLOTHING IN THE WEST—CULTURAL PRACTICES THAT THE EUROPEANS LINKED WITH "HIGHER" CIVILIZATION. TO INSTRUCT, CRAFTSMEN WERE DISPATCHED TO THE RURAL AREAS

FROM THE MARIA

THE REMAINDER OPPOSITION. THE SPANISH GALLEONS PASSING BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINES BEGAN TO STOP OFTEN ON GUAM. THE MARIANAS HAD GOTTEN EMBROILED IN COLONIAL CONFLICTS WITH EUROPE BY THE 19TH CENTURY. IN MICRONESIA, GERMAN AND BRITISH TROOPS AND SETTLERS STARTED TO INFRINGE ON SPANISH CLAIMS. POPE LEO XIII'S EFFORTS TO PREVENT CONFLICT BETWEEN GERMANY AND SPAIN IN THIS MATTER HELPED TO RESOLVE ISSUES IN 1886. THE DOMINION OF SPAIN, HOWEVER, WAS WANING, AND A CONFLICT WITH THE UNITED STATES WAS IMMINENT BY 1898. SPANISH NAVY FORCES UNDER COMMODORE GEORGE DEWEY'S LEADERSHIP DECIMATED THE SPANISH FLEET IN THE PHILIPPINES AND CAPTURED GUAM, LEADING TO SPAIN'S DECISION IN 1899 TO COMPLETELY LEAVE THE PACIFIC. FOLLOWING THAT, IT SOLD ALL OF ITS TERRITORIES TO GERMANY, INCLUDING ALL OF THE MARIANAS APART FROM GUAM, WHICH WAS REMAINED UNDER AMERICAN CONTROL.

CHAPTER 2 THE GERMAN ADMINISTRATION 1899-1914

THE GERMAN ADMINISTRATION (1899-1914)

GERMANY OFFICIALLY ACQUIRED CONTROL OF THE MARIANA ISLANDS TO THE NORTH OF GUAM IN NOVEMBER 1899. IN THE SUDSEE GEBIET, THE MARIANAS ESTABLISHED THEIR OWN AREA EARLY ON DURING GERMAN RULE. WITH YAP AS ITS ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER, THE ISLANDS, THE PALAUS, AND THE WESTERN CAROLINES BECAME A SINGLE DISTRICT IN 1907. ON SAIPAN, A STATION DIRECTOR RESIDED AND MANAGED THE MARIANAS WITH A SMALL TEAM. MORE THAN A FEW GERMANS WERE NEVER PRESENT ON SAIPAN THROUGHOUT THE GERMAN OCCUPATION. HOWEVER, SAIPAN AND THE OTHER GERMANCONTROLLED ISLANDS' GOVERNMENT SAW SIGNIFICANT CHANGES AS A RESULT OF THE PRESENCE OF GERMAN PERSONNEL. DESPITE BEING PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON THE ISLANDS' COPRA RESOURCES, THE GERMANS BROUGHT A SET OF ACTIONS THAT SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT THAT THE CHAMORROS AND CAROLINIANS EXPERIENCED. UNDER THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH INITIATIVES WERE ESSENTIALLY NONEXISTENT. THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT PROMPTLY BEGAN MASS VACCINATION CAMPAIGNS AGAINST SMALLPOX, WHICH HAD PLAGUED THE CHAMORRO COMMUNITY FOR DECADES. THE ROUTINE SERVICES OF A GOVERNMENT PHYSICIAN WERE ALSO OFFERED BY THE GERMANS. YAWNS WERE NO LONGER IDENTIFIED AS LEPROSY AFTER A VISIT FROM THE RENOWNED KOCH, AND IT WAS UNDERSTOOD LOCALLY THAT THE FORMER SHOULD NOT BE MISTAKEN WITH SYPHILIS.

GERMAN GOVERNMENT, NATIONAL SPECIAL SCHOOL FOR INTERPRETERS. GERMAN READING AND WRITING, MATH, GEOGRAPHY, MUSIC, AND CALISTHENICS WERE AMONG THE TOPICS COVERED. THE FORMAL EDUCATION WAS CLEARLY FOCUSED ON THE "FUNDAMENTALS," BUT IT WAS THOROUGH BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF MIDDLE-AGED PERSONS ON SAIPAN WHO ARE STILL ABLE TO SPEAK GERMAN AND UNDERSTAND "ICHWEISS NICHT WAS SOIL ES BEDEUTEN." THE GOVERNOR OF THE MARIANAS, FRITZ, STATED THAT SPEAKING ENGLISH WAS FORBIDDEN AND THAT STUDYING ENGLISH WAS DISCOURAGED. THE MAJORITY OF THE SPANISH SYSTEM OF ALCALDES AND SUBORDINATE OFFICIALS WAS MAINTAINED BY GERMAN RULE, ALTHOUGH THEIR ROLES SHIFTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO EXECUTING ORDERS GIVEN BY GERMAN AUTHORITIES. THE LOCAL POPULACE WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONTROL OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM. A LOCAL CITIZEN SERVED AS THE HEAD OF EACH VILLAGE, WHICH WAS THEN SUBDIVIDED INTO DISTRICTS, EACH OF WHICH WAS ALSO LED BY A PERSON. RESIDENTS REPORTED CASES OF DISEASE, MAINTAINED CENSUS DATA, COLLECTED TAXES, HIRED WORKERS FOR PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS, AND DOCUMENTED STRANGE EVENTS. THESE OFFICIALS WERE CHOSEN, BUT THEIR SELECTION WAS IMPACTED BY PUBLIC OPINION IN AN EFFORT TO INCREASE PUBLIC TRUST IN THE GOVERNMENT. A MINOR PAY WAS ALSO PAID TO THE VARIOUS AUTHORITIES IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIR EFFORTS.

A POLICE FORCE WAS ALSO FORMED BY THE GERMANS. A SMALL NUMBER OF MALAY PEOPLE WERE INITIALLY SENT TO THE MARIANAS FOR THIS PURPOSE, BUT CHAMORROS AND CAROLINIANS QUICKLY TOOK THEIR PLACE. THE GERMAN ADMINISTRATION ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE PEACEFUL NATURE OF THE POPULACE HARDLY MADE THE POLICE FORCE NECESSARY, BUT IT DID SO BY INSTILLING "HABITS OF PUNCTUALITY AND OBEDIENCE, OF CO-OPERATION, AND OF COMRADESHIP BETWEEN CHAMORROS AND CAROLINIANS" AMONG THE FORCE'S MEMBERS. FRITZ OBSERVED THAT WHILE SMALL-SCALE THEFT WAS COMMON, PARTICULARLY INVOLVING FOOD AND POULTRY, DEFENSES AGAINST LIFE WERE EXTREMELY UNCOMMON A FEW CHAMORRO FAMILIES ON SAIPAN WERE GIVEN VERY SIZABLE GRANTS OF LAND DURING THE SPANISH ERA FOR GRAZING, ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO PROOF THAT THESE PROPERTIES WERE EVER USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. THESE CONCESSIONS WERE CANCELED WHEN THE GERMANS TOOK OVER THE ISLAND, BUT THE HOLDERS WERE GIVEN PERMISSION TO KEEP AS MUCH LAND AS THEY COULD MANAGE TO MEET THEIR REQUIREMENTS. THE PUBLIC DOMAIN WAS OPENED TO HOMESTEADING BY CHAMORROS AND CAROLINIANS ONCE THE REMAINING GRANTS WERE INTEGRATED INTO IT. THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT KEPT A DATABASE OF ALL LAND TITLES AND PROVIDED INDIVIDUAL LANDOWNERS WITH CERTIFICATES CONFIRMING THEIR TITLES. GERMAN COLONISTS WERE ALSO PERMITTED TO LEASE PUBLIC DOMAIN, BUT NOT TO SETTLE THERE, ON HIGHLY FAVORABLE CONDITIONS, HOWEVER THEY WERE UNABLE TO

EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE MORE CONTACTS WITH PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE ISLAND, A WIDER RANGE OF WORLDVIEWS, AND GROWING INEQUALITIES AMONG THE CHAMORROS IN TERMS OF WEALTH, LITERACY, AND SOCIAL STANDING, THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE OF CHAMORRO CULTURE AND THE BROAD STROKES OF THEIR SOCIAL STRUCTURE DO NOT SEEM TO HAVE CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE GERMAN ERA. ACCORDING TO FRITZ'S MONOGRAPH, REMNANTS OF EARLY FORMS OF MATERIAL CULTURE, LIKE THE HEAD REST, WERE VANISHING WHILE NEW INVENTIONS, LIKE SEWING MACHINES, WERE BEING WIDELY USED.

HOWEVER THE CHAMORROS PERSISTED AS A FOLK COMMUNITY, UPHOLDING THEIR CUSTOMARY CHAMORRO COSTUMBREN, OR CORE OF PRACTICES, WHICH ARE CENTERED ON FAMILY, FARM, AND CHURCH. REGARDING THE LATTER, GERMAN CAPUCHINS TOOK THE PLACE OF THE SPANISH AUGUSTINIANS. FRITZ WAS UNIMPRESSED BY THE CHAMORROS' RELIGIOSITY POINTING OUT THAT THEY STILL BELIE INCO CIVIL NOT FUND

CHAPTER 3 THE JAPANESE ADMINISTRATION

1914-1945

THE JAPANESE ADMINISTRATION (1914-1945)

THE ISLANDS WERE CAPTURED BY JAPANESE NAVAL TROOPS IN 1914, AT THE START OF WORLD WAR I, ENDING GERMANY'S BRIEF 15-YEAR RULE. JAPAN'S LEGAL JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS SEIZURE WAS SUPPORTED BY A NUMBER OF COVERT AGREEMENTS WITH THE BRITISH MEANT TO MAINTAIN PEACE IN ASIA IN THE EVENT OF WAR. FOLLOWING WORLD WAR I, JAPAN WAS GRANTED THE NORTHERN MARIANAS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES ON JUNE 28, 1919, AND LATER ON DECEMBER 17, 1920, AS A MANDATE UNDER THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS. THIS MANDATE WAS ACKNOWLEDGED ON FEBRUARY 11, 1922, BY THE UNITED STATES, WHICH STILL CONTROLLED GUAM. THE NORTHERN MARIANAS WERE UNDER DIRECT JAPANESE AUTHORITY, WHICH GAVE THE LOCALS ON THE ISLANDS MINIMAL INFLUENCE OVER LOCAL AFFAIRS. ONLY A FEW CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE CORE LAWS OF JAPAN TO ACCOMMODATE THE SITUATION ON THE ISLANDS. THERE WERE FEW FORMAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AVAILABLE, THEREFORE MASTERING THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE WAS PRIORITIZED. HOWEVER, THERE WAS AN IMPROVEMENT IN PUBLIC HEALTH, AND HOSPITALS WERE BUILT. JAPAN'S PRIMARY CONCERN WAS ECONOMIC GROWTH, LEADING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MAJOR SUGARCANE FIELDS AND REFINERIES ON ROTA AND SAIPAN. BOTH LABORERS IN GREAT NUMBERS AND MONEY FOR INVESTMENTS WERE MADE ACCESSIBLE. FULL EMPLOYMENT WAS ALSO PRESENT.

THE JAPANESE NAVY MANAGED THE NORTHERN MARIANAS UNTIL 1922, WHEN THEY WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE CIVILIAN-RUN NAN'YO-CHO, OR SOUTH SEAS BUREAU, WHICH HAD A BRANCH OFFICE AT GARAPAN. AT THIS PERIOD, THE NORTHERN MARIANAS' SUGAR INDUSTRY WAS FOUNDED BY VISIONARY BUSINESSMAN HARUJI MATSUE. SAIPAN, TINIAN, AND TO A LESSER EXTENT ROTA WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR NATURAL VEGETATION OVER THE COURSE OF THE FOLLOWING TWO DECADES AND REPLACED WITH SUGARCANE FIELDS. THE MATURE CANE WAS MOVED THROUGH VAST RAILROAD NETWORKS CREATED BY MATSUE'S FIRM, THE NAN'YÔ KOHATSU KABUSHIKI KAISHA ALSO KNOW AS NKK. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PLANTATION AND MILL WORKERS WERE NEEDED FOR THIS LABOR-INTENSIVE SECTOR, AND BY THE EARLY 1940S, THEY PRACTICALLY OUTNUMBERED LOCALS 10 TO 1. JAPANESE MERCHANTS ENGAGED IN PHOSPHATE MINING AND COMMERCIAL TUNA FISHING IN ADDITION TO SUGAR. ALTHOUGH INDIGENOUS RESIDENTS WERE STILL VIEWED AS THIRD-CLASS CITIZENS, THE ACCOMPANYING STRONG ECONOMY PROVIDED A LEVEL OF LIFE FOR BOTH NATIVE AND IMMIGRANT RESIDENTS UNPARALLELED ELSEWHERE IN THE TROPICAL PACIFIC. JAPAN'S GOAL DURING THIS TIME WAS TO FULLY INCORPORATE THE ISLANDS AND THE LOCAL POPULATION INTO THE LARGER JAPANESE EMPIRE., TO PROCESSING MILLS AT CHALAN KANOA, TINIAN TOWN, AND SONGSONG ON ROTA. 10

WHEN WORLD WAR II IN THE PACIFIC BROKE OUT IN DECEMBER 1941, THE JAPANESE PROMPTLY SEIZED GUAM FROM THE AMERICANS AND FINISHED DOMINATING THE MARIANAS. JAPANESE ADVANCE TOWARDS THE SOUTH AND EAST USED GUAM AND THE BIGGER ISLANDS OF SAIPAN, TINIAN, ROTA, PAGAN, AND AGRIHAN AS BASES. THE MARIANAS WERE NEUTRALIZED WITH THE RECOVERY OF SAIPAN, TINIAN, AND GUAM IN JUNE–JULY 1944. IN 1943, ALLIED TROOPS UNDER U.S. LEADERSHIP STARTED TO WEAKEN JAPANESE INFLUENCE IN MICRONESIA. THE THREE ISLANDS LATER SERVED AS ALLIED BASES FOR ATTACKING THE JAPANESE HOME ISLANDS; AIRCRAFT USED TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMBS ON HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI WERE BASED AT TINIAN.

REPRESENTATIVES OF JAPAN SIGNED THE FORMAL INSTRUMENT OF SURRENDER ON SEPTEMBER 2, 1945, AFTER IT HAD BEEN COMPLETED BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT AND RECEIVED PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN'S APPROVAL.

BY KRISTINA CASSANDRA T.

NIEDO

1ST PERIOD

MAY 24, 2023

“THE WORLD IS A PLACE WHERE THE EXTRAORDINARY CAN SIT BESIDE THE ORDINARY WITH THE THINNEST OF BOUNDARIES.”

JODI PICOULT