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{{Short description|Archipelago in the
{{
{{Infobox Islands
| name = Mariana Islands
| image = Map Mariana Islands volcanoes.gif
| image_caption = The Mariana Islands are shown, with the territory of [[Guam]] to the extreme south, and the Commonwealth of the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] (14 islands) to the north. Active volcanoes are shown with triangles.
| location = Pacific Ocean
| coordinates = {{Coord|16
| country = United States<br>{{nobold|[[Northern Mariana Islands]] (U.S.)<br>[[Guam]] (U.S.)}}
: {{Flag|Northern Mariana Islands}} (U.S.)▼
}}
The '''Mariana Islands''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|m|ær|i|ˈ|ɑː|n|ə}} {{respell|MARR|ee|AH|nə}}; {{langx|ch|Manislan Mariånas}}), also simply '''the Marianas'''
The indigenous inhabitants are the [[Chamorro people]]. Archaeologists in 2013 reported findings which indicated that the people who first settled the Marianas arrived there after making what may have been at the time the longest uninterrupted ocean voyage in human history. They further reported findings which suggested that [[Tinian]] is likely to have been the first island in Oceania to have been settled by humans.<ref>{{cite news |last=Zotomayor |first=Alexie Villegas |title
Spanish expeditions, beginning with one by Portuguese explorer [[Ferdinand Magellan]] in the early
== Geography ==
[[File:Philippine Sea location.jpg|upright=1.8|right|thumb|Geology of the west Pacific in the area of the Mariana Islands. The Mariana Islands are at map-right, east of the Philippine Sea and just west of the [[Mariana Trench]] in the ocean floor.]]The Mariana Islands are the southern part of a submerged [[mountain range]] that extends {{convert|1565|mi|0|abbr=out}} from Guam to near Japan. Geographically, the Marianas are part of a larger region called [[Micronesia]], situated between [[13th parallel north|13°]] and [[21st parallel north|21°N]] latitude and [[144th meridian east|144°]] and [[146th meridian east|146°E]] longitude.
The Mariana Islands have a total land area of {{
They are composed of two administrative units:
* [[Guam]], a [[United States
* the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] (including the islands of [[Saipan]], [[Tinian]] and [[Rota (island)|Rota]]), which make up a [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|Commonwealth of the United States]].
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The lowest point on the Earth's crust, the [[Mariana Trench]], is near the islands and is named after them.
The majority of islands in the Marianas still retain their indigenous names
== Geology ==
The islands are part of a [[Structural geology|geologic structure]] known as the [[Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc]] system, and range in age from 5 million years old in the north to 30 million years old in the south (Guam). The island chain arose as a result of the western edge of the [[Pacific Plate]] moving westward and plunging downward below the [[Mariana plate]], a region which is the most volcanically active convergent plate boundary on Earth. This [[subduction]] region, just east of the island chain, forms the noted [[Mariana Trench]], the deepest part of the Earth's oceans and lowest part of the surface of the Earth's crust. In this region, according to geologic theory, water trapped in the extensive faulting of the Pacific Plate as [[serpentinite]], is heated by the higher temperatures of depth during its subduction, the pressure from the expanding steam results in the hydrothermal activity in the area and the volcanic activity which formed the Mariana Islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/mariana/ |title=Pacific Ocean – Geology of Mariana Islands |date=23 December 2010 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223015139/http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/mariana/ |archive-date=23 December 2010}}</ref>
== Ecology ==
{{main|Marianas tropical dry forests}}▼
{{Infobox ecoregion
| name = Marianas tropical dry forests
| image = Suicide Cliff in Saipan 3.JPG
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| caption = Tropical dry forest on [[Saipan]]
| map =
| map_size =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| biogeographic_realm = [[Oceanian realm|Oceanian]]
| biome = [[Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests]]
| animals =
| bird_species = 59<ref name=Atlas>{{Cite web |title=The Atlas of Global Conservation |url=http://maps.tnc.org/globalmaps.html |access-date=2020-11-20 |website=maps.tnc.org |archive-date=2012-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305201312/http://maps.tnc.org/globalmaps.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| mammal_species = 2<ref name=Atlas/>
| border =
| area = 1036
| country = United States
| state =
| region_type = Territories
| elevation =
|
|
|
|
|
| conservation = Critical/Endangered<ref>{{Cite web |title=Western Micronesia: north of Papua New Guinea {{!}} Ecoregions {{!}} WWF |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/oc0203 |access-date=2020-11-20 |website=World Wildlife Fund |archive-date=2020-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927065229/https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/oc0203 |url-status=live }}</ref>▼
|
▲|conservation = Critical/Endangered<ref>{{Cite web|title=Western Micronesia: north of Papua New Guinea {{!}} Ecoregions {{!}} WWF|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/oc0203|access-date=2020-11-20|website=World Wildlife Fund}}</ref>
|
| habitat_loss_ref = <ref name=Atlas/>▼
|
▲|habitat_loss_ref = <ref name=Atlas/>
|
}}{{See also|Marianas tropical dry forests|List of endemic plants in the Mariana Islands|List of mammals of the Northern Mariana Islands}}
All the islands, except [[Farallon de Medinilla]] and [[Uracas]] or [[Farallon de Pajaros]] (in the northern group), are more or less densely
▲All the islands, except [[Farallon de Medinilla]] and [[Uracas]] or [[Farallon de Pajaros]] (in the northern group), are more or less densely wooded, and the vegetation is dense, much resembling that of the [[Caroline Islands|Carolines]] and also of the Philippines, from where species of plants have been introduced. Owing to the moistness of the soil [[cryptogams]] are numerous, as are also most kinds of grasses. On most of the islands there is a plentiful supply of water.
The fauna of the Marianas, though inferior in number and variety, is similar in character to that of the [[Caroline Islands|Carolines]] and certain species are indigenous to both island groups. The climate though damp is healthy, while the heat, being tempered by the [[trade wind]]s, is milder than that of the Philippines; the variations of temperature are not great.
▲The majority of islands in the Marianas still retain their indigenous names end in the letters -an; e.g. [[Guam|Guahan]] (the indigenous name of Guam), [[Agrigan]], [[Agrihan]], [[Aguihan]]/Aguigan, [[Pagan (island)|Pagan]], Sarigan, etc.
== History ==
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=== Prehistory ===
{{See also|Micronesia navigation}}
The islands are part of a [[geology|geologic]] structure known as the [[Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc]] system and range in age from 5 million years old in the north to 30 million years old in the south (Guam). The islands are formed as the highly dense and very old western edge of the [[Pacific
[[File:Chronological dispersal of Austronesian people across the Pacific.svg|upright=1.5|left|thumb|Map showing the [[Neolithic]] [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian migrations]] into the islands of the [[Indo-Pacific]]]]
The Mariana Islands were the first islands settled by humans in [[Remote Oceania]]. Incidentally it is also the first and the longest of the ocean-crossing voyages of the [[Austronesian peoples]] into Remote Oceania, and is separate from the later [[Polynesian people|Polynesian]] settlement of the rest of Remote Oceania. They were first settled around 1500 to 1400 BCE by migrants departing from the [[Philippines]].<ref name="Hung"/><ref name="Zotomayor">{{cite journal |last1=Zotomayor |first1=Alexie Villegas |title=Archaeologists say migration to Marianas longest ocean-crossing in human history |journal=Marianas Variety News and Views |date=12 March 2013 |page=2 |url=https://issuu.com/aleksea/docs/mv_3-12-13/2 |access-date=25 October 2020 |archive-date=21 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021085833/https://issuu.com/aleksea/docs/mv_3-12-13/2 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Archeological studies of human activity on the islands
Comparative and historical linguistics also indicate that the [[Chamorro language]] is most closely related to the [[Philippine languages|Philippine]] subfamily of the [[Austronesian languages]], instead of the [[Oceanic languages|Oceanic]] subfamily of the languages
[[File:Guma Taga ruins, pre-1902.jpg|right|thumb|Ruins of [[Guma Taga]] on Tinian.
[[Human mitochondrial genetics|Mitochondrial DNA]] and [[whole genome sequencing]] of the [[Chamorro people]] strongly support an ancestry from the Philippines. Genetic analysis of pre-[[Latte stone|''Latte'' period]] skeletons in Guam also show that they do not have [[Australo-Melanesians|Australo-Melanesian]] ("Papuan") ancestry, which rules out origins from the [[Bismarck Archipelago]], [[New Guinea]],
Nevertheless, DNA
The Marianas also later established contact with and received migrations from the [[Caroline Islands]] at around the first millennium CE. This brought new pottery styles,
The period 900 to 1700 CE of the Marianas, immediately before and during the Spanish colonization, is known as the [[Latte stone|''Latte'' period]]. It is characterized by rapid cultural change, most notably by the massive [[megalithic]] ''latte'' stones (also spelled ''latde'' or ''latti''). These were composed of the ''haligi'' pillars capped with another stone called ''tasa'' (which prevented rodents from climbing the posts). These served as supports for the rest of the structure which was made of wood.
The reasons for these changes is still unclear, but it is believed that it may have resulted from a third wave of migrants from [[Island Southeast Asia]]. Comparisons with other architectural traditions makes it likely that this third migration wave were again from the Philippines, or from eastern [[Indonesia]] (either [[Sulawesi]] or [[Sumba]]), all of which have a tradition of raised buildings with capstones.
=== Spanish exploration and control ===
{{further|Spanish-Chamorro Wars}}
[[File:Reception of the Manila Galleon by the Chamorro in the Ladrones Islands, ca. 1590.jpg|thumb|350x350px|Reception of the [[Manila galleon|Manila Galleon]] by the [[Chamorro people|Chamorro]] in the Ladrones Islands,
The first Europeans to see the island group were a Spanish expedition, who on March 6, 1521, observed a string of islands and sailed between two of them during a [[Timeline of the Magellan–Elcano circumnavigation|Spanish expedition of world circumnavigation]] under the command of [[Ferdinand Magellan]]. Historically, the southern village of [[Umatac, Guam]] has been credited as the site of the Spanish landing. As confirmation, a scholarly study of the navigator's diary, now kept in preservation in the [[Philippine]]s, revealed a drawing of the islands with a tiny island to the south of a much larger island above it. The described placement of the islands confirms that Magellan had actually sailed between Guam and [[Cocos Island (Guam)|Cocos Island]], and not Guam and [[Rota (island)|Rota]], as some originally thought
Regardless of where they landed, the Spanish ships arrived in Guam and were unable to get fresh food as the inhabitants, [[Chamorro people|Chamorros]], "entered the ships and stole whatever they could lay their hands on", including "the small boat that was fastened to the poop of the flagship
<blockquote>And the captain-general wished to approach the largest of these three islands to replenish his provisions. But it was not possible, for the people of those islands entered the ships and robbed us so that we could not protect ourselves from them. And when we wished to strike and take in the sails so as to land, they stole very quickly the small boat called a skiff which was fastened to the poop of the captain's ship. At which he, being very angry, went ashore with forty armed men. And burning some forty or fifty houses with several boats and killing seven men of the said island, they recovered their skiff.</blockquote>
Pigafetta also described the boats the inhabitants used, including the sail shaped like a "lateen sail" (actually the [[crab claw sail]]), hence the name '''Islas de las Velas Latinas''' (Islands of the [[Lateen sail|Lateen Sails]]),<ref name=Nowell/>{{rp|131}} the name used
[[File:Estampilla española de las Islas Marianas 5 cent 1898-99.jpg|thumb|upright=0.45|A stamp from the Marianas' late Spanish colonial period, 1898–1899]]
In 1667, [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] formally claimed them, established a regular [[colony]] there and in 1668 gave the islands the official title of ''Las Marianas'', in honor of Spanish Queen [[Mariana of Austria]], widow of [[Philip IV of Spain|King Philip IV of Spain]] and Queen Regent of the [[Spanish Empire]] ruling during the minority of her son [[Charles II of Spain|King Charles II]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://governor.gov.mp/about-the-cnmi/ |title=About the CNMI |access-date=5 November 2020 |website=Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Office of the Governor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817114911/https://governor.gov.mp/about-the-cnmi/ |archive-date=17 August 2020 |url-status=live |quote=In 1668, 147 years after Magellan's encounter, Fr. [[Diego Luis de San Vitores]], a Jesuit priest, arrived in The Marianas with the mission to convert and implement Christianity among the Chamorros, thus beginning the colonization of The Marianas by Spain. The islands were named after Queen Maria Ana of Spain.}}</ref> They then had a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants. With the arrival of passengers and settlers aboard the [[Manila Galleon]]s from the Americas, new [[infectious disease|diseases]] were introduced in the islands, which caused many deaths in the native [[Chamorros|Chamorro]] population.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Spencer |last=Tucker |title=The encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American wars: a political, social, and military history |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8V3vZxOmHssC&pg=PA379 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2009 |page=379 |isbn=978-1-85109-951-1 |access-date=2015-11-22 |archive-date=2023-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925040729/https://books.google.com/books?id=8V3vZxOmHssC&pg=PA379 |url-status=live }}</ref> The native population, who referred to themselves as ''Taotao Tano'' (people of the land)<ref name="The Insular Empire">Warheit, Vanessa [http://www.theinsularempire.com "The Insular Empire: America in the Mariana Islands."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904174335/http://theinsularempire.com/ |date=2017-09-04 }} PBS (documentary). Accessed June 2012.</ref> but were known to the early Spanish colonists as ''Chamurres'' or ''HachaMori'',<ref>{{cite book |title=Jesuits at the Margins: Missions and Missionaries in the Marianas (1668-1769) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q6M0CwAAQBAJ |first=Alexandre Coello |last=de la Rosa |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=9781317354536 |page=56 |access-date=2020-05-26 |archive-date=2023-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925040729/https://books.google.com/books?id=q6M0CwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> eventually died out as a distinct people, though their descendants intermarried. At the [[Spanish-Chamorro Wars|Spanish occupation in 1668]], the Chamorros were estimated at 50,000, but a century later only 1,800 natives remained, as the majority of the population was of mixed Spanish-Chamorro blood or [[mestizo]].{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} They were characteristic [[Micronesians]], with a considerable civilization. On the island of [[Tinian]] are some remains attributed to them, consisting of [[House of Taga|two rows of massive square stone columns]], about {{convert|5|ft|4|in|m}} broad and {{convert|14|ft|m}} high, with heavy, round [[capital (architecture)|capitals]] called [[latte stone]]s. According to early Spanish accounts [[cinerary urn]]s were found embedded in the capitals.{{Dubious|date=January 2010}}<!-- [Contrary to all recorded burial practices] -->
When Spanish settlement started on 14 June 1668, they were subordinate to the Mexican colony (soon viceroyalty) of [[New Spain]], until 1817, when they became subordinated to the [[History of the Philippines (1565–1898)|Philippines]],
Research in the archipelago was carried out by [[George Anson, 1st Baron Anson|Commodore Anson]], who in August 1742 landed upon the island of Tinian.<ref>{{cite book |last=George |first=Lord Anion |title=Voyage round the World, book iii |year=1748}}</ref> The Ladrones were visited by [[John Byron|Byron]] in 1765, [[Samuel Wallis|Wallis]] in 1767 and [[Crozet Islands|Crozet]] in 1772.
The Marianas and specifically the island of Guam were a stopover for Spanish galleons en route from [[Acapulco]], [[Mexico]] to [[Manila]], Philippines in a convoy known as the [[Manila Galleon|Galeon de Manila]].
The islands were a popular port of call for British and American whaling ships in the 19th century. The first such visit on record was that of the '' Resource'' to Guam in October 1799.<ref>{{cite book |last=Langdon |first=Robert |year=1984 |title=Where the whalers went: an index to the Pacific ports and islands by American whalers (and some other ships) in the 19th century |location=Canberra |publisher=Pacific Manuscripts Bureau |page=160 |isbn=0-86784-471-X
=== Loss from Spain and split in governance ===
{{main article|Guam|Northern Mariana Islands}}
[[File:Stamp Mariana Islands 1901 20pf.jpg|thumb|upright=0.45|A 1901 stamp from the German-era Marianas]]
The Marianas remained a Spanish [[colony]] under the [[general government of the Philippines]] until 1898, when, as a result of its loss in the [[Spanish–American War]], [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] ceded [[Guam]] to the United States. Guam has been separate from the [[Northern Mariana Islands|Northern Marianas]] since this time. Following the [[Philippine–American War]], [[Apolinario Mabini]] and other [[Filipinos|Filipino]] leaders were exiled to Guam in 1901.<ref name=Mabini>{{cite book |last=Mabini |first=A. |year=1969 |title=The Philippine Revolution |publisher=Republic of the Philippines, Dept. of Education, National Historical Commission |oclc=120546
Weakened from its defeat in the Spanish–American War, [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] could no longer effectively control and protect the nearly 6,000 islands it retained throughout [[Micronesia]], including the Northern Marianas, [[Caroline Islands|Carolines]] and [[Pelew Islands]]. Therefore, Spain entered into the [[German-Spanish Treaty (1899)|German-Spanish Treaty of February 12, 1899]] to sell the Northern Marianas and its other remaining islands to [[German Empire|Germany]] for 837,500 [[German gold mark]]s (about [[United States dollar|US$]]4,100,000 at the time{{cn|date=September 2023}}). The Northern Marianas and other island groups were incorporated by Germany as a small part of the larger [[German Protectorate of New Guinea]]. The total population in the Northern Marianas portion of these islands was only 2,646 inhabitants around this time, with the ten most northerly islands being actively volcanic and thus mostly uninhabited.{{cn|date=September 2023}}
Japan, allied with the [[Triple Entente|Entente Powers]] during [[World War I]], seized all of Germany's colonial possessions in [[East Asia]] and Micronesia, including the Northern Mariana Islands, and held them through the end of the war.
=== World War II ===
[[File:
The island chain saw significant fighting during World War II. [[Guam]], a possession of the United States since 1898, [[Battle of Guam (1941)|was captured]] by [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] in an attack from the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] that began on the day of the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] (December 8, 1941, the same time as the Pearl Harbor attack across the International Date Line). In 1944, the United States [[Mariana and Palau Islands campaign|captured the Mariana Islands chain from Japan]]: the Northern Mariana Islands were desired by the U.S. as [[Strategic bombing|bombing]] bases to reach the [[Mainland Japan|Japanese mainland]], with the [[Battle of Saipan|invasion of Saipan]] being launched for that reason in June before the U.S. even moved to recapture Guam; a month later the U.S. [[Battle of Guam (1944)|recaptured Guam]] and [[Battle of Tinian|captured Tinian]]. Once captured, [[Saipan]] and [[Tinian]]'s islands were used extensively by the [[United States military]] as they finally put mainland Japan within a round-trip range of American [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29 bombers]]. In response, Japanese forces [[Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands|attacked the bases]] on Saipan and Tinian from November 1944 to
According to Werner Gruhl: "Mariana Island historians estimate that 10 percent of Guam's
=== Post
{{see also|Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands}}
The direct result of World War II on the Mariana Islands was that, after the war, the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] came under the control of the United States in the same way they had earlier come under the control of [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] after World War I.
== List of islands ==
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|-
| [[Aguigan]]
| rowspan="12" | 0
| [[Tinian Municipality|Tinian]]
|-
| [[Farallon de Pajaros]]
| rowspan="11" | [[Northern Islands Municipality|Northern Islands]]▼
▲| [[Northern Islands Municipality|Northern Islands]]
|-
| [[Maug Islands]]
|-
| [[Asuncion Island|Asuncion]]
|-
| [[Agrihan]]
|-
| [[Pagan (island)|Pagan]]
|-
| [[Alamagan]]
|-
| [[Guguan]]
|-
| [[Zealandia Bank|Papaungan]]
|-
| [[Sarigan]]
|-
| [[Anatahan]]
|-
| [[Farallon de Medinilla]]
|}
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== Cuisine ==
[[File:Chamorro red rice.png|thumb|Chamorro red rice]]
Common dishes in the Mariana Islands include red rice, meat or poultry on the grill or in coconut milk, chicken [[kelaguen|''kelaguen'']], ''apigigi'' (young [[coconut]] with [[cassava]] paste wrapped in banana leaf),<ref>[http://www.annieschamorrokitchen.com/apigigi-or-sweet-tamales/ "Apigigi' or Sweet Tamales"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141203172721/http://www.annieschamorrokitchen.com/apigigi-or-sweet-tamales/ |date=2014-12-03 }} (Aug. 10, 2013)
== See also ==
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* [[Apostolic Prefecture of Mariana Islands]]
* [[Lists of islands]]
* [[List of endemic plants in the Mariana Islands]]
* [[List of birds of the Northern Mariana Islands]]
* [[List of mammals of the Northern Mariana Islands]]
== References ==
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; Encyclopedic sources
* {{EB1911 |wstitle=Marianas (archipelago) |display=Marianas, an archipelago in the north-western Pacific Ocean}}
* {{Catholic |wstitle=Prefecture Apostolic of Mariana Islands |author=Thomas Kennedy}}
{{refend}}
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{{Wikivoyage}}
{{Commons category|Mariana Islands}}
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle=Ladrone Islands |volume=XIV |last=Brickwood |first=Edwin |author-link=Edwin Brickwood |pages=278-280 |short=1}}
{{-}}
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{{Northern Mariana Islands}}
{{Guam}}
{{Ancient seafaring}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Mariana Islands| ]]
[[Category:Chamorro people]]
[[Category:Former Spanish colonies]]
[[Category:Geography of Guam]]
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