Editing Demographics of Guam (section)

==Ethnic groups==
*[[Chamorro people|Chamorro]] 37.3%
*[[Filipinos|Filipino]] 26.3%
*Mixed 9.5%
*[[White people|White]] 7.1%
*[[Chuukese people|Chuukese]] 7%
*[[Koreans|Korean]] 2.2%
*Other [[Pacific Islander]] 2%
*Other [[Asian people|Asian]] 2%
*[[Chinese people|Chinese]] 1.6%
*[[Palauan people|Palauan]] 1.6%
*[[Japanese people|Japanese]] 1.5%
*[[Pohnpei]]an 1.4%
*Other 0.6%
Guam is known to be the first island in the Pacific Ocean to be colonized by Europeans, discovered by the Spaniards in 1521.<ref name=":1" /> After Guam was discovered by Ferdinand Magellan under the flag of Spain, the island was repeatedly invaded by alien military forces.<ref name=":1" /> The island was officially claimed by Spain in 1565. It was the first island as well as the Mariana Islands, inhabited by humans in Remote Oceania.<ref name=":1" /> Guam has since been occupied by outside entities for over 330 years.<ref name=":1" />

Magellan arrived on the shores of Guam with three ships, the Trinidad, the Conception and the Victoria.<ref name=":1" /> The population of Guam in the mid 16th century was severely reduced, due to the bloodshed caused by the Spaniards, as well as the many diseases carried by the Europeans.<ref name=":1" /> Guam was ceded to the United States after the Spanish–American War in 1898.<ref name=":2" /> It was then taken by the Japanese in 1941 during World War II. It was retaken by the United States in 1944.<ref name=":2" />

While Guam merely covers 520&nbsp;km squared of land area, the United States territory is considered to be of international significance, due to geopolitics, as well as the strategic importance of Guam's straits, islands and canals.<ref name=":2" /> Guam is the largest landfall, for use of communications, military bases and shipping.<ref name=":1" /> Guam was utilised as a military base in World War II against the Japanese.<ref name=":1" />

Guam is a multi-ethnic island, with settlers from the Philippines, Korea, Japan and China forming part of its populace.<ref name=":3">Hung, H., Carson, M., Bellwood, P., Campos, F., Piper, P., Dizon, E., & Chi, Z. (2011). The first settlement of Remote Oceania: The Philippines to the Marianas. ''Antiquity'', ''85''(329), 909-926. {{doi|10.1017/S0003598X00068393}}</ref> Guam was first settled by migrants from the Philippines in 1,500 to 1,400 BCE.<ref name=":3" />

=== The Chamorro people ===
The Mariana Islands is an ethnic and cultural heritage of the Chamorro people.<ref name=":2" /> Despite the invasion attempts from leading military countries, such as Spain, The United States of America and Japan, the Chamorro people have maintained their traditions.<ref name=":3" /> The cultural endurance of the Chamorro people was evident, as the Indigenous peoples of the Mariana Islands maintained their language, tradition and integrity, in spite of the dominance of imperialism.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Clampitt-Dunlap, Sharon|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1030608805|title=Language matters : a sociolinguistic analysis of language and nationalism in Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico|year=2018|publisher=Academica Press |isbn=978-1-68053-068-1|oclc=1030608805}}</ref> While Guam has remained a colony in the postmodern world, the Chamorro people of Guam have gained an amount of local political control of the island traditions.<ref name=":3" />

In pre-Spanish times, Chamorro clans were divided into two distinct, ranked social castes. Social castes are different from social classes in that individuals are born into a particular caste and their status, therefore, could not be changed. Social classes, on the other hand, are more fluid and members can move between classes. The upper caste was known as {{lang|ch|chamorri}}, and the lower caste was known as {{lang|ch|manachang}}. Movement in between these castes, such as through marriage, was prohibited.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=Shannon |date=2009-12-05 |title=Social Classes in Traditional CHamoru Society - Guampedia |url=https://www.guampedia.com/social-classes-in-traditional-chamorro-society/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=www.guampedia.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Concubines or other relationships could be maintained only within one's social class. In addition, the {{lang|ch|chamorri}} caste was divided into an upper noble class called {{lang|ch|matao}} and a middle, or demi-noble class, known as {{lang|ch|acha’ot}}.