Destiny's Landfall: A History of Guam

393 Pages·1995·13.88 MB·English

by  Robert F. Rogers

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Destiny’s Landfall
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A HISTORY OF GUAM
ROBERT F. ROGERS
UNIVERSITY OF HA W AI‘I PRESS, HONOLULU
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© 1995 University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
00 99 98 97 96 95 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rogers, Robert F.
Destiny’s landfall: a history of Guam / Robert F. Rogers.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0–8248–1616–1 (acid-free paper).
ISBN 0–8248–1678–1 (pbk.)
1. Guam—History. I. Title.
DU647.R63 1995
996.7—dc20 94–25845
CIP
University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free
paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Council on Library Resources
Designed by Kenneth Miyamoto
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Contents
Maps and Tables vi
Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Prologue Center of the First Province 1
1 Aliens 1521–1638 5
2 The Place of Before Time Ancestors 1638–1662 21
3 Father San Vitores 1662–1672 41
4 The Spanish Conquest 1672–1698 58
5 Oasis in the Ocean 1698–1800 74
6 Twilight of Pax Hispanica 1800–1898 88
7 The Anglo-Saxon Way 1898–1903 108
8 Ordered Tranquility 1903–1918 127
9 The Quest for Identity 1918–1941 144
10 The Way of the Samurai 1941–1944 163
11 Return of the Americans 1944–1945 182
12 Gibraltar of the American Lake 1945–1950 204
13 Under the Organic Act 1950–1970 224
14 Ocean Chrysalis 1970–1980 245
15 Unfinished Quests 1980–1990 265
Appendix Chief Executives of Guam 1668–1990 291
Abbreviations 295
Notes 299
Glossary 343
Bibliography 349
Index 369
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Maps and Tables
MAPS
Mariana Islands 3
Guam, likely landing places by Magellan, 1521 8
The first map of the Mariana Islands 9
Routes of the Spanish galleons 17
Hypothetical occupation of Micronesia since 4000 b.c. 25
Hypothetical occupation of Micronesia since 2000 b.c. 26
Hypothetical occupation of Micronesia since 1000 b.c. 27
Hypothetical occupation of Micronesia since a.d. 1 28
López map of Guam, 1700 64
Japanese invasion of Guam, 10 December 1941 166
U.S. invasion of Guam, 21 July 1944 183
Federal and military lands on Guam, 1950–1990 231
Guam in the 1980s 278
TABLES
Order of battle on Guam, 1944 182
Population of Guam, 1940–1990 273
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Illustrations
Chamorros trading with a Spanish galleon, 1590 18
Earliest known picture of a Chamorro, 1590 30
Chamorro proa 32
House of Taga with latte 35
Mariana of Austria 46
The martyrdom of Father San Vitores 56
Man of the island of Guam 86
Women of Umatac, 1828 93
Mayor, peasant, and hunter of Umatac, 1828 94
Padre Palomo 103
Captain Henry Glass, U.S.N. 111
Lt. William Edwin Safford, U.S.N. 118
Chamorro family hulling rice, early 1900s 128
Mouth of the Agana River, 1918 141
Guam seal 142
Governor Bradley signing Bill of Rights, 1930 150
Portrait of Willis W. Bradley, Jr. 151
First Pan American passenger landing in Apra Harbor, 1936 154
Marines under fire, Asan Beachhead, 1944 186
Marines raising U.S. flag on Guam, 1944 187
Marines find plaque of prewar Marine Barracks 188
Bordallo family after fleeing concentration camp 191
U.S. military commanders on Guam, December 1944 196
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viii Illustrations
Bishop Baumgartner and Governor Pownall, 1948 213
President Truman signing the Guam Organic Act, 1950 222
Governor and Mrs. Manuel Guerrero 243
Antonio Borja Won Pat 261
Elected governors of Guam 282–283
People of Guam, 1990 286–287
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Acknowledgments
This book is intended primarily for students in undergraduate college
courses in the history and governments of the Pacific region. The
book was researched, written, and published independently of any
Guam governmental, foundation, or business involvement, and at no
cost to any Guam taxpayer through grants or funding other than the
author’s salary as a full-time teacher at the University of Guam. The
following experts and friends graciously reviewed chapters or contrib-
uted material and insights to improve the book’s accuracy; their help
was invaluable:
Dirk A. Ballendorf Frank H. Kilmer
Paul J. Bordallo Frank P. King
Omaira Brunel-Perry Hiro Kurashina
Oscar L. Calvo Juan M.H. Ledesma
Bruce Campbell Arnold H. Leibowitz
Curt Coe Rodrique Lévesque
Ulla-Katrina Craig Thomas B. McGrath
Theodore M. Critchfield Gail S. Mullen
Lawrence J. Cunningham Joe Murphy
Marjorie G. Driver Kathleen R. Owings
Don A. Farrell Antonio M. Palomo
Harry A. Gailey Florentino Rodao
Catherine S. Gault Carlos P. Taitano
John N. Holbrook Charles H. Troutman
Francis X. Hezel William L. Wuerch
Rosalind L. Hunter-Anderson Richard H. Wyttenbach
Bruce G. Karolle
I am deeply grateful to Lois Perez for word processing the text of
the book innumerable times, to Pramila Sullivan for deciphering the
nerdish intricacies of the DOS computer system for me, and to the fol-
ix
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x Acknowledgments
lowing staff of the Micronesian Area Research Center for their unfail-
ing courtesy and help: Emilie G. Johnston, John P. Sablan, Elaine
Concepcion, Rosita A. Hatfield, Rose Tosco, La Vonne Guerrero-
Meno, Cecilia L. Salvatore, and Douglas E. Haynes. The maps, unless
otherwise noted, were crafted by Philip A. Noble of Talisai Studio &
Gallery, Guam.