File: Northern Mariana Islands.jpg (224 KB, 960x480)

224 KB JPG

We've finished all 50 US States, but there's still a few more spots I wanna make threads for. This is 4 of 6.

The Northern Mariana Islands are an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the USA. They were originally acquired from Japan following the conclusion of WW2, who acquired them from Germany following WW1, who purchased them from Spain following the Spanish-American War. The name Mariana stems from Spanish regent Mariana of Austria. Its capital is Capitol Hill and its largest city is Garapan. It has a population of 46k, and is 179 square miles in size.
The island Saipan has over 90% of the population, with the remaining population being on Tinian and Rota. Pagan has been empty since 1981 following a volcanic eruption. The other islands aside from these three are essentially empty of Humans. Like Guam, the islands were first settled by Chamorro around 1500 BCE before being claimed by Magellan for Spain in 1521. Initial contact with the Chamorro was violent.
Much of the native population died of disease by the 17th century. Though their numbers recovered, they were forcibly relocated to Guam to encourage assimilation and conversion to Roman Catholicism. In the 18th century, large influx of Carolinian immigrants from Yap and Chuuk settled here.
The Germans improved education, and efforts were made to produce copra. The Japanese shifted production to sugarcane. Saipan was used to invade Guam in 1941 and remains a cause of tension between the NMI and Guam today. The Battle of Saipan was fought in 1944, and Tinian was used as the takeoff point for the Enola Gay. It became part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and, unlike the others, in 1975 voted to become part of the USA, finalized in 1986.

What do you think of Hafa Adai?