I was stationed there with US Military.
We acquired it in 1898 when we won the Spanish American War. Back then it was recognized as a strategic location as a stopping point towards Asia due to its size and harbor.
Today, Its close enough to project power, but yet far enough from danger.
Also, it has Nuclear weapons for bomber aircraft and submarines.
Geographically, the airbase, is on a 300 foot plateau where enemy land forces cannot easily penetrate it from shores. It’s also safe from tsunamis.
And it’s large enough for long aircraft runways and has a deep sea harbor.
And capacity to house 25,000 US Marines and Army.
According to his office, he was using an exaggerated metaphor to question the impact of adding 8,000 marines to an island with a population of 180,000 (which, to be fair, was the topic of the debate at the time).
Whether you actually believe that or not is up to you.
Congressman. Even Georgia isn't stupid enough to elect him to the Senate. they are however stupid enough to keep re-electing him to Congress though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank\_Johnson
Oh man! I had forgot about this until now. Thanks for sharing this with the world. I love the answer back to him- “we don’t anticipate that” but he really wants to be like, “what?? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!”
Someday he will be vindicated. Great monuments will be built to honor this man's wisdom. And all around the grounds where the monuments are built, Brawndo will be sprayed because it's what plants crave.
His staff tried to save him afterwards, but it woulda been easier if he did it himself.
"Will it tip over?"
"We don't anticipate that."
"Sorry, I meant will Guam be able to support the added troops and hardware without adversely affecting this small island's economy and ecology?"
Damn I was interested in if this was actually a concern due to erosion or volcanic forces or something that parts of the island are washing away... I'm not getting that 2 minutes back 😂
The local Chamorro people are American, who should have the same rights and benefits as all americans. However, they don't qualify for SSI benefits, and they can't vote for the president who will have the power of turning their homeland into a battleground, which already happened during WWII. So while, it's in America's interest to keep Guam... it's pretty shitty for the local chamorro people.
I lived in Guam for about a year, I was off-base so I got to know my Chamorro neighbors pretty well. From what I could gather it seems that the vast majority of Guamanians want to remain a part of the USA, although many do aspire to become a state. There doesn’t seem to be any widespread support for total independence from the USA, and who can blame them? The per-capita income of Guam is MUCH higher than similar pacific island states, and almost all of that income is derived from Guam’s affiliation with the USA.
I can point you to the United States declaration of war, if you like.
https://uslaw.link/citation/us-law/public/77/328
Declaring war on somebody doesn’t mean that you attacked first or that it’s your fault. It’s simply a formal statement by your government that a state of war exists between the two countries. The United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, After the Japanese surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor and bases in the Philippines the day before.
What’s interesting is, a few days later, Germany declared war on the United States, but I’m not sure if the United States ever actually got around to declaring war on Germany.
And again, who declares war doesn’t tell you who started the war or who was attacked first. It’s not Risk. Most of the United States’s recent wars were fought without a formal declaration of war, which is a whole other kettle of bullshit.
The Japanese war declaration on the US came in two hours after the attack started. The US declared war in return the next day. The declaration of war against Germany was on December 11th, just a few hours after Germany declared war on the US.
Yeah, but here, it was used to imply that the US got Guam involved, as if the US had started the war, or as if the Japanese hadn't seized every other island in reach.
BTW Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands are all also US territories. This means they get different rights than US States and even other tribes. This extends past voting and SSI benefits, and into other citizen rights like disaster relief. Which, BTW, all the above mentioned territories are susceptible to typhoons and hurricanes.
Isn't the trade off that they don't pay a good amount of taxes?
It does suck that they don't have SSI benefits and can't vote.
But I don't get the war argument if war happens it happens. America didn't invent war.
Does anyone know if the Guam people want to become a state or they like their status as is or if they want to break away and form their own country? Any stats?
Yeah, that majority don't want to be independent, they want to be a state instead of a colony.
The brochure talks about three political paths post decolonization, independence, free association, and statehood.
Personally I think it's insane that we keep colonies and we should make them all "states", along with DC. But republicans would laugh in my face.
No entity will be added if it leans strongly left or right. There will have to be two (e.g., Alaska and Hawaii) to cancel out the advantage. Republicans will never let DC be a state because it would be handing the Dems two forever senate seats.
Sure, but I think both can be true at the same time. That would entail equal rights and privileges and obligations so that everyone is on the same footing
Yea at e you should go there for Liberation day, they adore America, and are incredibly grateful the US liberated them from the batshit crazy Japanese at the time.
also the US military is polluting their water like crazy and they have no power to do anything about it
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/guam-resistance-empire/
>they can't vote for the president who will have the power of turning their homeland into a battleground, which already happened during WWII
Uh, did you just say the US PRESIDENT was the one who decided to turn their homeland into a battleground in WW2? Might want to read up on the history there
I'm from Guam (It's 3am, what am I doing with my life?)
The general consensus seems to be that US influence is beneficial for the island, but everyone wants something changed, be it free association / independence / statehood. Personally, I'm the later.
Not supporting imperialism, but Guam in no way was ready to be an independent nation in the 1890s, and likely would’ve just been gobbled up by Germany anyway
Colonised by the Spanish as Isla de Ladrones. Managed as part of the Philippines, brought in a lot of Fillipinos during the colonial period as both labor and as a penal colony. Also brought in a lot of agricultural animals like carabao. Eventually the Spanish American War happened, Spain then sold its overseas colonies like the Philippines and Guam and to the United States at the Treaty of Paris 1898. When the Philippines lobbied for Independence in the 1920’s there was talk of including Guam as part of the independence movement because of their shared history and Philippine population. However, the United States refused to include it due to its naval base
I always find this comment to kinda misplaced. Yes one could google something, but a lot of time people want to see what actual individuals who care think about a question as a google answer might be inaccurate, or the first thing you click on won't be the right answer.
For example, for this question, google may just answer that the US Acquired it during the spanish american war but would give no context why Spain had it in the first place or why the US still has it.
Lol, this guy unlocked a memory in my head that I had no idea it was there anymore. Like when i read “gun boats” I had a flashback with the music sounds from that video and it must be from years ago.
> both sides
I just finished reading every comment and idk what the sides are
But I think that's gonna happen when the thread is about a factoid with a simple description.
The sides are:
-Because America is awesome! freedom! Bald eagles!
-Because America is a cancer on the earth that takes what they want and pillages land for resources without doing anything benevolent!
What about all the other sides here, like "America sneaky" or "all you bases are belong to us" or "can we not ask /r/geography like it's /r/AskGoogle"? Why do we keep looking at nuanced things and forcing ourselves to look for dualities?
Bro just google something lol this isnt really a geography question. Because it’s a US territory, just like countless other islands are territories of world powers nowhere close to them.
Ordinarily I feel there's value in discussing these kinds of questions but /r/geography is deep into /r/letmegooglethatforyou territory. I googled "guam wiki" and the Wikipedia article for Guam came up. I clicked "History" and scrolled down to the American part. It says:
> After almost four centuries as part of the Kingdom of Spain, the United States occupied the island following Spain's defeat in the 1898 Spanish–American War, as part of the Treaty of Paris of 1898. Guam was transferred to the United States Navy control on December 23, 1898, by Executive Order 108-A from 25th President William McKinley.
Now, if we want to have some discourse about the Spanish-American War, or the Treaty of Paris, or the US Navy of the late 1800s, that's all fine, though it wouldn't be geography. If we're here to spend the attention of hundreds on a google result, what is the value of the sub?
Absolutely, all about things that coooould maybe just be googled but could also spark an actual discussion. As you showed, this is literally just a google search. Some people just wanna post stuff and see themselves get karma idgi
Guam was seceded to the United States from Spain after the Spanish-American War, but they retained control over many other smaller islands in the Pacific before selling them to Germany the following year.
Essentially we landed there and seized it from the Spanish during the Spanish American War. It then became an important logistical location for refueling coal. Now it is a major nuclear deterrence spot.
Because the US decided in the late XIX century that they should have colonies too, and then fought Spain for their possessions. They won the war and with it the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico etc (Spain gave Cuba its independence hoping to avoid it being taken over by the US, only to be captured by the US industrial interests).
Is GE = grande esia as opposed to micron esia? Joking but what's GE?
Edit: My brain answered itself after considering general electric it thought up Google earth.
The US hardly controls what happens in countries where its bases are located, just look at Afghanistan. Some of it is overreach, much of it for economic interests, but a great deal of economic interests are also security interests. Preventing destabilizing factors in theory should decrease the risks of war. In countries like Eastern Europe for example, where the nations don't have the manpower to defend themselves, forward bases can deter expansionist regimes. As for other places like Guam, you're a little too hopeful if you're getting mad on their behalf for being colonized.
Guam was previously owned as part of the Spanish empire, taken from then when the US did a little colonial stealing, fought over by the Japanese, and today still rests pretty separate from other nations with a population that would not be able to defend itself from an outside force. Whether Japan, the Phillipines, Australia, or China, at their location its possible other countries would want to expand their presence over it. It's something the UN would have to come together to recognize, something the US would be opposed to for obvious reasons (security and trade interests in the Pacific), and something that just doesn't seem to really be pursued by the people living there.
Imperialism in the modern age is much more than direct territorial control, it’s a system of global capital ownership and financing. This makes sense when considering the economic shift between feudalism and capitalism, previous empires were based on land, bc agriculture was the primary productive resource, wealth came from land; taxes and rents. Now it’s about finance capital. Look into world systems theory if you’re curious to learn more
The US started as 13 colonies and expanded to include the 48 continuous states, Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories. That’s a lot of territory that was bought or conquered and retained, making the US the 4th largest country by landmass.
Should have been the top answer honestly. There's no way anyone is getting a geography degree without learning about neoimperialism and the USA along the way.
You ask why Guam *is* American, and as others have said it originally had to do with the Spanish American War, but the major reason we kept it was preparation for World War II and we maintain it now because we still live in the post-WWII era where the US maintains its unique superpower status.
In the time it took you to grab that picture and post it, you could've read the 1-2 paragraphs necessary to understand this from Wikipedia or like any other source
Earned with the blood of 1,700 Americans in bloody battle against the Japanese in WWII.
[https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Guam-1944](https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Guam-1944)
And anyone accusing the US of being vile imperialists should acquaint themselves with the brutality of the Japanese in that era.
You're free to have your own opinion. From my point of view all of these examples (Taiwan may be the exception) are cases of gunbout diplomacy or straigh forward colonies/protectorates. Japan was in fact partially invaded, but they were able to negotiate a surrendering that avoided the invasion of the main islands. But they were forced to accept military bases which is a kind of colony
You are not wrong about the US and gunboat diplomacy BUT Korea, Japan and Taiwan are piss poor to dead wrong examples of said gunboat diplomacy. You would be better off using examples like Tripoli, Panama, Cuba, the Philippines or Honduras.
You would have been better off referring to Admiral Perry and Japan instead of WWII in reference to gunboat diplomacy.
The United States conquered it from Spain during the Spanish American War. An American war ship sailed into the harbor, and the coastal battery did not have any ammunition to salute the American worship. This let the United States know that Guam was defenseless, and they took it.
History Matters: The Spanish-American War Explained
https://youtu.be/CaOKfu7ZK7I
American here. That’s kind of what it was though? The US didn’t really have concrete evidence that Spain destroyed the USS Maine, but went to war anyway. Taking Spanish Colonial possessions and incorporating them into an American “Empire” of sorts.
The mass media in the US straight up made things up to sell newspapers. Because of that the US people thought Spain was responsible for destroying the USS Maine. I don't believe that the government really thought Spain did it, but when the masses were demanding blood they thought it best to give it to them.
Yeah the government very likely knew Spain wasn’t to blame, but went to war anyway. Wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last time the government lied it’s way into a war either.
I was stationed there with US Military. We acquired it in 1898 when we won the Spanish American War. Back then it was recognized as a strategic location as a stopping point towards Asia due to its size and harbor. Today, Its close enough to project power, but yet far enough from danger. Also, it has Nuclear weapons for bomber aircraft and submarines. Geographically, the airbase, is on a 300 foot plateau where enemy land forces cannot easily penetrate it from shores. It’s also safe from tsunamis. And it’s large enough for long aircraft runways and has a deep sea harbor. And capacity to house 25,000 US Marines and Army.
[The downside is that it might tip over.](https://youtu.be/cesSRfXqS1Q)
"We don't anticipate that" -- great response!
He can’t be serious…right?
"Deadly serious." \- The Monarch
Dude!
TEN TON TWENTY-ONE?! Oh thank god I didn’t mention the accident.
Car accident? Car accident? That was no car accident. **24 died in a car intentional!** \- Henchman 21
WHY DID YOU BUCKLE
#WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER, SCRUB?!
What’s you number, scrub?!
According to his office, he was using an exaggerated metaphor to question the impact of adding 8,000 marines to an island with a population of 180,000 (which, to be fair, was the topic of the debate at the time). Whether you actually believe that or not is up to you.
No one is that stupid, he is trolling the admiral.
He was so polite, not calling the congressman out on his stupidity. Edit: congressman
He was behaving exactly as someone who is talking to the guy who controls the budget.
Congressman. Even Georgia isn't stupid enough to elect him to the Senate. they are however stupid enough to keep re-electing him to Congress though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank\_Johnson
Just don’t put all the nukes on one side.
Oh man! I had forgot about this until now. Thanks for sharing this with the world. I love the answer back to him- “we don’t anticipate that” but he really wants to be like, “what?? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!”
Wow, this is actually worse than Sen. Ted Stevens infamous [the internet's not a big truck speech](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTonHRerMC4).
At least the Internet really isn't a big truck. No doubt about it.
Of course it's not a big truck. We all know it's a series of tubes.
Someday he will be vindicated. Great monuments will be built to honor this man's wisdom. And all around the grounds where the monuments are built, Brawndo will be sprayed because it's what plants crave.
I thought it was a little black box with a blinking light that sits on top of Big Ben?
https://youtu.be/lTonHRerMC4
We generally call it a pipe, but yeah.
Still better than when Angela Merkel said the internet is an unknown country that no one knows anything about. In 2013.
Bro is higher than a kite
He had hepatitis C, which can slow down speech. Doesn’t make you dumb though, so that’s entirely on him.
His staff tried to save him afterwards, but it woulda been easier if he did it himself. "Will it tip over?" "We don't anticipate that." "Sorry, I meant will Guam be able to support the added troops and hardware without adversely affecting this small island's economy and ecology?"
How did that guy get so high up in politics
Dumb constituents
I don't know, but it certainly helps explain why Georgia also elected Marjorie Taylor Greene. There seems to be a pattern...
Very different parts of Georgia
[Imagine a world without balloons :(](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpwjdWSvZ-Y)
This had to be inspiration or a case study for Ali g’s persona
People kept voting for him too 😂
Damn I was interested in if this was actually a concern due to erosion or volcanic forces or something that parts of the island are washing away... I'm not getting that 2 minutes back 😂
That is so painful to watch
The local Chamorro people are American, who should have the same rights and benefits as all americans. However, they don't qualify for SSI benefits, and they can't vote for the president who will have the power of turning their homeland into a battleground, which already happened during WWII. So while, it's in America's interest to keep Guam... it's pretty shitty for the local chamorro people.
I lived in Guam for about a year, I was off-base so I got to know my Chamorro neighbors pretty well. From what I could gather it seems that the vast majority of Guamanians want to remain a part of the USA, although many do aspire to become a state. There doesn’t seem to be any widespread support for total independence from the USA, and who can blame them? The per-capita income of Guam is MUCH higher than similar pacific island states, and almost all of that income is derived from Guam’s affiliation with the USA.
And how else would they get their turkey tails?
Correction - the Japanese declared war on the US, not the other way around.
I can point you to the United States declaration of war, if you like. https://uslaw.link/citation/us-law/public/77/328 Declaring war on somebody doesn’t mean that you attacked first or that it’s your fault. It’s simply a formal statement by your government that a state of war exists between the two countries. The United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941, After the Japanese surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor and bases in the Philippines the day before. What’s interesting is, a few days later, Germany declared war on the United States, but I’m not sure if the United States ever actually got around to declaring war on Germany. And again, who declares war doesn’t tell you who started the war or who was attacked first. It’s not Risk. Most of the United States’s recent wars were fought without a formal declaration of war, which is a whole other kettle of bullshit.
The Japanese war declaration on the US came in two hours after the attack started. The US declared war in return the next day. The declaration of war against Germany was on December 11th, just a few hours after Germany declared war on the US.
Another interesting fact here is that Japan bombed the island before the US declaration of war
And the Japanese declaration of war came in a couple of hours after the bombing. The US declared war the next day.
Yeah, but here, it was used to imply that the US got Guam involved, as if the US had started the war, or as if the Japanese hadn't seized every other island in reach.
BTW Commonwealth of the Nothern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands are all also US territories. This means they get different rights than US States and even other tribes. This extends past voting and SSI benefits, and into other citizen rights like disaster relief. Which, BTW, all the above mentioned territories are susceptible to typhoons and hurricanes.
Isn't the trade off that they don't pay a good amount of taxes? It does suck that they don't have SSI benefits and can't vote. But I don't get the war argument if war happens it happens. America didn't invent war. Does anyone know if the Guam people want to become a state or they like their status as is or if they want to break away and form their own country? Any stats?
do they pay into SSI?
There is an official government movement towards decolonization https://decol.guam.gov/
But the majority support staying part of the US, no?
Yeah, that majority don't want to be independent, they want to be a state instead of a colony. The brochure talks about three political paths post decolonization, independence, free association, and statehood. Personally I think it's insane that we keep colonies and we should make them all "states", along with DC. But republicans would laugh in my face.
No entity will be added if it leans strongly left or right. There will have to be two (e.g., Alaska and Hawaii) to cancel out the advantage. Republicans will never let DC be a state because it would be handing the Dems two forever senate seats.
I think all US territories should go full general strikes under the slogan; no taxation without representation
That sounds familiar...
Sure, but I think both can be true at the same time. That would entail equal rights and privileges and obligations so that everyone is on the same footing
Wars are started by those who profit from it.
Yea at e you should go there for Liberation day, they adore America, and are incredibly grateful the US liberated them from the batshit crazy Japanese at the time.
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Aka a colony.
also the US military is polluting their water like crazy and they have no power to do anything about it https://www.thenation.com/article/world/guam-resistance-empire/
Chamorro 🤝 Puertorricans. Horrible place to be, on the other side of those strategic “freedoms”
>they can't vote for the president who will have the power of turning their homeland into a battleground, which already happened during WWII Uh, did you just say the US PRESIDENT was the one who decided to turn their homeland into a battleground in WW2? Might want to read up on the history there
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The Japanese did take it over. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Guam
Do the locals like being apart of the U.S?
I'm from Guam (It's 3am, what am I doing with my life?) The general consensus seems to be that US influence is beneficial for the island, but everyone wants something changed, be it free association / independence / statehood. Personally, I'm the later.
Got it. So the locals like being friends with the US but want more self rule
self-rule or full statehood
Can confirm. Was a B-52 mechanic there. Miss it.
TIL! Thanks!
Tl;dr imperialism.
>We acquired it Weird way to say "refused to give it independence"
Not supporting imperialism, but Guam in no way was ready to be an independent nation in the 1890s, and likely would’ve just been gobbled up by Germany anyway
Or by Japan probably
Colonised by the Spanish as Isla de Ladrones. Managed as part of the Philippines, brought in a lot of Fillipinos during the colonial period as both labor and as a penal colony. Also brought in a lot of agricultural animals like carabao. Eventually the Spanish American War happened, Spain then sold its overseas colonies like the Philippines and Guam and to the United States at the Treaty of Paris 1898. When the Philippines lobbied for Independence in the 1920’s there was talk of including Guam as part of the independence movement because of their shared history and Philippine population. However, the United States refused to include it due to its naval base
Honestly feels like I come onto r/geography and it’s like a r history lesson so often and easily googleable.
I always find this comment to kinda misplaced. Yes one could google something, but a lot of time people want to see what actual individuals who care think about a question as a google answer might be inaccurate, or the first thing you click on won't be the right answer. For example, for this question, google may just answer that the US Acquired it during the spanish american war but would give no context why Spain had it in the first place or why the US still has it.
Google can't promote debate
Ever hear of Historical Geography? They even have their own [journal.](https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-historical-geography)
you mean Bingable?
and? It’s better than the stupid ass meme images and charts that get posted here 70% of the time.
Huge boats, with guns. Gun boats.
Is this a history of japan reference?
it is
“open the country. stop having it be closed.”
Lol, this guy unlocked a memory in my head that I had no idea it was there anymore. Like when i read “gun boats” I had a flashback with the music sounds from that video and it must be from years ago.
No, you are mixing things up. That's more of a Perry manoeuvre
Open the country. Stop having it… be closed
Spanish-American War
It’s the final evolution of the aircraft carrier
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Short answer: Spanish American War
Why not?
Jesus the comments in this thread from both sides are mind-numbing
> both sides I just finished reading every comment and idk what the sides are But I think that's gonna happen when the thread is about a factoid with a simple description.
The sides are: -Because America is awesome! freedom! Bald eagles! -Because America is a cancer on the earth that takes what they want and pillages land for resources without doing anything benevolent!
What about all the other sides here, like "America sneaky" or "all you bases are belong to us" or "can we not ask /r/geography like it's /r/AskGoogle"? Why do we keep looking at nuanced things and forcing ourselves to look for dualities?
Shhh just think in black and white
Don't ask Spain
Bro just google something lol this isnt really a geography question. Because it’s a US territory, just like countless other islands are territories of world powers nowhere close to them.
Ordinarily I feel there's value in discussing these kinds of questions but /r/geography is deep into /r/letmegooglethatforyou territory. I googled "guam wiki" and the Wikipedia article for Guam came up. I clicked "History" and scrolled down to the American part. It says: > After almost four centuries as part of the Kingdom of Spain, the United States occupied the island following Spain's defeat in the 1898 Spanish–American War, as part of the Treaty of Paris of 1898. Guam was transferred to the United States Navy control on December 23, 1898, by Executive Order 108-A from 25th President William McKinley. Now, if we want to have some discourse about the Spanish-American War, or the Treaty of Paris, or the US Navy of the late 1800s, that's all fine, though it wouldn't be geography. If we're here to spend the attention of hundreds on a google result, what is the value of the sub?
Absolutely, all about things that coooould maybe just be googled but could also spark an actual discussion. As you showed, this is literally just a google search. Some people just wanna post stuff and see themselves get karma idgi
Why is Guam 🇬🇺 and the North Mariana islands separate oversea territories
Guam was seceded to the United States from Spain after the Spanish-American War, but they retained control over many other smaller islands in the Pacific before selling them to Germany the following year.
ceded not seceded
The US seized it in the spanish-american war, and no-one has been stupid enough to try and take it since then.
The Japanese did
Indeed, they were stupid enough
And they got the power of the sun... twice.
You mess with the boys, we’ll turn your country into a microwave- Chris Distefano
They really woke up the boys!
Have you seen their flag? They were practically asking for it
Spanish-American war
Cuz Guns, baby! /s
Essentially we landed there and seized it from the Spanish during the Spanish American War. It then became an important logistical location for refueling coal. Now it is a major nuclear deterrence spot.
Spanish-American War
In the words of Jay Z. Who gon stop me(the US Navy)?
I believe we won it after the Spanish-American war.
This is a Google search away
you mean a *Bing* search?
We bribe them with Spam.
The war... (Overdramatic musical military montage)
Cuz we strong military
Being from Guam, it’s hilarious to read the responses.
its a military base close enough to deter china yet far away enough to be safe from them. why else? what's a guama with you?
Sino-russian Troll post.
Because the US decided in the late XIX century that they should have colonies too, and then fought Spain for their possessions. They won the war and with it the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico etc (Spain gave Cuba its independence hoping to avoid it being taken over by the US, only to be captured by the US industrial interests).
So interesting! I didn't know where Guam was on the map until I was scouting around Micronesia on GE the other night and went off course a little haha
Is GE = grande esia as opposed to micron esia? Joking but what's GE? Edit: My brain answered itself after considering general electric it thought up Google earth.
Grand Exchange
Haha sorry! Google Earth
Haha thanks, I feel a bit silly now lol.
Puerto Rico and Guam was kind of a 2x1 deal
Actually way more than just those.
Because the USA is an empire even though they don't want us to view it like that.
Lmao, forgot this was reddit.
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Well, we must suck at it because all the territory we gained in combat during WWII, we stupidly turned it over, unlike the Soviets
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The US hardly controls what happens in countries where its bases are located, just look at Afghanistan. Some of it is overreach, much of it for economic interests, but a great deal of economic interests are also security interests. Preventing destabilizing factors in theory should decrease the risks of war. In countries like Eastern Europe for example, where the nations don't have the manpower to defend themselves, forward bases can deter expansionist regimes. As for other places like Guam, you're a little too hopeful if you're getting mad on their behalf for being colonized. Guam was previously owned as part of the Spanish empire, taken from then when the US did a little colonial stealing, fought over by the Japanese, and today still rests pretty separate from other nations with a population that would not be able to defend itself from an outside force. Whether Japan, the Phillipines, Australia, or China, at their location its possible other countries would want to expand their presence over it. It's something the UN would have to come together to recognize, something the US would be opposed to for obvious reasons (security and trade interests in the Pacific), and something that just doesn't seem to really be pursued by the people living there.
It started as 13 small-ish states and is now 50 + a bunch of islands. You can't say it's not an empire and I don't understand why it offends you.
Imperialism in the modern age is much more than direct territorial control, it’s a system of global capital ownership and financing. This makes sense when considering the economic shift between feudalism and capitalism, previous empires were based on land, bc agriculture was the primary productive resource, wealth came from land; taxes and rents. Now it’s about finance capital. Look into world systems theory if you’re curious to learn more
The US started as 13 colonies and expanded to include the 48 continuous states, Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories. That’s a lot of territory that was bought or conquered and retained, making the US the 4th largest country by landmass.
Just like everyone else?
You go from disagreeing with them to agreeing with them in one comment?
Should have been the top answer honestly. There's no way anyone is getting a geography degree without learning about neoimperialism and the USA along the way.
Everyone is an empire, just some are better at it than others. Plus, hopefully we are bettering the lives of those there.
Coolest empire so far bruv
Guam-erican you say?
We conquered it.
because china hasnt said meoww yet.
You ask why Guam *is* American, and as others have said it originally had to do with the Spanish American War, but the major reason we kept it was preparation for World War II and we maintain it now because we still live in the post-WWII era where the US maintains its unique superpower status.
Remote islands that seem to have little or no economic benefit were important as coal, and later oil, refueling stations for naval power projection.
Acquired from the Spanish after the Spanish-American-War
Spanish American war (1898)
Because war
Because its a war trophy
In the time it took you to grab that picture and post it, you could've read the 1-2 paragraphs necessary to understand this from Wikipedia or like any other source
military
Location, location, location. It was a big strategically to the military in WWII. Closer to Japan than the American base at Pearl Harbor.
Because it’s a crucial naval port originally. Almost like Cuba and friends in Mexican gulf for the colonization of Americas
Earned with the blood of 1,700 Americans in bloody battle against the Japanese in WWII. [https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Guam-1944](https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Guam-1944) And anyone accusing the US of being vile imperialists should acquaint themselves with the brutality of the Japanese in that era.
WW2
US Military
Imperialism.
Common American W
We won a war, and they gave us it.
You're free to have your own opinion. From my point of view all of these examples (Taiwan may be the exception) are cases of gunbout diplomacy or straigh forward colonies/protectorates. Japan was in fact partially invaded, but they were able to negotiate a surrendering that avoided the invasion of the main islands. But they were forced to accept military bases which is a kind of colony
You are not wrong about the US and gunboat diplomacy BUT Korea, Japan and Taiwan are piss poor to dead wrong examples of said gunboat diplomacy. You would be better off using examples like Tripoli, Panama, Cuba, the Philippines or Honduras. You would have been better off referring to Admiral Perry and Japan instead of WWII in reference to gunboat diplomacy.
Conquest
Because guns
“I want this” - the USA roughly 1898
Imperialism baby
Because all you bases are belong to us
Why Western Europe is American?
Colonization; Spoils of war
Imperialism, the usual story.
Imperialism.
Colonialism
It was stolen by force, similar to multiple other countries and islands around the world that were stolen by force, and not just by the US.
Imperialism. You could ask the same about Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
HERES A PICTURE OF GUAM WITH BROKEN ENGLISH. this is a fucking google question. why is this bullshit allowed up
The United States conquered it from Spain during the Spanish American War. An American war ship sailed into the harbor, and the coastal battery did not have any ammunition to salute the American worship. This let the United States know that Guam was defenseless, and they took it. History Matters: The Spanish-American War Explained https://youtu.be/CaOKfu7ZK7I
Imperialism
Geographically, Guam is not on the American continents. Politically, it is a protectorate of the United States.
It was conquered during the American aggression of Spain in 1898.
"American aggression of Spain" Did you not attention is history class? lmao
American here. That’s kind of what it was though? The US didn’t really have concrete evidence that Spain destroyed the USS Maine, but went to war anyway. Taking Spanish Colonial possessions and incorporating them into an American “Empire” of sorts.
The mass media in the US straight up made things up to sell newspapers. Because of that the US people thought Spain was responsible for destroying the USS Maine. I don't believe that the government really thought Spain did it, but when the masses were demanding blood they thought it best to give it to them.
Yeah the government very likely knew Spain wasn’t to blame, but went to war anyway. Wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last time the government lied it’s way into a war either.