Usually we think of the territory of the United States as fifty states plus the District of Columbia. In fact, the territory of the United States is much more than that, and the United States still has a large number of overseas territories, and these overseas territories have extremely complex divisions according to the national interests of the United States.
Distribution of U.S. overseas territories
The U.S. federal government divides overseas territories outside the continental United States into four types: incorporated territories, consolidated unincorporated territories, unincorporated territories, and unincorporated unincorporated territories. Since Alaska Territory and Hawaii Territory, the last two consolidated territories of the United States, became states of the United States in 1959, there are no consolidated territories in the United States, and there are only overseas territories in the form of merged non-incorporated territories, non-consolidated territories and unincorporated non-incorporated territories.
Consolidation of unincorporated territories
Incorporated unincorporated territories are lands that are fully applicable to the U.S. Constitution but are sparsely populated and have not passed the U.S. Administrative Organization Act. At present, the United States has only one consolidated unincorporated territory in Palmyra Atoll.
Palmyra Atoll has a land area of about 11.9 square kilometers and is geographically located almost halfway through the Pacific Ocean. Therefore, it has extremely important strategic value. The atoll has no permanent population, only a few federal employees and researchers rotate through the atoll.
Location of Palmyra Atoll
Non-consolidated territories
Non-consolidation means that there is currently no U.S. incorporation law to become a formal U.S. territory. Establishment means the passage of the United States Administrative Organization Act and the establishment of its own self-governing body. Such territories usually have a large resident population. However, the main demographic composition is quite different from that of the United States.
Residents of such territories enjoy all the benefits of U.S. citizens and have free access to the contiguous United States. However, such territories have only non-voting seats in the U.S. Congress, and do not have the right to vote in parliamentary votes in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. At the same time, in the U.S. presidential election, residents of these territories do not have the right to vote, but residents of non-incorporated territories can obtain the right to vote if they move to the United States.
There are currently four unincorporated territories in the United States:
Puerto Rico
Location of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico became a Spanish colony during the Great Voyage and was ceded to the United States by Spain after the Spanish-American War of 1898. In 1917, the United States granted United States citizenship to Puerto Rican residents.
Since Puerto Rico had been incorporated into the United States, the Puerto Rican people had had uprisens for independence on several occasions throughout its history, but they had all been suppressed by the United States. In the early years of World War II, the United States had tried to make Puerto Rico a state of the United States, but it had been rejected by Puerto Ricans in a referendum.
Geographical and administrative map of Puerto Rico
In recent years, as Puerto Rico's economy had continued to deteriorate, Puerto Rico had uncharacteristically tried to become a state of the United States, but had been repeatedly rejected by the United States.
United States Virgin Islands
Location of the United States Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands were originally part of a Danish colony in the Caribbean. Since Denmark had been losing money for many years in its management of the overseas territory, the Danish government had tried unsuccessfully to sell the territory to the United States twice since 1867, until 1916, when Denmark communicated with the United States for the third time to sell the territory.
Capital of the United States Virgin Islands
The United States formally took over the territory in 1917, and in 1927 the U.S. Congress passed a resolution granting U.S. citizenship to the inhabitants of the territory.
Northern Mariana Islands
Location of the Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands became a Spanish colony in 1565 and came under the jurisdiction of the Spanish Viceroyalty of the Philippines. After the Spanish-American War, Spain was no longer able to maintain its colonization of the islands in the Pacific and sold the land to Germany. After the end of World War I, the League of Nations transferred the site to Japan for trusteeship.
During World War II, the Northern Mariana Islands were an important military base for Japan. The U.S. Army fought bloody battles with the Japanese during the Pacific War, causing a large number of casualties on both sides. After the end of World War II, the Northern Mariana Islands were entrusted to the United States by the United Nations.
A memorial park located in the northern Mariana island of Saipan
The United States tried to merge the Northern Mariana Islands with Guam into a self-governing group, but because the aborigines of the Northern Mariana Islands cooperated with the Japanese in ruthlessly ruling Guam during the Pacific War, four consecutive merger referendums ended in failure.
In 1976, the Northern Mariana Islands signed a covenant with the United States federal government, which stipulated that the Northern Mariana Islands would be politically united with the United States and enjoy some autonomy, but that foreign affairs and defense would fall under the jurisdiction of the United States federal government. In 1986, the United States declared the Northern Mariana Islands a U.S. possession, and its residents were U.S. citizens.
Guam
Location of Guam
Guam's early history, like that of the Northern Mariana Islands, was colonized by Spain in 1565. After the Spanish-American War, Guam was occupied by the United States. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, Japan occupied Guam, during which about 10% of the indigenous people were killed by Japanese soldiers. During the US campaign to reconquest Guam, the Japanese army in Guam even had cannibalism eating aborigines due to lack of materials.
In 1944, U.S. forces recaptured Guam. Since then, Guam has become one of the most important U.S. military bases in the Asia-Pacific region. At present, the US military has six military bases, including military docks, military airports, and military communication stations, stationed in Guam, with a total of 6,140 US soldiers.
Among them, Anderson Air Force Base is stationed with American B-1B "Lancer" and B-52 "Stratofortress" strategic bombers, which can directly reach the mainland hinterland. The U.S. Navy's two bases in Guam can also dock large warships, including nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines.
A B-52 "Stratofortress" strategic bomber parked at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam
Guam became a non-incorporated territory of the United States in 1950 through an organic act, establishing the island's civilian government structure and granting United States citizenship.
Non-consolidated non-incorporated territories
Unincorporated unincorporated territories are U.S. overseas territories that have neither passed U.S. incorporation laws nor established self-governing bodies through U.S. administrative organization laws. Most of these territories, with the exception of American Samoa and Wake Island, are uninhabited islands with no permanent inhabitants, and most of the unincorporated unincorporated territories in the United States are currently under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of the Interior, and a few are under the administration of the United States Navy.
American Samoa
Location of American Samoa
Although American Samoa has approximately 50,000 permanent residents, it remains a non-incorporated and unincorporated territory because of the absence of an administrative organic law. This territory is currently the only U.S. territory in the Southern Hemisphere.
Island scenery in American Samoa
The island officially became a U.S. colony in 1899 and was initially administered by the U.S. Department of the Navy before being transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior after 1951. The island's main source of economy is the export of canned yellowfin tuna to the continental United States.
Midway
Midway location
Midway, located 2,100 kilometers northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, was once famous for the famous Battle of Midway during the Peace War.
Aerial view of Midway by satellite
Midway remains an important U.S. military base, and Midway's Henderson Airport is the most important airfield in the Pacific. In the 90s, the United States tried to annex Midway to the Hawaiian Islands, but the plan was rejected. In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton signed a bill placing Midway under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior.
Wake Island
Wake Island location
Wake Island, 3,200 kilometers east of Hawaii and 2,060 kilometers west of Guam, is strategically important and is known as the "stepping stone of the Pacific". There are no permanent residents on the island, and Wake Island's temporary population includes hundreds of U.S. military and civilian personnel, as well as some foreign workers and military contractors, and is entirely dependent on imports of food and industrial products.
Nawassa Island
Location of Navassa Island
Nestle, located between Haiti and Cuba in the Caribbean Sea, Nawasa claimed sovereignty over the island as early as Haiti became independent. But in 1867 the island was occupied by the United States. American merchants then began mining phosphate ore on the island.
Black men working on the island in 1889 staged a rebellion that killed five white managers. At present, the island has no permanent inhabitants and only occasional access by a few researchers.
Baker Island
Location of Baker Island
Located slightly north of the equator in the Central Pacific, the atoll is approximately 3,100 km (1,675 nm) southwest of Honolulu and half from Hawaii to Australia, covering an area of 1.18 square kilometers. Baker Island is an island in the Alexandria archipelago, uninhabited and defended by the United States.
The United States made several attempts to colonize Howland Island, but all failed. Four Americans lived on the island on the eve of World War II, and they evacuated after the outbreak of the Pacific War. During the Pacific War, U.S. troops were stationed here and an airstrip was built on the island, which is now abandoned as a military camp and runway.
Howland Island
Location of Howland Island
Howland Island is located 3,100 kilometers from the Hawaiian Islands, right halfway between Hawaii and Australia. At present, there is no permanent population, and it is an ecological nature reserve under the management of the United States Department of the Interior.
Jarvis Island
Location of Jarvis Island
Jarvis Island was discovered by the British in 1821, and the British government declared sovereignty in 1889. However, after 1935, it was occupied by the United States and claimed sovereignty. The United States once established settlements on the island, but they were abandoned after World War II. There is currently only one lighthouse on the island.
Johnston Atoll
Location of Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll, 1328 kilometers northeast of Honolulu, Hawaii, was discovered in 1807 by the British warship Captain Johnston and named after him.
The territory was disputed by the United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii until 1858, and after the annexation of the Kingdom of Hawaii by the United States, the territory is no longer disputed. In the fifties and sixties of the last century, it was used by the US military as a nuclear weapons test area and aircraft refueling station. It was the storage and disposal site of U.S. chemical weapons until about 2000.
U.S. military base at Johnston Atoll
Military installations on the island are currently abandoned.
Kingman Reef
Location of Kingman Reef
Kingman Reef is a coral island located on the north side of the equator, halfway between American Samoa and the Hawaiian Islands. The land area is only about 0.012 square kilometers and is currently under the administration of the United States Navy. It is temporarily closed to any public.
Associated States
In addition to the overseas territories that exist in the above three forms, the United States also has a special relationship territory. These territories are currently recognized as sovereign states, but their defense is completely controlled by the United States, which has the right to station troops in these countries. The foreign affairs of these countries require consultation with the United States. U.S. military can even recruit at home, but they do not enjoy any U.S. citizenship rights. Such countries are known as associated States and maintain their relations under the Treaty of Free Association with the United States.
Currently, the United States has signed the Treaty of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. These three countries, along with the Northern Mariana Islands, were originally Spanish colonies and were sold by Spain to Germany after the Spanish-American War. It became a Mandate of Japan after World War I and a Trusteeship of the United States after World War II.
The U.S. Pacific Mandate after World War II
The difference between associated countries and non-consolidated territories is that they are subject to the same obligations as U.S. overseas territories, but citizens do not have the same rights as U.S. overseas territories. To take a simple example, the Federated States of Micronesia joins more U.S. troops than any other U.S. state, and has far higher death rates during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia still need a passport to enter the United States.
During the Cold War, the United States also conducted hundreds of nuclear tests on the islands of these countries, bringing catastrophic ecological crises to the region.
U.S. nuclear test in the Marshall Islands
In addition, the United States will use the Treaty of Free Association signed by each other to interfere in the diplomacy of these countries, and has used this to interfere in the internal affairs of the mainland. At present, of the 14 countries with diplomatic relations in the Taiwan region, the United States occupies two associated countries.
Palau, although only fully independent in 1994, established an autonomous government before independence. Ma Yuzhen, the Chinese consul in Los Angeles, was also invited to attend the inauguration of Nkiratkele Etpison, Palau's fifth president. In 1991, Palau President Nkiratkele Etpison also led a delegation to visit China for a week.
In 1997, Chinese representatives were invited to attend the inauguration ceremony of Kunio Nakamura, the sixth President of Palau. In May of the same year, Kunio Nakamura paid an unofficial visit to China. On the issue of Palau's independence in the 90s, China has been supporting Palau's national self-determination at relevant United Nations meetings.
Kunio Nakamura, the sixth president of Palau, who visited China
Although the two sides have always been in close contact at the top level, they have not been able to establish diplomatic relations due to the obstruction of the United States. Finally, in 1999, Palau established so-called diplomatic relations with Taiwan under U.S. influence.
The leader of the Palau authorities visited mainland Taiwan
summary
With regard to the division of US overseas territories and the establishment of relations between associated countries, if we stand from a neutral perspective, we can fully see the vision and strategy of US politicians. In its relations with these regions, the United States has always viewed these regions and countries as tools to safeguard its own interests. And why the United States has rarely expanded its territory since the 20th century is also based on this reason, all around the interests of the United States.