Hita Guampedia: 12 Years Online Guampedia is a community project that highlights the unique history of Guam and the CHamoru heritage of the Mariana Islands. Through peer-reviewed entries and accompanying media, Guampedia provides an important educational and informational resource for Guam teachers and students, for CHamorus living away from the Marianas, for visitors, and for those who want a richer understanding of the island and its people. Guampedia was founded in 2005 by the Guam Humanities Council, going online in 2008, became independent and moved in residence to the University of Guam campus in 2009. Guampedia is a non-profit affiliate of the University of Guam with operations funded by the Government of Guam’s Tourism Attraction Fund. Currently, Guampedia has more than 1,200 entries, 3,500 photographs, numerous video and audio clips and dozens of e-publications. More than 150 people
e 2019 Googl Analaytics Total Site Users
405,330 Total Page Views
928,770
have been involved in this project to date. It is an ongoing and dynamic project that continues to be updated and added to regularly as events unfold and technology progresses. Through analytics powered by Google, Guampedia has been able to track its audience through the years. Since 2014, Guampedia has consistently maintained about 25,000 unique visits per month. In 2018 traffic increased, and has consistently stayed at more than 50,000 unique visits per month. About 50% of visitors are from the US mainland, with 30% from Guam and the other 20% from the Northern Marianas, Philippines, Japan, South Korea and other places worldwide, as far as the United Kingdom. Today Guampedia maintains a strong relationship with the University of Guam. Current or former UOG faculty make up about one-half of its project scholars and some sit on the Guampedia board
Most Viewed Articles 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Filipinos on Guam Chamorro Dishes Taotaomo’na Historic Eras of Guam Lesson Plan: Vegetables and Fruits Ferdinand Magellan Pancit: Filipino Noodle Dish Hale’ta: Chamorro Cultural Glossary Lumpia: Filipino Eggrolls
of directors. In addition, through its strong ties to the Guam Department of Education, Department of CHamoru Affairs, and Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency, Guampedia has become a key player in the education community on Guam. The most powerful partnership Guampedia has developed in its years of operation is with you, our viewers, listeners and readers. Your visits to the site and feedback on our progress provide meaningful contributions to all of our projects. We would like to extend to all of you a heartfelt un dangkalu na si Yu’os ma’ase yan Biba Ha’ ånen Nuebu na Sakkan!
Most Viewed By Region 1. United States mainland 2. Guam 3. Philippines 4. India 5. Northern Mariana Islands 6. Japan 7. Canada 8. Australia 9. United Kingdom 10. South Korea
This month, Guampedia launched a new section on its site: the Micronesia Portal. This portal brings together the seven island nations of Micronesia onto one page with write-ups on each of their unique geographies and histories. This portal also contains an interactive map that
Guampedia Newsletter, January 2020
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Guampedia’s New Section
The Mariana Islands
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4000 Years of Trade and Travel 1
Throughout its history, the Mariana Island Archipelago has served as a valuable stop for people voyaging through the Pacific Ocean. The first voyagers to discover these islands arrived more than 3,500 years ago from islands of Southeast Asia, forming the CHamoru people we see today. Peoples from the Caroline Islands have had a lengthy precontact history with the Marianas. Research into indigenous Pacific voyaging overall supports the
theory of controlled indigenous movements throughout the Pacific, thus making centuries of Carolinian voyaging contact with the Marianas – and CHamoru voyaging contact with the Caroline Islands – highly probable. Frequency of visitors increased significantly during the establishment of the Manila Galleon Trade Route, the major route traveled by Spanish galleons from 1565 to 1815 across the Pacific connecting Acapulco in New Spain (Mexico) to the east and
Exactly 50 years ago, in January 1970, the Guam Elective Governor Act was made applicable to the island for their first local gubernatorial election on November 3rd. This marked a significant time in Guam’s history as it became the first instance of locally chosen leadership in over 300 years. This act was passed by the United States Congress on September 11, 1968, granting the people of Guam the authority to elect their governor and Photo of Carlos Camacho, the last lieutenant governor. appointed and first locally elected Click here to read more about the governor of Guam/ Photo courtesy history of the Elective Governor Act. of Guam USA Magazine 1970
This Month In History
outlines the region. Also included within this portal are articles by Dr. James Perez Viernes and Dr. Mike Carson on the shared history and archaeology of Micronesia that can be explored within the Micronesia Milestone Timeline. Click to check out the Micronesia Portal and read more about our diverse region. (1) Trade between CHamorus and European travelers/ Image Courtesy of Johan Ludwig Gottfried/ Guam Public Library (2) An illustration of the Carolinian waa, seafaring canoe by Mr. Paris/ Image Courtesy of Spanish Documents Collection/ Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC)
Manila, Philippines in the west. These galleons carried spices, porcelains and other luxury goods from Asia and gold and silver from the Americas in one of the largest complexes of global exchange of people and goods in human history. The Mariana Islands were one stop along the route. On January 25, 1625, the largest presence of Europeans visited Guam for three weeks. It was the Dutch Nassau Fleet—a flotilla of 11 ships and 1,260 men, plus 32 prisoners — under the command of Jacques L’Hermite that anchored off Umatac’s coast. Scurvy had exacted a heavy toll on the sailors, but for the next 17 days, they recovered after bartering for copious quantities of rice, fruit, and coconuts. In addition, L’Hermite had to double plank the rotten timbers of the ships before returning to the Moluccas. Click on these links to read more about the Carolinians on Guam, Manila Galleon Trade Route, and Dutch Traders.