Category Federal Unit Government County government | Number 19 | |
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The United States territory of Guam is divided into nineteen municipalities, called villages. Each village is governed by an elected mayor. Village populations range in size from under 1,000 to over 40,000. As of the 2000 census, the total population of Guam was 154,805.
History
Many villages have rich histories reaching back thousands of years. Artifacts from ancient Chamorro settlements can be found in every village of Guam. When the Spanish Empire colonized the Marianas Islands as part of its Pacific possessions in the 16th and 17th centuries, the island was divided into separate districts with each district consisting of a parish with a village center governed by an alcalde, appointed by the island's governor.
In the 18th century, there were six parishes on Guam: Hagåtña, Hagat, Humåtak, Malesso', Inalåjan, and Pago.
Prior to Spanish colonization, Chamorro people regularly held village celebrations. After adopting Christianity, these celebrations became fiestas in honor of the patron saint of each village. Annual village fiestas are still held throughout the island every year.
The current division of Guam into municipalities took place in the 1920s under United States Navy Administration.