Mariana Islands

Mariana Islands, group of islands (184 sq mi/476.6 sq km) in the West Pacific, east of the Philippines. Discovered by Magellan in 1521 and owned by Spain until surrendered to the United States, in 1898, they were named the Ladrones (Thieves) Islands until renamed in 1668 by Jesuit missionaries. They were briefly under Japanese occupation (1941–44) and became part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947. In 1978 the northern islands became the Northern Mariana Islands and a commonwealth of the United States. The majority of the population lives on the largest and southernmost island, Guam, an outlying U.S. territory. The group's economy rests on subsistence agriculture, copra export, and government and military installations.