Saipan is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Census Bureau, the population of Saipan was 43,385, a decline of 10% from its 2010 count of 48,220.
Saipan
Marines march through Garapan, July 1944
Marine infantrymen in Garapan, Saipan
Mount Marpi in Saipan
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, is an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The CNMI includes the 14 northernmost islands in the Mariana Archipelago; the southernmost island, Guam, is a separate U.S. territory. The Northern Mariana Islands were listed by the United Nations as a non-self governing territory until 1990.
Pictograms of sea turtles in Mariana's cave
Reception of the Manila galleon by the Chamorro in the Ladrones Islands, c. 1590. From Boxer Codex.
Chamorro Hunter with Spear, as depicted in the Boxer Codex (1590) of the Philippines
Chamorro Hunter with Bow, as depicted in the Boxer Codex (1590) of the Philippines