The Northern Mariana Islands were a German protectorate until 1919, when they became part of the South Seas Mandate, administered by Japan.
[7][8] In 1986, the Marianas came under the sovereignty of the United States when the trusteeship ended and US nationality and citizenship was conferred on the inhabitants of the territory.
[18] Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, during his fleet's circumnavigation of the globe for Charles I, King of Spain, sighted Guam and Rota on March 6, 1521, naming the islands Los Ladrones (The Thieves).
[21] From that date the Laws of the Indies were implemented in the islands and the inhabitants became subjects of the Spanish crown, under the authority of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, in Mexico.
[22] Administration on behalf of the king was granted to the Council of the Indies, which served as the authority on commercial, ecclesiastical, financial, legal and military matters in the Spanish possessions.
[24] It was not until 1668, when Mariana of Austria Queen Regent of Spain authorized missionary Diego Luis de San Vitores to establish a mission, that Spanish colonization began and the islands were renamed in her honor.
[4][25] In 1681, a royal decree granted the indigenous population, the Chamorro people, equal status with other Spanish subjects in its possessions.
[31] In 1814 upon returning to Spain from captivity in France, Ferdinand VII abrogated the constitution and reinstated an absolute monarchy, leading to independence wars throughout Spanish America.
[34] In 1824 the control of the Mariana Islands was moved from Mexico to the Captaincy General of the Philippines and in 1828 a new organic law was devised for the territory.
The constitution called for significant colonial reforms, but before they could be acted upon the Third Carlist War and subsequent restoration of the monarchy ended its authority.
[50][51] At the outbreak of World War I, Japan joined the Allies and began an offensive to capture the German possessions in the Pacific.
[53] At the end of the war, under terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Japan was granted the South Seas Mandate in 1919, which included the Caroline, Mariana, Marshall, and Palau islands.
[5] Terms of the mandate specified that islanders were not to be militarized and that social and economic development in the territory was to be of benefit to the local inhabitants.
[59] Japan surrendered its Pacific possessions at the end of World War II and the United States proposed retaining control over the former Japanese-mandated islands for security purposes.
[62][63] The Trust Territory was managed by the navy until 1951, at which time administration was passed to the United States Department of the Interior.
[65][67] From 1969, the United States and representatives of the Trust Territory began negotiations to develop systems to terminate the trusteeship and provide pathways to independence.
President Gerald Ford signed the congressional resolution into law in 1976 and the Northern Marianas left the Trust Territory in 1978.
[71][72] The Covenant is unique in that it established limitations on federal authority as it applies to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
[74] After approval of the compacts by the US Congress, President Ronald Reagan announced in 1986 that the trusteeship was no longer applicable in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, nor the Northern Marianas.
[80] The authority granted the Trust Territories to control its immigration, issue entry and exit documents, business and resident permits, continued in the Commonwealth.
[81] The Commonwealth legislature used its authority to create laws for non-immigrant worker visas of an indefinite period, stimulating the economy through the guest worker program and offered residency permits to foreign investors or retirees who invested specific amounts in business development or real estate.
[88] From the 1950s, the Territory had been divided into seven districts and in 1969 was fixed at six – The Marianas, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Ponape, Truk, and Yap.
[90] That year a District Legislature was established for the Mariana Islands, and voters who were residents participated in electing officials.
The Secretarial Order authorized the Territorial Congress to create additional qualifications so long as they did not impose electoral discrimination based upon traditional caste, class, or status designations.
[69][100] Terms establishing in the Covenant provided that US citizenship would be conferred upon the nationals of the Northern Marianas, upon the dissolution of the Trust Territories.