Prehistory Traces of human settlements on Saipan have been found by archaeologists ranging over 4,000 years, including
petroglyphs, ancient
Latte Stones, and other artifacts pointing to cultural affinities with
Melanesia and with similar stone monuments in
Micronesia and
Palau.
Spanish colonial period Saipan, together with Tinian, was possibly first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expedition of
Ferdinand Magellan, when it made a landing in the southern Marianas on March 6, 1521. It is likely Saipan was sighted by Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa in 1522 on board the Spanish ship
Trinidad, which he commanded after the death of
Ferdinand Magellan in the
Battle of Mactan in Cebu, Philippines. This is likely to have occurred after the sighting of the
Maug Islands between the end of August and the end of September 1522.
Gonzalo de Vigo deserted in the Maugs from Gómez de Espinosa's
Trinidad and during the next four years, living with the local indigenous
Chamorro people, visited thirteen main islands in the Marianas and possibly Saipan among them. The first clear evidence of Europeans arriving to Saipan was by the
Manila galleon Santa Margarita commanded by Juan Martínez de Guillistegui, that wrecked on the island in February 1600 and whose survivors stayed on it for two years, until 250 were rescued by the
Santo Tomás and the
Jesús María. The Spanish formally occupied the island in 1668, with the missionary expedition of
Diego Luis de San Vitores who named it
San José. After 1670, it became a port of call for Portuguese, Spanish, occasional English, Dutch and French ships as a supply station for food and water. The native population shrank dramatically due to European-introduced diseases and conflicts over land. The Chamorros were forcibly relocated to
Guam fearing the spread of leprosy in 1720 for better control and assimilation. Under Spanish rule, the island was developed into ranches for raising cattle and pigs, which were used as provision for
Spanish galleons originating from the Philippines on their way to Mexico and vice versa. Around 1815, many
Carolinians from
Satawal settled Saipan, during a period when the Chamorros were imprisoned on Guam, which resulted in a significant loss of land and rights for the Chamorro natives. The Caroline Islands had suffered a devastating typhoon that destroyed their crops. The leader of this company was an individual named "Chief Aghurubw," who sailed to Guam to ask the Spanish governor permission to settle on the islands. The Spaniards allowed Chief Aghurubw to settle on the island of Saipan. The Marianas archipelago was under the protectorate of the Spanish General Government of the Philippines; the
Civil Guard and soldiers of the city of
Macabebe in the province of
Pampanga frequently made port calls to the islands to ensure law and order.
German colonial period After the
Spanish–American War of 1898, Saipan was occupied by the United States. However, it was then sold by Spain to the
German Empire under the terms of the
German–Spanish Treaty of 1899. The island was administered by Germany as part of
German New Guinea, but during the German period, there was no attempt to develop or settle the island, which remained under the control of its Spanish and
mestizo landowners.
Japanese colonial period In 1914, during
World War I, the island was captured by the
Empire of Japan. Japan was awarded formal control of the island in 1919 by the
League of Nations as a part of its
mandated territory of the
South Seas Mandate. Militarily and economically, Saipan was one of the most important islands in the mandate and became the center of subsequent Japanese settlement, growing sugarcane to be refined and then shipped to elsewhere. Immigration began in the 1920s by ethnic Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese, and
Okinawans, who developed large-scale sugar plantations. The
South Seas Development Company built sugar refineries and—under Japanese rule—extensive infrastructure development occurred, including the construction of port facilities, waterworks, power stations, paved roads and schools, along with entertainment facilities and
Shinto shrines. By October 1943, Saipan had a civilian population of 29,348 Japanese settlers and 3,926 Chamorro and Carolinian Islanders.
World War II , July 1944 , Saipan Japan considered Saipan to be part of the last line of defenses for the Japanese homeland, and thus had strongly committed to defending it. The
Imperial Japanese Army and
Imperial Japanese Navy garrisoned Saipan heavily from the late 1930s, building numerous coastal artillery batteries, shore defenses, underground fortifications and an airstrip. In mid-1944, nearly 30,000 troops were based on the island. The
Battle of Saipan, from June 15–July 9, 1944, was one of the major campaigns of
World War II. The
United States Marine Corps and
United States Army landed on the beaches of the south-western side of the island and, after more than three weeks in heavy fighting, captured the island from the Japanese. The battle cost the Americans 3,426 killed and 10,364 wounded. Of the estimated 30,000 Japanese defenders, only 921 were taken prisoner. The weapons used, and the tactics of close quarter fighting, also resulted in high civilian casualties. Some 20,000 Japanese civilians perished during the battle, including over 1,000 who jumped from "
Suicide Cliff" and "
Banzai Cliff" rather than be caught and taken prisoner.
Seabees of the U.S. Navy also landed, to initiate construction projects. With the capture of Saipan, the American military was only from the
Japanese home islands, which placed most Japanese cities within striking distance of United States'
B-29 Superfortress bombers. The loss of Saipan was a heavy blow to both the military and civilian administration of Japanese Prime Minister
Hideki Tōjō, who was forced to resign. The wartime history is interpreted on Saipan at
American Memorial Park and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Museum of History and Culture. After the war, nearly all of the surviving Japanese settlers were repatriated to Japan.
U.N. trust territory After World War II, Saipan became part of the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, administered by the United States. The U.S. bases on Saipan closed or were converted to other purposes, for example the
Naval Advance Base Saipan from 1962–1986 was the headquarters for the U.N. Trusteeship.
East Field airbase was used as an airport until the 1960s, after its military use ended in 1946. Later on the area was made into a golf course.
United States commonwealth The Northern Mariana islanders voted to join the United States in 1975, and the island became a municipality of the newly-formed
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1978. On November 4, 1986, the islanders of the Northern Marianas including Saipan became United States citizens and the Northern Marianas formally became a part of the United States of America. This meant that U.S. citizens could visit or live in Saipan and the rest of the CNMI without a passport and vice versa. == Geography ==