Spanish: 1684 - 1899

In 1521 Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to find the Marianas and claimed the islands for Spain. The Marianas were important to Spain as this was the only place between Mexico and the Philippines where the Spanish galleons could replenish their food and water supply. Actually Hawaii would have been the ideal location but the Europeans hadn't discovered Hawaii until much later. In 1638 the Spanish galleon Concepcion sank at the point on the right side of the Agingan bay in Saipan spewing its priceless treasure into the ocean. Some washed up on shore and pieces of its pottery can still be found today on Agingan Beach as well as Southern Invasion Beach. The Spanish military landed on this same beach in 1684 and changed the local culture forever. Because the Spanish ruled Saipan for 300 years, Saipan was more modernized than other islands in the Pacific. In 1899 Spain sold Saipan and the other Northern Mariana Islands to Germany.

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