COVER N. 363 - USA - Territories - Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Postmark: Rota MP 96951-9998 USPS 09.11.2023

Posted on the 9th November; received on the 22nd November 2023

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A cover travelling from quite a remote location landed on my letterbox, again courtesy of the Phantom. Thanks a lot Alex, I did not even knew where Rota was!

And so I went and did some investigation, for there's nothing worse than ignorance 😀.

Rota, a small piece of land  with a total area of 85.13 square kilometres, is the southernmost island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, located in the Pacific, midway between Papua New Guinea and Japan.

It seems that the first westerners to land their sights on the  islands were the sailors aboard the Magalhães/Elcano circumnavigation fleet in the 16th century, and Elcano claimed them for his motherland, a state of affairs that would endure until 1899, when Spain, in the wake of its defeat in the Spanish-American war, lost Guam to the Unites States and  sold the Northern Marianas to Germany.... Those were the days..., who cared for those that were born there and had been there since immemorial times?

Come WW1 and the Marianas were invaded by the Japanese, who would  rule them under the umbrella of the League of Nations until themselves being defeated in the second great disaster of 39-45, when the archipelago became a Trust Territory of the United Nations under USA Adminstration. In 1975, following a referendum,  the territory became a  United States  Commonwealth, and  full American citizenship at birth was granted to the Chamorros (as I understand people born locally are called) in 1986 .

 "The longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, the Mackinac extends from Mackinaw City at the south end to St. Ignace on the north side. Opened in 1957, the Mackinac Bridge cost nearly 100 million dollars and took over three years to complete. The sturdy five-mile bridge is designed to support 38,486 tons and can move up to 35 feet in high winds.

Thus read the official issue notes for the 4.9 USD stamp celebrating Mackinack bridge, issued on 03FEB2010, which can be seen gracing the cover, obliterated by a very clear red postmark from the island of Rota, in the Northern Marianas.