Insular area is the current generic term used by the U.S. State Department to refer to any commonwealth, freely associated state, possession or territory. In other contexts, U.S. insular areas may be described as dependencies, protectorates or dependent areas. (Dependent areas need not be under the formal jurisdiction of the United States.)
An insulararea is United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nation's federal district.
Insulararea is the current generic term used by the U.S. State Department to refer to any commonwealth, freely associated state, possession or territory controlled by the US government.
Residents of insularareas are often U.S. citizens, although they do not pay American federal taxes and cannot participate in U.S. presidential elections nor elect voting members of the U.S. Congress.
In the terminology of the United Statesinsularareas, a commonwealth is an organized territory that has established with the Federal Government a more highly developed relationship, usually embodied in a written mutual agreement.
The Philippine Islands was an insulararea that held commonwealth status from March 24, 1934 until July 4, 1946, when the United States recognized the independence and sovereignty of the Philippines (see: Commonwealth of the Philippines).
Of the U.S. insularareas, the term was first used by Puerto Rico in 1952 as its formal name in English ("Commonwealth of Puerto Rico") since a strict translation of its name in Spanish would have been unacceptable to the U.S. Congress.
Feeds |
Contact