The World Factbook: Background: :: Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975, and came into force on 24 March 1976. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. :: ...read more [Source: The World Factbook]Wikipedia: The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; Chamorro: Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas), is one of the five inhabited U.S. island territories (the other four being Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa). It is also one of two territories that have a "commonwealth" status (See Commonwealths; the other is Puerto Rico).[3] It consists of fifteen islands in the western Pacific Ocean located about three-quarte...read more [Source: Wikipedia]