The outlying territories and areas of the United States include: in the Caribbean Basin, Puerto Rico (a commonwealth associated with the United States) and the Virgin Islands of the United States (purchased from Denmark in 1917); in the Pacific Ocean, Guam (ceded by Spain after the Spanish-American War), the Northern Mariana Islands (a commonwealth associated with the United States), American Samoa , Wake Island , and several other islands. The United States also has compacts of free association with the Republic of the Marshall Islands , the Republic of Palau , and the Federated States of Micronesia .
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