Talk:Insular area

Merger proposal
I propose merging Territories of the United States into Insular area given the overlap in content. Insular area includes fourteen territories of the United States, as well as three sovereign states each with a Compact of Free Association with the United States. --BlackBony (talk) 14:47, 5 June 2022 (UTC)


 * Oppose. While there is some overlap and room to clean up both articles, I don't think a merge is in the best interest of readers or the encyclopedia. Carter (Tcr25) (talk) 16:48, 5 June 2022 (UTC)
 * @Tcr25 why do you think so? Whether sources exist that treat territories of the United States and insular areas as separate topics? BlackBony (talk) 16:55, 6 June 2022 (UTC)
 * , not all insular areas are territories and the territories article covers territories that predate the establishment of the insular areas concept in the early 1900s. In addition, if everything in the territories article were included here (even with some cleanup) it would likely approach a size where WP:SPLIT should come into play. Outside of the lede and the lists, this article is currently focused more on the concept of insular areas and their position within the U.S. as a political entity; the territories article is more broadly descriptive of the current territories (while still including information about historic territories). I think there'd be more value in editing the two to ensure greater differentiation than merging them. Beyond all that, "Insular areas," while the legal classification of the territories and states in free association, isn't as obvious or common name as "Territories of the United States". —Carter (Tcr25) (talk) 17:49, 6 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Oppose. It seems reasonable to me that WP have a WP:SS summary article with the former name, one of a number of similarly-named Territory of X articles, where X is the name of a sovereign polity with territories. Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill)

Hawaii
I have reverted this edit, which would have removed Hawaii from mention here. See Newlands Resolution, [] saying "House Joint Resolution 259, 55th Congress, 2nd session, known as the "Newlands Resolution," passed Congress and was signed into law by President McKinley on July 7, 1898 — the Hawaiian islands were officially annexed by the United States. Sanford Dole became the first Governor of the Territory of Hawaii.", and Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 08:04, 29 May 2023 (UTC)