Unincorporated territory

Okay kiddo, imagine you have a toy that you really love but you don't want to give it away. Now, let's say that someone else wants to play with your toy but you don't want to share it with them. So you make a rule that the other person can only play with the toy if they are standing in a certain area of your room. That area is yours but it's not a part of your toy.

Now let's think about this in terms of countries. When one country takes control of another smaller area, but doesn't make it a part of its own country, it's called an unincorporated territory. Basically, it's an area of land that is controlled by one country but doesn't actually belong to that country.

The people who live in the unincorporated territory still follow the rules of the country that controls it, but they don't get to participate in important things like voting for that country's leaders. It's like if you have to follow your parents' rules but you don't get to choose what they make for dinner.

Does that make sense?