1892?1976 British colony in the Pacific
The
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
(
GEIC
as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the
British Empire
from 1892 to 1976. They were a
protectorate
from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a
colony
until 1 January 1976, and were administered as part of the
British Western Pacific Territories
(BWPT) until they became independent. The history of GEIC was mainly characterized by
phosphate mining on Ocean Island
. In October 1975, these islands were divided by force of law into two separate colonies, and they became independent nations shortly thereafter: the Ellice Islands became
Tuvalu
in 1978, and the
Gilbert Islands
became part of
Kiribati
in 1979.
Location
[
edit
]
The
Gilbert Islands
[1]
sometimes also known as
Kingsmill Islands
or
King's-Mill Islands
[Note 1]
are a chain of sixteen
atolls
and coral islands in the western Pacific Ocean. They are part of
Remote Oceania
, and traditionally part of the
Micronesia
subregion
of
Oceania
. The Gilbert Islands are the main part of what is now the
Republic of Kiribati
("Kiribati" is the
Gilbertese
rendition of "Gilberts"
[1]
) The atolls of the Gilbert Islands are arranged in an approximate north-to-south line.
Geographically, the
Equator
is the dividing line between the northern Gilbert Islands and the southern Gilbert Islands. South of the Gilbert Islands lie the Ellice Islands (now called
Tuvalu
), which were previously politically connected as part of the GEIC.
[3]
The
Ellice Islands
comprise three
reef
islands and six true
atolls
, spread out between the
latitude
of
5°
to
10° south
and
longitude
of
176°
to
180°
, west of the
International Date Line
.
[4]
The Ellice Islands are midway between
Hawaii
and
Australia
, and they, too, lie in the
Polynesia
subregion
of Oceania.
European discovery and naming
[
edit
]
In 1568, when Spanish navigator
Alvaro de Mendana de Neira
was commissioned to explore the South Pacific, he sailed relatively close to the Gilbert Islands. He sailed between the
Line Islands
and the
Phoenix Islands
, but without sighting land. He ultimately sailed past what he called "Isla de Jesus", (probably
Nui
, amongst the
Ellice island group
).
[5]
In 1606,
Pedro Fernandes de Queiros
sighted two of the islands in the Gilbert island group:
Butaritari
and
Makin
, which he named the Buen Viaje Islands (‘good trip’ islands in Spanish).
[6]
[7]
In 1788,
Thomas Gilbert
, a British captain, encountered the archipelago while commanding one of two ships of the
First Fleet
that were looking for an outer passage route from
Port Jackson
to
Canton
. In 1820, a Russian admiral,
Johann von Krusenstern
, named the group “iles Gilbert” (French for Gilbert Islands) in honor of Captain Gilbert’s earlier voyage. Around that time, the French captain
Louis Duperrey
became the first to map the whole Gilbert Islands archipelago. He commanded
La Coquille
, circumnavigating the globe between 1822 and 1825.
[8]
The first recorded sighting by Europeans of an Ellice Island was on 16 January 1568, during the voyage of
Alvaro de Mendana
from Spain, who sailed past
Nui
and charted it as
Isla de Jesus
(Spanish for "Island of Jesus") because the previous day was the feast of the
Holy Name
. Mendana made contact with the islanders but was unable to land.
[9]
[10]
During Mendana's second voyage across the Pacific, he passed
Niulakita
on 29 August 1595, which he named
La Solitaria
.
[6]
[11]
Captain
John Byron
passed through the Ellice islands in 1764, during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of the
Dolphin
(1751)
.
[12]
He charted the atolls as
Lagoon Islands
.
Nanumea
was sighted by Spanish naval officer
Francisco Mourelle de la Rua
who sailed past it on 5 May 1781 with frigate
La Princesa
, when attempting a southern crossing of the Pacific from the Philippines to
New Spain
. He charted Nanumea as
San Augustin
.
[13]
[14]
In 1809, Captain Patterson in the brig
Elizabeth
sighted Nanumea while passing through the northern Tuvalu waters on a trading voyage from Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia to China.
[13]
Captain Arent de Peyster sighted the rest of the Ellice island group in 1819, while sailing the ship
Rebecca
. He named
Funafuti
atoll “Ellice's Island,” after
Edward Ellice
, a British politician and merchant who owned the ship’s cargo.
[15]
[16]
After the work of English hydrographer
Alexander George Findlay
was published, the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands in the Ellice Island group, which is now called
Tuvalu
.
[17]
Two ships of the
United States Exploring Expedition
,
USS
Peacock
(1828)
and
USS
Flying Fish
(1838)
, under the command of Captain Hudson, surveyed the
Gilbert Islands
of
Tabiteuea
,
Nonouti
,
Aranuka
,
Maiana
,
Abemama
,
Kuria
,
Tarawa
,
Marakei
,
Butaritari
, and
Makin
[Note 2]
(then called the Kingsmill Islands or Kingsmill Group in English). While in the Gilberts, they devoted considerable time to mapping and charting
reefs
and anchorages.
[20]
Alfred Thomas Agate
made drawings of men of
Butaritari
and
Makin
.
'Spheres of influence' in the western and central Pacific
[
edit
]
In 1876 Britain and Germany
agreed to divide up
the western and central Pacific, with each claiming a 'sphere of influence'.
[21]
[22]
In the previous decade German traders had become active in the
Solomon Islands
,
New Guinea
,
Marshall Islands
and the
Caroline Islands
. In 1877 the Governor of Fiji was given the additional title of High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. However, the claim of a 'sphere of influence' that included the Ellice Islands and the Gilbert Islands did not result in the immediate move to govern those islands.
[22]
Ships from the navies of the United States of American and European powers that visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands included:
United Kingdom
[
edit
]
Ships of the
Royal Navy
, on the
Australian Station
, were involved in suppressing the coercive labour recruitment practices, known as
blackbirding
in the South Pacific Ocean.
1872, from 10 to 14 October, the
sloop
HMS
Blanche
(1867)
, under Captain Cortland Herbert Simpson, visited Tawara, Abaiang and Butaritari. Also in 1872, the sloop
Basilisk
(1848)
, under Captain
John Moresby
,
[23]
visited the Gilberts, and the
corvette
HMS
Barossa
(1860)
, under Captain Lewis James Moore, visited Tabiteuea.
1873, from 28 to 30 June, the
schooner
HMS
Alacrity
(1872)
, under Captain Francis W. Sanders, lands islanders on Tabiteuea and Maiana who had been kidnapped in 1871 by the brig
Carl
.
[24]
The
screw sloop
HMS
Dido
(1869)
also visited the Gilberts in 1873.
1874, in August, the screw sloop
HMS
Rosario
(1860)
, under Commander Arthur Edward Dupuis, visited Tawara and Abaiang searching for
William "Bully" Hayes
, who was notorious for his
blackbirding
activities.
[25]
[26]
1875, the survey ship
HMS
Myrmidon
(1867)
, under Commander Richard Hare, visited the Gilberts.
1876, from April to June, the schooner
HMS
Renard
(1873)
, under Lieutenant Horace J. M. Pugh, visited Abaiang and Tawara, regarding the murders in 1874, of Cornelius Sullivan on Tarawa, and St. John C. Keyes on Abaiang. The screw sloop
HMS
Sappho
(1873)
, under Commander Noel Stephen Fox Digby, was also sent to the Gilberts in support of HMS
Renard
.
1881, from 13 May to 6 June, the corvette HMS
Emerald
(1876)
, under Captain
William Maxwell
, visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.
1883, from 26 May to 10 June, the sloop
HMS
Espiegle
(1880)
, under Captain
Cyprian Bridge
, visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.
1884, from 13 June to 26 July, the survey ship
HMS
Dart
(1882)
, under Lieutenant-Commander W. W. Moore, visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.
[27]
1886, from 10 May to 26 June, the sloop
HMS
Miranda
, under Commander Eustace Rooke, visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.
[28]
[29]
1892, from 14 April to 30 August, the screw sloop
HMS
Royalist
, under Captain
Edward Davis
, visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.
[28]
[30]
United States
[
edit
]
1825, the schooner
USS
Dolphin
(1821)
, under Lieutenant
Hiram Paulding
, visited Nikunau and Tabiteuea.
[31]
1870, from 15 to 26 May, the sloop
USS
Jamestown
(1844)
, under Captain William Truxtun, visited Tawara, Abaiang and Butaritari.
1872, in August, the sloop
USS
Narragansett
(1859)
visited Nikunau, Beru, Tabiteuea, Abaiang and Tawara.
1889, the steam powered sloop
USS
Iroquois
(1859)
visited Butaritari.
France
[
edit
]
1874, the corvette
L'Ariane
visited Arorae and
Ocean Island
.
1888, the cruiser
Le Fabert
, under Commander Benoit, visited Nikunau, Nonouti and Butaritari to deliver Father Joseph Leray, Father Edward Bontemps and Brother Conrad Weber, Roman Catholic
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
,
[32]
who were the first
Roman Catholic
missionaries to arrive in the Gilberts.
Germany
[
edit
]
SMS
Eber
of the German
Kaiserliche Marine
(Imperial Navy), was sent to the Pacific to serve in the
German colonial empire
. In 1888 she visited the Gilberts, and also disarmed the inhabitants of
Nauru
,
[33]
ending their
civil war
and annexing the island to the German Empire.
1891, the
steam corvette
SMS
Alexandrine
visited the Gilberts (Marakei, Tawara, Abaiang, Abemama and Tabiteuea). Also in 1891, the gunboat
SMS
Wolf
(1878)
visited Tawara, Abaiang and Maiana, and the cruiser SMS
Sperber
visited Butaritari, Maiana and Tabiteuea.
[28]
Administration of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands
[
edit
]
The
Pacific Islanders Protection Act
1872 & 1875
[
edit
]
In 1872, the United Kingdom passed legislation in an attempt to control the coercive labour recruitment practices know as
blackbirding
: the
Pacific Islanders Protection Act
1872 (the principal Act), which was amended by the
Pacific Islanders Protection Act
1875. The principal Act provided for the Governor of one of the Australian colonies to have the authority to licence British vessels in the South Pacific Ocean to carry "native labourers". The 1875 Act amended that licensing system and stated that any "British vessel may, under the principal Act, be detained, seized, and brought in for adjudication by any officer, all goods and effects found on board such vessel may also be detained, seized, and brought in for adjudication by such officer, either with or without such vessel" with the "High Court of Admiralty of England and every Vice-Admiralty Court in Her Majesty's dominions out of the United Kingdom shall have jurisdiction to try and condemn as forfeited to Her Majesty or restore any vessel, goods, and effects alleged to be detained or seized in pursuance of the principal Act or of this Act".
[34]
[Note 3]
The 1875 Act also provided authority for "Her Majesty to exercise power and jurisdiction over Her subjects within any islands and places in the Pacific Ocean not being within Her Majesty's dominions, nor within the jurisdiction of any civilized power, in the same and as ample a manner as if such power or jurisdiction had been acquired by the cession or conquest of territory",
[34]
although the 1875 Act did not specify any Pacific islands to which this authority was to be applied.
The 1872 & 1875 Acts were intended to work in conjunction with the
British Slave Trade Act
1839 to provide the authority to arrest blackbirding ships, and charge their captains and owners with slavery charges. However, this approach to suppressing blackbirding was not successful. In 1869, HMS Commander George Palmer of
HMS Rosario (1860)
, commenced a prosecution in the New South Wales courts of Thomas Pritchard and Captain Dagget of the
Daphne
. Commander Palmer had found the
Daphne
in harbour at
Levuka
in Fiji fitted out like an "African slaver", and filled with Islanders on board looking emaciated and having little knowledge of why they were on the ship.
[35]
[36]
The
Daphne
was owned by
Henry Ross Lewin
, a long time blackbirder who had been commissioned to import south sea islanders for
Robert Towns
' sugar plantations (the entrepreneur after whom
Townsville
is named). Despite this, Sir
Alfred Stephen
, the Chief Justice of New South Wales, found Pritchard and Dagget innocent on the grounds that the British Slave Trade Act 1839 did not apply to the South Pacific Ocean.
[37]
Protectorate administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories
[
edit
]
In 1877, the United Kingdom established a protectorate over the islands designated as being
British Western Pacific Territories
.
In 1886, an
Anglo-German agreement
partitioned the “unclaimed” central Pacific, leaving
Nauru
in the
German sphere of influence
, while placing
Ocean Island
and the future GEIC in the British sphere of influence.
German New Guinea
was established in 1884, and German protectorates were established on the
Marshall Islands
and
Nauru
, in 1885 and 1888, respectively. Then, between 27 May and 17 June 1892, partly in response to the presence of the United States in
Butaritari
,
[38]
Captain
Edward Davis
of
HMS
Royalist
made the sixteen islands of the Gilbert Islands a
British protectorate
.
[39]
Between 9 and 16 October of the same year, Captain
Herbert Gibson
of
HMS
Curacoa
declared the Ellice Islands to be a British protectorate.
[22]
The British government found it administratively convenient to govern the Ellice and Gilberts islands together.
[40]
At first, the
British Western Pacific Territories
(BWPT) were administered by a
high commissioner
who resided in Fiji (and later in the
British Solomon Islands
). Then, Sir
John Bates Thurston
appointed
Charles Richard Swayne
as the first
resident commissioner
of the Ellice Islands in 1892 and as the first resident commissioner of the Gilbert Islands in 1893. He was succeeded in 1895 by
William Telfer Campbell
, who established himself on
Tarawa
,
[Note 4]
and remained in office until 1908. Campbell was criticised for his legislative, judicial and administrative management. It was alleged that he extracted forced labour from the islanders. An inquiry into this allegation was held by
Arthur Mahaffy
, a former district officer in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (1896?1898) and
Solomon Islands
(1898-1904),
[42]
and he issued his findings, which were published in 1910.
[43]
In 1913, an anonymous correspondent to
The New Age
journal described the maladministration of Telfer Campbell, linked it to criticisms of the
Pacific Phosphate Company
, which was operating on
Ocean Island
, and challenged Mahaffy’s impartiality, because he was a former colonial official in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Protectorate.
[44]
In 1908, the government’s headquarters was moved to Ocean Island (today known as
Banaba
). Ocean Island had been hastily added to the protectorate in 1900 to take advantage of the improved shipping connections resulting from the
Pacific Phosphate Company
's increased activities. On 12 January 1916, the islands’ status was changed to that of a Crown Colony.
[45]
The British colonial authorities emphasised that their role was to procure labour for phosphate mining on Ocean Island, and to maintain law and order among the workers.
[22]
Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (GEIC)
[
edit
]
The islands became a
Crown colony
on 12 January 1916 by the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Order in Council, 1915.
[Note 5]
During the year 1916, the Union Islands (
Tokelau
) were also annexed to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony. On 28 November 1919, Great Britain reasserted its claim to
Christmas Island
and annexed it to the colony.
In July 1920, the
Pacific Phosphate Company
was liquidated and its assets sold to the
British Phosphate Commission
(BPC), a consortium established by the governments of Great Britain, Australia and
New Zealand
. The
mining of the phosphate on Ocean Island
represented the main revenue of the colony until it ended in 1979.
In 1925, Great Britain asked New Zealand to accept responsibility for the administration of the Union Islands (Tokelau) and invited the United States to annex
Swains Island
. On 4 March 1925, the United States officially annexed Swains Island as part of the territory of
American Samoa
. On 11 February 1926, an Order in Council transferred responsibility for administration of the Union Islands (Tokelau) to New Zealand which in turn placed administration of the islands under its
Western Samoan
mandate.
Fanning Island
and
Washington Island
also became included in the colony together with the Union Islands (now known as
Tokelau
);
Christmas Island
was included in 1919 but was unofficially contested by the USA under its
Guano Islands Act
of 1856.
[47]
The
Union Islands
were transferred to
New Zealand
in 1926, but formally only in 1948.
[Note 6]
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony continued to be administered by a Resident Commissioner. In 1930 the Resident Commissioner,
Arthur Grimble
, issued revised laws,
Regulations for the good Order and Cleanliness of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands
, which replaced laws created during the BWTP.
[22]
In the 1930s, British officials tried to choose a less cumbersome name for the GEIC. Critics jocularly called the arbitrary collection of atolls scattered across the central Pacific the “
Gilbert and Sullivans
” (a reference to the famous light opera composers). One official suggested renaming the islands “Quateria” (after the word “quarters”), because the main inhabited archipelago extends over four notable quarters of the globe: It lies partly north and partly south of the equator, and also partly east and partly west of the international dateline. There were indigenous names, such as
Tungaru
and
Tuvalu
, but they were used to refer to only some of the islands in the group; they did not include the mostly uninhabited
Phoenix
and
Line
island groups, or
Banaba
(also called Ocean Island), whose
phosphate rocks
provided half of the GEIC’s tax revenue. Further complicating the naming problem, the
Tokelau
atolls were made part of the colony for a decade (1916?1926), and at one point a governor of Fiji, Sir
J.B. Thurston
, suggested adding
Rotuma
to the colony to enable a more organized administration of islands that were scattered over such a vast expanse of water. In 1969, after political issues arose that had led to the creation, four years earlier, of the
Gilbertese National Party
, the hybrid term “Tungavalu” was suggested (combining the indigenous names for the islands of Tungaru and Tuvalu); the idea was rejected because of political tensions between those islands.
[48]
On 31 December 1936, the population of the Crown Colony totalled 34,443 inhabitants, including 32,390 Gilbert and Ellice Islanders, 262 Europeans and 923 Chinese ("Mongoloids").
Henry Evans Maude
, the land commissioner of the colony, considered the then colony overcrowded. The
Phoenix Islands
were added to the colony in 1937 with the view of a
Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme
.
[49]
On 6 August 1936, a party from
HMS
Leith
landed on
Canton Island
in the Phoenix Group and planted a sign asserting British sovereignty in the name of King
Edward VIII
. On 18 March 1937, Great Britain annexed the uninhabited
Phoenix Islands
(except
Howland and Baker Islands
) to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony.
Banaba
(Ocean Island) remained the headquarters of the colony until the British evacuation in 1942 during the
Pacific War
when Ocean Island and the Gilbert Islands were
occupied by the Japanese
. The United States forces landed in
Funafuti
on 2 October 1942 and on
Nanumea
and
Nukufetau
in August 1943 and constructed an airfield on each island and other bases. The atolls of Tuvalu acted as a staging post during the preparation for the
Battle of Tarawa
and the
Battle of Makin
that commenced on 20 November 1943. Colonel
Vivian Fox-Strangways
, was the Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony in 1941, who was located on Funafuti.
[50]
After World War II, the colony headquarters was re-established on
Tarawa
, first on
Betio
islet and subsequently on
Bairiki islet
.
[49]
[51]
[52]
[53]
In November 1945, Fox-Strangways was replaced as Resident Commissioner by
Henry Evans Maude
(1946 to 1949). He was succeeded by
John Peel
, who retired in 1951.
By the
Tokelau Act of 1948
,
sovereignty
over
Tokelau
was transferred to New Zealand. The five islands of the Central and Southern
Line Islands
were added to the colony in 1972.
[49]
Transition to self-determination
[
edit
]
In 1946,
Tarawa
, in the Gilbert Islands, was made the administrative capital, replacing Ocean Island. The headquarters of the Colony were transferred from
Betio
to
Bairiki
. This development included establishing the
King George V Secondary School for boys
and the Elaine Bernacchi Secondary School for girls.
[54]
A Colony Conference was organised at
Marakei
in 1956, which was attended by officials and representatives (magistrates) from each island in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, conferences were held every two years until 1962. The development of administration continued with the creation in 1963 of an Advisory Council of five officials and 12 representatives who were appointed by the Resident Commissioner.
[55]
[54]
In 1964 an Executive Council was established with eight officials and eight representatives. The representative members were elected in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Advisory Council election held in 1964. The Resident Commissioner was now required to consult the Executive Council regarding the creation of laws to make decisions that affected the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.
[55]
The Tungaru Association was created by
Reuben Uatioa
to “promote Gilbertese culture and interests,” and in 1965, the
Gilbertese National Party
, first political party of the colony, was established with the same leader, protesting about the lack of consideration that British rulers have towards Gilbertese, preferring somehow the Ellicean civil servants. The Elliceans (further Tuvaluans) were concerned about their minority status in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. In 1974, ethnic differences within the colony caused the
Polynesians
of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the
Gilbert Islands
(later Kiribati). On 1 October 1975, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of
Tuvalu
, but the separation was completed on 1 January 1976.
A Constitution was introduced in 1967, which created a House of Representatives for the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony that comprised seven appointed officials and 23 members elected by the islanders. Tuvalu elected four members of the House of Representatives. The 1967 Constitution also established the Governing Council. The House of Representatives only had the authority to recommend laws; the Governing Council had the authority to enact laws following a recommendation from the House of Representatives.
[55]
A select committee of the House of Representatives was established to consider whether the constitution should be changed to give legislative power to the House of Representatives. The proposal was that Ellice Islanders woulda be allocated 4 seats out of 24 member parliament, which reflected the differences in populations between Ellice Islanders and Gilbertese.
[56]
It became apparent that the Elliceans were concerned about their minority status on the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, and the Elliceans wanted equal representation to that of the Gilbertese. A new constitution was introduced in 1971, which provided that each of the Ellice Islands (except
Niulakita
) elected one representative. However, that did not end the Tuvaluan movement for separation.
[57]
In 1974
Ministerial government
was introduced in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony through a change to the Constitution.
[55]
Until 1977, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (GEIC) was designated
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
(country code "GE").
Elections and the transition to parliamentary government
[
edit
]
The 1967 constitution created a House of Representatives (parliament), whose members were elected in the following elections:
Dissolution of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony
[
edit
]
A referendum was held in
Ellice Islands
, including Elliceans living in
Ocean Island
and
Tarawa
, from July to September 1974, using a rolling ballot, to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration.
[60]
[61]
The result of the referendum, was that 3,799 Elliceans voted for separation from the Gilbert Islands and continuance of British rule as a separate colony, and 293 Elliceans voted to remain as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony. There were 40 spoilt papers.
[62]
As a consequence of the
1974 Ellice Islands self-determination referendum
, separation occurred in two stages. The Tuvaluan Order 1975 made by the
Privy Council
, which took effect on 1 October 1975, recognised
Tuvalu
as a separate British dependency with its own government. The second stage occurred on 1 January 1976 when two separate administrations were created out of the civil service of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.
[55]
The British conducted a formal inquiry into Tuvaluan attitudes towards secession, and announced that a referendum was to be held, in which Tuvaluans could choose to remain with the Gilberts or secede. They were told that if they separated they would not receive royalties from the
Ocean Island phosphate
or other assets of the colony. Despite this, 3,799 Tuvaluans (92%) voted to secede, while 293 voted against separation. On 1 October 1975, legal separation from the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati), took place. On 1 January 1976, full administration of the new colony was transferred from
South Tarawa
to Funafuti. Tuvalu became an independent constitutional monarchy and the 38th member of the
Commonwealth of Nations
on 1 October 1978.
[63]
[55]
[64]
The Gilbert Islands attained independence on 12 July 1979 under the name
Kiribati
by the Kiribati Independence Order 1979, as a republic with Commonwealth membership. That day the colonial flag was lowered for the last time with a parade commemorating both the newly independent state and in memorial of the intense battles fought on
Tarawa in World War II
. The parade included many dignitaries from home and abroad. The name Kiribati (pronounced k?iri?bas) is the local writing rendition of "Gilberts" in the
Gilbertese language
.
Banaba
, formerly rich in phosphates before
becoming fully depleted in the latter colonial years
, also sued for independence in 1979 and boycotted the Kiribati ceremonies. The
Banabans
wanted greater autonomy and reparations of around $250 million for revenue they had not received and for environmental destruction caused by phosphate mining practices similar to those on
Nauru
. The British authorities had relocated most of the population to
Rabi Island
,
Fiji
, after 1945, but by the 1970s some were returning to Banaba. The British rejected the Banaban independence proposal, and the island remained under the jurisdiction of Kiribati.
Social history
[
edit
]
In 1926,
Donald Gilbert Kennedy
was the headmaster of Elisefou (New Ellice) on
Vaitupu
. He was instrumental in establishing the first co-operative store (
fusi
) on Vaitupu, which became a model for the bulk purchasing and selling cooperative stores established in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony to replace the stores operated by
Palangi
traders.
[65]
In 1935, there were 33,713 people in the Colony. (Compared to 1934 when the figures were): Gilbertese, 29,291 (28,654); Ellice Islanders, 4,154 (4,042); Europeans, 244 (254); Chinese (exclusive of indentured labourers), 24 (41).
[66]
In 1935, there were 6,924 children receiving primary standard education through 4 government schools and 79 mission schools operated by the
London Missionary Society
(LMS) and the Roman Catholic
Sacred Heart Order
.
[67]
Throughout the Gilbert Islands, instruction was given in the Gilbertese language, except at the
King George V. School
(
Tarawa
) and the Sacred Heart Boys’ School (
Butaritari
), where instruction was delivered in English. In the Ellice Islands, instruction was delivered in the
Samoan language
, due to the influence of the early LMS Samoan missionaries and the affinity of the Ellice language with Samoan.
[67]
During 1935 two students of the King George V. School were sent to the Central Medical School at Suva, Fiji. This made 4 students, 2 Gilbertese and 2 Ellice Islanders being trained as Native Medical Practitioners (as medical practitioners from the islands were described).
[67]
Eight former students of King George V. School were employed as Native Medical Practitioners in the Colony.
[67]
In 1953, the enrolments were: in 12 government schools (722 pupils); the London Missionary Society (4,392); the Roman Catholic Sacred Heart Mission (3,088); and the Seventh Day Adventist Mission, which established schools in the Gilberts in 1950 (165).
[68]
New premises for the King George V. School were opened on Bikenibeu, Tarawa, with 109 students, some of whom came from the Government Temporary School at Abemama and other boys came from Elisefou school on
Vaitupu
, which was also closed.
[68]
A new curriculum was introduced for primary schools which included instruction in English to the older aged students.
[68]
The lack of proficiency in the English language was limiting the performance of students at the secondary school level and those seeking to attend universities in other countries.
[68]
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were represented at the 1963
Pacific Games
at
Suva
,
Fiji
, by tennis players, and also table tennis players who won a bronze medal.
[69]
A larger team was sent to the 1966 Pacific Games at
Noumea
,
New Caledonia
, including athletes to compete in the half-mile, mile and the high jump event.
[69]
In 1965
King George V and Elaine Bernacchi School
were merged.
[70]
A census in 1968 counted the population of the colony at 53,517 residents. 44,206 were in the
Gilbert Islands
, 5,782 in the
Ellice Islands
, 2,192 in
Ocean Island
and 1,180 in the
Line Islands
. From this total 7,465 were "Polynesians" (mostly from the Ellice Islands) and 1,155 “Others” (Europeans and Mongoloids).
[Note 7]
[71]
Postal history
[
edit
]
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands used their own postage stamps from 1911.
References
[
edit
]
- Footnotes
- ^
In some 19th century texts,
Kingsmills
was applied to the entire Gilberts group. In other 19th century texts, a subset of the northern Gilbert islands was known as
Scarborough Islands
and a subset of the southern Gilberts as the
Kingsmill Group
.
[2]
- ^
The visit to the Gilbert Islands (then called the Kingsmill Islands) is described in
United States Exploring Expedition of 1838?1842
The extensive report of the expedition has been digitized by the
Smithsonian Institution
.
[19]
- ^
Other acts on the same subject:
Pacific Island Labourers Act
1880;
Pearl-Shell and Beche-de-mer Fishery Act
1881;
Native Labourers Protection Act
1884.
- ^
Tarawa was chosen as the capital of the protectorate mainly because its lagoon has an opening large enough for ships to comfortably pass through. (Tarawa means ≪the pass≫ in the
Gilbertese language
.
[41]
- ^
"This process started on 10 November 1915 when, by Order in Council, the protectorate became the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. To this was added
Ocean Island
on 27 January 1916, along with the northern Line Islands that had been annexed in 1888, which included Washington (Teraina) and Fanning (Tabuaeran), where a trans-Pacific cable station was to be built. Later in 1916, the Tokelau group was added; Christmas Island (Kiritimati) followed in 1919. The new Crown Colony, known in Whitehallspeak as GEIC, then sprawled over 5,000,000 km2 of ocean."
[46]
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Protectorate was annexed and made a colony by the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Order in Council, 1915 (S.R. & 0. 1915, TII, p. 315); see also Orders in Council, 27 January, 29 February 1916 (S.R. & 0. 1916, Nos. 99, 167); Order in Council, 1919 (S.R. 8; 0. 1919, No. 773)
- ^
The Union Islands (Revocation) Order in Council, 1948, after reciting the agreement by the governments of the United Kingdom and New Zealand that the islands should become part of New Zealand, revoked the Union Islands (No. 2) Order in Council, 1925, with effect from a date fixed by the Governor-General of New Zealand.
- ^
Mongoloid
is an
obsolete racial grouping
of various peoples indigenous to large parts of
Asia
and other places. In the context of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands census of 1968, ‘Mongoloid’ was used in the census results to identify residents of Chinese ancestory.
- Citations
- ^
a
b
Reilly Ridgell.
Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.
3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95.
- ^
Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary
. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam Webster, 1997. p. 594.
- ^
"Agreement between Tuvalu and Kiribati concerning their Maritime Boundary"
(PDF)
. 29 August 2012.
- ^
"Maps of Tuvalu"
. Retrieved
15 January
2021
.
- ^
Maude, pp. 53?56.
- ^
a
b
Maude, H.E. (1959).
"Spanish Discoveries in the Central Pacific: A Study in Identification"
.
The Journal of the Polynesian Society
.
68
(4): 284?326.
- ^
Kelly, Celsus, O.F.M.
La Austrialia del Espiritu Santo. The Journal of Fray Martin de Munilla O.F.M. and other documents relating to the Voyage of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros to the South Sea (1605-1606) and the Franciscan Missionary Plan (1617-1627)
Cambridge, 1966, pages 39, 62.
- ^
Chambers, Keith S.; Munro, Doug (1980).
"The Mystery of Gran Cocal: European Discovery and Mis-Discovery in Tuvalu"
.
The Journal of the Polynesian Society
.
89
(2): 167?198.
- ^
Maude, H.E. "Spanish discoveries in the Central Pacific. A study in identification", in
Journal of the Polynesian Society,
Wellington, LXVIII, (1959), pages 299,303.
- ^
Maude, H.E. (1959).
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.
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.
68
(4): 284?326.
- ^
Chambers, Keith S. & Munro, Doug (1980).
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.
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89
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. Solarnavigator.net
. Retrieved
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2009
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b
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, 89(2) (1980)
The Journal of the Polynesian Society
, pages 167-198
- ^
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Tuvalu: A History
, Chapter 15, (USP / Tuvalu government)
- ^
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Tuvalu: A History
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- ^
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A Directory for the Navigation of the Pacific Ocean: With Description of Its Coasts, Islands, Etc. from the Strait of Magalhaens to the Arctic Sea
.
- ^
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, volume 5, chapter 2, pp. 35?75, 'Ellice's and Kingsmill's Group',
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/usexex/
- ^
Tyler, David B. ? 1968
The Wilkes Expedition. The First United States Exploring Expedition
(1838?42). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society
- ^
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. 1886
. Retrieved
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2017
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Tuvalu: A History
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- ^
Beale, Howard (2006).
"John Moresby (1830?1922)"
. Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5
. Retrieved
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2024
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Special Correspondent (20 September 1873).
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.
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: 6.
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Restieaux, Alfred.
Recollections of a South Seas Trader ? Reminiscences of Alfred Restieaux
. National Library of New Zealand, MS 7022-2.
- ^
Restieaux, Alfred.
Reminiscences - Alfred Restieaux Part 2 (Pacific Islands)
. National Library of New Zealand, MS-Papers-0061-079A.
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Moore, W.U., Lt. Reports of Proceedings of H.M.S. 'Dart' in the Fiji, Ellice, Gilbert, Marshall, New Britain, &c., Gr oups, from May to September, 1884. in: RNAS XVI, 26. Government Printer, Sydney.
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The proceedings of H.M.S. "Royalist", Captain E.H.M. Davis, R.N., May-August, 1892, in the Gilbert, Ellice and Marshall Islands
.
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Rooke, Eustace. Reports of Commander Eustace Rooke, HMS Miranda, of Proceedings when visiting Islands of the Union Group, Sophia and Rotuman Islands, the Ellice Group and the Gilbert Group. April to July 1886. 29pp (NS National Archives). Royal Navy, Australian Station, Gov't Printer, Sydney.
- ^
"Admiral Edward H M Davis (Biographical details)"
. The British Museum. 2019.
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Paulding, Hiram.
Journal of a Cruise of the United States Schooner Dolphin, Among the Islands of the Pacific Ocean; and a Visit to the Mulgrave Islands, in Pursuit of the Mutineers of the Whale Ship Globe.
New York: G. & C. & H. Carvill, 1831.
- ^
"Tourism Authority of Kiribati"
(PDF)
.
Mauri ? Kiribati, Tawara and Gilberts
. 2019
. Retrieved
30 March
2024
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- ^
Stevenson, Robert Louis
(November 1888) [1892].
"VII_The Samoan Camps"
.
A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa
. Cassell. p. 49.
ISBN
978-0-8248-1857-9
.
OCLC
227258432
. Archived from
the original
on 30 July 2008
. Retrieved
4 October
2009
.
- ^
a
b
(Imperial). (1875).
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. Retrieved
20 January
2015
.
- ^
Hunt, Doug (June 2007).
"Hunting the Blackbirder: Ross Lewin and the Royal Navy"
.
The Journal of Pacific History
.
42
(1): 37?53.
- ^
Palmer, George (1871).
Kidnapping in the South Seas. Being a narrative of a three months' cruise of H.M. ship Rosario
. New York Public Library. Edinburgh, Edmonston and Douglas.
- ^
Mortensen, Reid (2000).
"Slaving in Australian Courts: Blackbirding cases, 1869-1871"
.
- ^
The Reluctant Empire Builders
.
- ^
The proceedings of H.M.S. "Royalist", Captain E.H.M. Davis, R.N., May-August, 1892, in the Gilbert, Ellice and Marshall Islands
.
- ^
A History of Kiribati
, Michael Ravell Walsh, 2020, pages 170-171.
- ^
The Precedence of Tarawa Atoll
by
H.E. Maude
and Edwin Jr. Doran, First published: June 1966.
- ^
Lawrence, David Russell (October 2014).
"Chapter 7 Expansion of the Protectorate 1898?1900"
(PDF)
.
The Naturalist and his "Beautiful Islands": Charles Morris Woodford in the Western Pacific
. ANU Press. p. 200.
ISBN
9781925022032
.
- ^
Mahaffy, Arthur (1910). "(CO 225/86/26804)".
Report by Mr. Arthur Mahaffy on a visit to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands
. Great Britain, Colonial Office, High Commission for Western Pacific Islands (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office).
- ^
Correspondent (5 June 1913).
"Modern buccaneers in the West Pacific"
(PDF)
.
New Age
: 136?140.
- ^
Annexation of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands to his Majesty's dominions: at the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 10th day of November, 1915
. Great Britain, Privy Council, Gilbert and Ellice Islands Order in Council, 1915 (Suva, Fiji: Government Printer). 1916.
- ^
W. David McIntyre: Winding up the British Empire in the Pacific Islands, Oxford History of the British Empire Companion Series (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014), page 15.
- ^
"FORMERLY DISPUTED ISLANDS"
. U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs. Archived from
the original
on 30 September 2007.
- ^
David Chappell, Water Nations: Colonial Bordering, Exploitation, and Indigenous Nation-Building in Kiribati and Tuvalu,
University of Hawai?i at M?noa
, 2016,
Pacific-Asia Inquiry
(U. Guam), Volume 7, Number 1 (Fall), pages 8-25.
- ^
a
b
c
Macdonald, Barrie Keith (2001).
Cinderellas of the Empire: Towards a History of Kiribati and Tuvalu
. Canberra: (
Australian National University
Press, (first published 1982).
ISBN
982-02-0335-X
.
- ^
Lifuka, Neli (1978).
"War Years In Funafuti"
(PDF)
. In Klaus-Friedrich Koch (ed.).
Logs in the current of the sea : Neli Lifuka's story of Kioa and the Vaitupu colonists
. Australian National University Press/Press of the Langdon Associates.
ISBN
0708103626
.
- ^
Maude, H. E., & Doran, E., Jr. (1966). The precedence of Tarawa Atoll. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 56, 269-289.
- ^
Macdonald, Barrie Keith (1985).
The Phosphateers: A history of the British Phosphate Commissioners and the Christmas Island Phosphate Commission
. Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press.
ISBN
9780522843026
.
- ^
"G. and E. Colony's Headquarters"
.
XX(8) Pacific Islands Monthly
. March 1950
. Retrieved
30 September
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Enele Sapoaga (1983). "Chapter 19, Post-War Development". In Laracy, Hugh (ed.).
Tuvalu: A History
. University of the South Pacific/Government of Tuvalu. pp. 146?152.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Tito Isala (1983). "Chapter 20, Secession and Independence". In Laracy, Hugh (ed.).
Tuvalu: A History
. University of the South Pacific/Government of Tuvalu. pp. 153?177.
- ^
"Gilbertese Unmoved By British Plan For "Ellice In Wonderland"
"
.
37(8) Pacific Islands Monthly
. 1 August 1966
. Retrieved
2 October
2021
.
- ^
"The Ellice Islanders Say They Want To Secede From GEIC"
.
43(11) Pacific Islands Monthly
. 1 November 1972
. Retrieved
2 October
2021
.
- ^
"New-look Gilbert and Ellice politics may spark ailing public interest"
.
42(5) Pacific Islands Monthly
. 1 May 1971
. Retrieved
2 October
2021
.
- ^
General election, 1974 : report / Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony
. Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. Tarawa: Central Government Office. 1974.
- ^
"Moment of Decision for Ellice"
.
45(8) Pacific Islands Monthly
. 1 August 1974
. Retrieved
2 October
2021
.
- ^
Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001)
Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II
, p. 831,
ISBN
0-19-924959-8
- ^
"Ellice votes the 'E' out of the GEIC"
.
45(11) Pacific Islands Monthly
. 1 November 1974
. Retrieved
2 October
2021
.
- ^
W. David McIntyre.
"The Partition of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands"
(PDF)
.
Island Studies Journal, Vol. 7, No.1, 2012
. pp. 135?146
. Retrieved
24 October
2020
.
- ^
McIntyre, W. David (2012).
"The Partition of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands"
(PDF)
.
Island Studies Journal
.
7
(1): 135?146.
doi
:
10.24043/isj.266
.
S2CID
130336446
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
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. Retrieved
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2013
.
- ^
Laracy, Hugh (2013).
"Chapter 11 - Donald Gilbert Kennedy (1897-1967) An outsider in the Colonial Service"
(PDF)
.
Watriama and Co: Further Pacific Islands Portraits
. Australian National University Press.
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.
- ^
"Better Standard of Living ? Advance of Gilbert and Ellice Natives"
.
VII(4) Pacific Islands Monthly
. 24 November 1936
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Education of Gilbert and Ellice Islanders"
.
VII(4) Pacific Islands Monthly
. 24 November 1936
. Retrieved
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2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"G. and E. Education ? Problems Arising From Lack of English"
.
XXV(8) Pacific Islands Monthly
. 1 March 1955
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2021
.
- ^
a
b
"Gilbertese, Ellice Athletes Shape Up For Noumea"
.
37(10) Pacific Islands Monthly
. 1 October 1966
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2021
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- ^
Talu, Alaima. "Towards Quality in Education" (Chapter 21, in Part IV: Social Issues). In: Van Trease, Howard (editor).
Atoll Politics: The Republic of Kiribati
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University of Canterbury
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095833000X
, 9780958330008. p.
242
- ^
Barrie Macdonald, Policy and Practice in an Atoll Territory: British Rule in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, 1882-1970. Canberra, May 1971.
Sources
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Barrie Macdonald,
Cinderellas of the Empire: towards a history of Kiribati and Tuvalu, Suva, Fiji
: Institute of Pacific Studies,
University of the South Pacific
, 2001.
ISBN
982-02-0335-X
(
Australian National University
Press, first published 1982).
- Kiribati. Aspects of History
, by Alaima Talu (ed.) and 24 others authors. Published jointly by: the Institute of Pacific Studies and Extension Services,
University of the South Pacific
and the
Ministry of Education, Training and Culture
,
Kiribati Government
, 1979
- Henry Evans Maude
:
The Gilbert Islands observed. A source book of European contacts with, and observations of, the Gilbert Islands and the Gilbertese, from 1537 to 1873.
Compiled by H. E. Maude. Homa Press, Adelaide 2006.
- A Pattern of Islands
(US title:
We Chose the Islands
) by Sir
Arthur Grimble
, John Murray & Co, London, 1952 (
A Pattern of Islands
republished 2011 by Eland, London,
ISBN
978-1-906011-45-1
)
- Return to the Islands
by Sir Arthur Grimble, John Murray & Co, London, 1957
ISBN
978-0719505706
- John Smith
,
An Island in the Autumn: How the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Gained Independence
, 2011,
ISBN
9781906775261
. Publisher: Librario Publishing.
- Ghost Stories and Other Island Tales
by I.E. Butler, published by Tom Butler, 2014,
ISBN
978-1500505929
An account of the life of a young colonial officer in the 1950s in the Gilbert Islands.
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- 23. Since 2009 part of
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
; Ascension Island (1922?) and Tristan da Cunha (1938?) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena.
- 24. Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under the
Antarctic Treaty
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1°16′N
173°01′E
/
1.26°N 173.02°E
/
1.26; 173.02