Kiribati

The Republic of Kiribati is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The country's 33 atolls are scattered over 3,500,000 km² near the equator. Its name is pronounced {{IPA|/kiribas/}} and is a Kiribati language rendering of "Gilberts", the English name for the main group of islands: the former Gilbert Islands.

History

Main article: History of Kiribati

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kiribati was inhabited by a single Micronesian ethnic group that spoke the same Oceanic language for 2,000 years before coming into contact with Europeans. The islands were named the Gilbert Islands in 1820 by a Russian admiral, Adam von Krusenstern, and French captain Louis Duperrey, after a British captain, Thomas Gilbert, who crossed the archipelago in 1788 ('Kiribati' is the islanders' pronunciation of plural 'Gilberts').

Related Topics:
Ethnic group - Oceanic language - Gilbert Islands - 1820 - Adam von Krusenstern - Louis Duperrey - 1788

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1892, the Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate together with the nearby Ellice Islands. They became a colony in 1916 and finally became autonomous in 1971. In 1943, the Battle of Tarawa was fought at Kiribati's capital Bairiki on Tarawa atoll.

Related Topics:
1892 - British - Ellice Islands - 1916 - 1971 - Battle of Tarawa - Tarawa

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1978, the Ellice Islands became the independent nation of Tuvalu, and Kiribati's independence followed on July 12, 1979. With independence, the United States relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix Islands and all but three of the Line Islands, which became part of Kiribati territory.

Related Topics:
1978 - Tuvalu - July 12 - 1979 - United States - Phoenix Islands - Line Islands

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~