The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied only to the southern islands of the archipelago, the northern half being designated as the Scarborough Islands. ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary''. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam Webster, 1997. p. 594) are a chain of sixteen

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

s and coral islands in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, about halfway between

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. They constitute the main part of the nation of

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

(the name of which is a rendering of “Gilberts” in the phonology of the indigenous

Gilbertese Gilbertese or taetae ni Kiribati, also Kiribati (sometimes ''Kiribatese''), is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Kiribati. It belongs to the Micronesian branch of the Oceanic languages. The word ''Kiribati'', the current name of the i ...

Geography

The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands are arranged in an approximate north-to-south line. The northernmost island in the group, Makin, it is approximately from southernmost,

Arorae Arorae (spelling variants: Arorai, Arurai; also known as Hope Island or Hurd Island“Captain Patterson, commanding the brig ''Elizabeth'', called it Hope Island: “Hope Island, in 2° 43′ S and 176° 56′ 25″ E, was the first discovery, t ...

, as the crow flies. Geographically, the equator is the dividing line between the northern and southern Gilbert Islands. However, the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...

(IHO) considers the entire Gilbert islands group to be in the

South Pacific Ocean South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. Another way to group the Gilbert Islands is according to their former

administrative districts Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

, which were known as the Northern, Central, and Southern Gilberts. (Tarawa was once a separate district as well). At one time, a subset of the northern Gilbert islands was known as Scarborough Islands and a subset of the southern Gilberts as the Kingsmill Group; in some 19th century texts, this last name of Kingsmills was applied to the entire Gilberts group. Geologically, the Gilberts and the

Ratak The Ratak Chain ( Marshallese: , ) is a chain of islands within the island nation of the Marshall Islands. Ratak means "sunrise". It lies to the east of the country's other island chain, the Ralik Chain. In 1999 the total population of the Rata ...

chain of the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

to their north together form a continuous chain of seamounts.

Islands of the Gilberts

In official north–south order (grouped by former administrative district), the islands and atolls are:

Northern Gilberts

The Northern Gilberts (''meang'' or ''mweang'') geographically and traditionally encompass

Butaritari Butaritari is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. The atoll is roughly four-sided. The south and southeast portion of the atoll comprises a nearly continuous islet. The atoll reef is continuous but almost without islets al ...

, Makin, Marakei,

Abaiang Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the G ...

(literally ''northland'') and

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

and Makin inhabitants. Traditionally, Butaritari and Makin were ruled by a chief who lived on Butaritari (called Makin or Great Makin). This chief had all the powers and authority to make and impose decisions on the Islanders, a system very different from the Southern Gilbert Islands where power was wielded collectively by the ''unimwane'' or old men of the island. The northern Gilberts have a greater mean rainfall in comparison to the southern and central Gilberts allowing cultivation of a wider crop range. Butaritari and Makin supply most of the bananas sold in Kiribati. The cultivation of taro or ''babai'' (''

Cyrtosperma merkusii ''Cyrtosperma merkusii'' or giant swamp taro, is a crop grown throughout Oceania and into South and Southeast Asia. It is a riverine and "swamp crop" similar to taro, but "with bigger leaves and larger, coarser roots." There are no demonstrably ...

'') has been historically easier in the northern Gilberts due to a higher water table and regular rainfall.

Central Gilberts

The Central Gilberts or ''nuka'' have traditionally included Maiana,

Abemama Abemama (Apamama) is an atoll, one of the Gilberts group in Kiribati, and is located southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. Abemama has an area of and a population of 3,299 . The islets surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part o ...

, Kuria and

Aranuka Aranuka is an atoll of Kiribati, located just north of the equator, in the Gilbert Islands. It has an area of and a population of 1,057 in 2010. By local tradition, Aranuka is the central island of the Gilbert group. Geography Aranuka is an ...

. However, the latter three are considered the main islands that have unique historical and cultural characteristics which distinguish the Central Gilberts from the north and south.

Tembinok' Tembinok', or Tem Binoka, (reigned 1878 – 10 November 1891) was the ''Uea'' (High Chief) of Abemama, Aranuka and Kuria, in the Gilbert Islands, during the late 19th century. Biography Tembinok'′s grandfather, Temkarotu (d. 1860), w ...

, the last king of

, Kuria and

died in the early part of the 20th century.

Southern Gilberts

The Southern Gilberts include the atolls of

Nonouti Nonouti is an atoll and district of Kiribati. The atoll is located in the Southern Gilbert Islands, 38 km north of Tabiteuea, and 250 km south of Tarawa. The atoll is the third largest in the Gilbert Islands and is the island where ...

, South and North Tabiteuea, Beru,

Nikunau Nikunau is a low coral atoll in the Gilbert Islands that forms a council district of the Republic of Kiribati. It consists of two parts, with the larger in the northwest, joined by an isthmus about wide. There are several landlocked hypersaline ...

Onotoa Onotoa is an atoll of Kiribati. It is situated in the Gilbert Islands in the Pacific Ocean, from Tamana, the smallest island in the Gilberts. The population of Onotoa in the 2015 census was 1,393. The atoll is similar to many other atolls in ...

, Tamana and the most southerly island of

History

Prehistory

The islands had been inhabited by Oceanians for several millennia (at least 2,000 years, probably 3,000).

Contact with Europeans

In 1606, Portuguese navigator

Pedro Fernandes de Queirós Pedro Fernandes de Queirós ( es, Pedro Fernández de Quirós) (1563–1614) was a Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain. He is best known for his involvement with Spanish voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, in particular the 1595–1 ...

sighted

and Makin, which he named the Buen Viaje Islands. 1852 Bocage Map of Australia and Polynesia - Geographicus - Oceanie-bocage-1852

The British explorer Vice-Admiral John Byron passed through the islands in 1765 during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of . In 1788 Captain Thomas Gilbert on and Captain John Marshall on crossed through Kuria,

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

, and Makin without attempting to land on the atolls. In 1820, the islands were named the Gilbert Islands or ''îles Gilbert'' (in French) by

Adam Johann von Krusenstern Adam Johann von Krusenstern (also Krusenstjerna in Swedish; russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Крузенште́рн, tr. ; 10 October 177012 August 1846) was a Russian admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigatio ...

, a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

Admiral of the Russian

Czar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...

after the British Captain Thomas Gilbert, who crossed the archipelago in 1788. French captain Louis Duperrey was the first to map the whole Gilbert Islands archipelago. He commanded ''La Coquille'' on its circumnavigation of the earth (1822–1825). Abaiang-Tarawa 1873 map nla obj-233983677-1 (retouched)

Abaiang-Tarawa 1873 map nla obj-233983677-1 (retouched)

US exploration

Many whaling ships called at the islands in the 19th century. The first recorded visit was by the ''Ann and Hope'', which called at Nikunau in December 1799. Two ships of the

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

(1838–1842), and , under the command of Captain William L. Hudson, visited many of the Gilbert Islands (then called the Kingsmill Islands or Kingsmill Group in English). While in the Gilberts, they devoted considerable time to mapping and charting

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

s and anchorages.

Colonial rule

In 1886, an Anglo-German agreement partitioned the “unclaimed” central Pacific, leaving Nauru in the German sphere of influence, while Ocean Island and the future GEIC wound up in the British sphere of influence. A British

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...

was first proclaimed over the Gilberts by Captain Edward H.M. Davis of on 27 May 1892. British official Arthur Mahaffy visited the Islands in 1909. He noted that the "villages are kept in admirable order and the roads are scrupulously clean." A hospital was on each island, as well. The conduct of William Telfer Campbell, the second resident commissioner of the Gilberts, was criticised as to his legislative, judicial and administrative management (including allegations of forced labour exacted from islanders) and became the subject of the 1909 report by Arthur Mahaffy. In 1913 an anonymous correspondent to ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938), inspired by Fabian socialism, and credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It publishe ...

'' journal described the mis-administration of W. Telfer Campbell and questioned the partiality of Arthur Mahaffy as he was a former colonial official in the Gilberts. In 1915, starting from 1916, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were proclaimed a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

Population

The natives of the Gilbert Islands are

Austronesian peoples The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austro ...

, similar in many respects to the natives of the

Marshalls Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. M ...

or the Carolines. In Mahaffy's 1909 report to the British Government he described the missionaries or Protectorate staff then resident in the Gilbert Islands. At the outbreak of World War II, about 78% of the native population were said to be Christians. This group was divided mainly into two denominations: Congregationalists (43%) and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

s (35%), Catholics becoming quickly the majority at the end of the Colony. The rest of the population were then largely semi-pagan agnostics; they did not adhere to the Christian faith, nor did they retain much of their beliefs in their own ancient gods. Native diet during this time consisted mainly of fish, coconuts, pandanus fruit, ''babai'' ( swamp taro), chicken, and some pork. Housing for Europeans employed in the island was simple: constructed of European and native materials and generally of the bungalow type. Mahaffy described the native clothing as being of "shocking shape" and "atrocious color," and that the style was changing into "kilt(s) of leaves or fine woven mats."

Economy

In the early to mid 20th century the principal source of income for Gilbert islanders was from working on the production of

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...

from the deposits on Banaba (Ocean Island), an island to the west of the Gilbert Islands. In addition,

coconut palm The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or t ...

s were cultivated on some of the islands. All labor was supervised by the British and every effort was made to see that the wages and living conditions were fair and adequate. Sanitary inspections by the British did much to improve the general living conditions on most of the islands. Mahaffy noted in 1909 that "extreme poverty is virtually unknown," and that most people on the island owned their own land. Residents paid

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

es, with the majority of taxes going back into the community, and a small portion going to the Protectorate.

Administration

Judged to be about 84% literate, the Gilbertese responded readily to the colony's educational efforts. All education in the islands came under the supervision of the Colonial Education Department whose aims were to educate native boys for employment in government and commercial work, and to standardize the level of education throughout the colony. The bulk of the education was provided by the missions, which maintained all the village schools and trained the native school teachers. With the availability of European-style medical care life improved. The

Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme The Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme was begun in 1938 in the western Pacific ocean and was the last attempt at human colonisation within the British Empire. History Conceived by Henry E. "Harry" Maude, lands commissioner of the Gilbert and Ell ...

sought to provide an outlet through the development of three uninhabited atolls in the

Phoenix Islands The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Republic of Kiri ...

and was the last attempt at human colonization within the British Empire.

Religion

Hiram Bingham II (1831–1908) was the first to translate the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

into Gilbertese, and also wrote

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s for the Gilbertese language. Joanna Gordon-Clark writes of their religious belief:

The Gilbert (and Ellice) Islanders had a strong set of beliefs of their own, pre the Christian missionaries; they had a strong
foundation myth An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have sto ...
, involving trees and the two genders. Their ancestors, they said, had been white skinned and red haired and came from elsewhere, perhaps the West (possibly coinciding with the outward spread of Homo sapiens from Africa and elsewhere). As might be expected, they gave power to the natural forces and gave them names and godly characteristics (sun, moon, ''etc''.) but believed in one spirit god, a bit similar to the god of Genesis, in that he/she seemed to have power over dark and light and so on, and was pretty much invisible. They had a strong belief in behaving properly to their ancestors, and especially their parents, and had well-developed community rules for courtesy to others. Read ''
A Pattern of Islands ''A Pattern of Islands'' (also known as ''We Chose the Islands'' in American editions) is a memoir by Sir Arthur Grimble recounting his time in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands as a cadet officer and Resident Commissioner between 1914 and 1933. Th ...
'', by
Arthur Grimble Sir Arthur Francis Grimble, (Hong Kong, 11 June 1888 – London, 13 December 1956) was a British Colonial Service administrator and writer. Biography Grimble was educated at Chigwell School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He then wen ...
, who worked in these islands and on
Banaba BanabaThe correct spelling and etymology in Gilbertese should be ''Bwanaba'' but the Constitution of Kiribati writes Banaba. Because of the spelling in English or French, the name was very often written Paanapa or Paanopa, as it was in 1901 Ac ...
, for the Colonial Administration, from just before the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
to the mid thirties, or thereabouts. It is a remarkable, informative, funny and warm-hearted account of these people and their religion. Other religions on the islands figure slightly, and there are remarkable stories of adventures, bravery, political machinations, ''etc''. Probably out of print, but second hand copies are available I think, I have two, and the illustrations are delightful.

World War II

On the same day as the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, the Japanese invaded the Gilbert Islands, occupying 3 of them by 9 December 1941. On 17 August 1942, 221

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

of the

2nd Marine Raider Battalion The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. " Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and " Carlson's" ...

raided Makin from two submarines. The raid was intended by the Americans to confuse the Japanese about US intentions in the Pacific, a feint to draw Japanese attention away from the planned invasion route through the Solomons. It is instead believed to have alerted the Japanese to the strategic importance of the Gilbert Islands and led to their reinforcement and fortification. Marines captured during this operation were subsequently summarily executed by the Japanese, in gross violation of the laws of war. The 19 Marines who died were left behind for the villagers to bury. In 1999, a Marine Honor guard was sent to recover the bodies and found them after a villager showed them where to dig. All were exhumed and were taken to the United States.

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

were occupied in force by the Japanese in September 1942 and during the next year garrisons were built up on

Betio Betio is the largest township of Kiribati's capital city, South Tarawa, and the country's main port. The settlement is located on a separate islet at the extreme southwest of the atoll. Betio Post Office opened on 5 April 1957 and closed in 1964 ...

(Tarawa Atoll), and

(Makin Atoll). Only nominal forces were placed on other islands in the Gilberts. On 20 November 1943, the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and U.S. 2nd Marine Division landed on Makin and Tarawa, initiating the battles of Makin and

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

invasion of the Marshall Islands in February 1944. The US built bases on Islands.

Self-determination

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands became autonomous in 1971. From 1975 to 1978, the

Ellice Islands Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

were separated, and the Gilberts became the Gilbert Islands colony, which issued stamps under that name. In 1979, the Gilberts opted for independence, becoming the independent nation of

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

. The Ellice Islands became the independent nation of

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

Notes

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Melbourne: Oxford University Press; 1992 Williams, M., & Macdonald, B. K. (1985). The phosphateers: A history of the British Phosphate Commissioners and the Christmas Island Phosphate Commission. Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Vic. Willmott, B. (2007). The Chinese communities in the smaller countries of the South Pacific: Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and the Cook Islands (Macmillan Brown Working Paper Series) nline Available: http://www.pacs.canterbury.ac.nz/documents/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Willmott_WP17.pdf (accessed 6 February 2012).

External links

''The Battle for Tarawa'', Appendix G
* {{Authority control Bodies of water of Kiribati Archipelagoes of Oceania Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean

Geography

Islands of the Gilberts

Northern Gilberts

Central Gilberts

Southern Gilberts

History

Prehistory

Contact with Europeans

US exploration

Colonial rule

Population

Economy

Administration

Religion

World War II

Self-determination

See also

Notes

Bibliography

External links