King Aweida of Nauru (
Nauruan: ''Aweijeda'' ''Jim'' ''Naoero'') ( 1850 – 1921) or formally King Aweida was the
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
and later
Head Chief of
Nauru
Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...
from 1875 until his death in 1921. He was succeeded by his son
Moses Ballarat.
Biography

Aweida was born Aweijeda in 1850(?) at
Boe
Boe, BOE or BoE may refer to:
Arts, media and entertainment
* Bastards of Evil, a comic book supervillain team
* '' Blades of Exile'', a computer role-playing game
* ''Boletín Oficial del Estado'', official gazette of the Spanish government
Org ...
, Nauru. Before Nauru came under European rule, it was governed by a
head chief who made laws that were enforced by local chiefs. After his father's death in 1911, he gained the title of head chief and would hold the title until his death.
Aweijeda was born to Chief Jim.
His first marriage was to a chieftain's daughter, Eibinua of the Eamwit tribe from Bush village. They had several children.
Aweida was known to wear western attire on special occasions, which was, back then, a very rare practice amongst Nauruans.
When
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
annexed Nauru into the
Marshall Islands Protectorate, and later
German New Guinea
German New Guinea () consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups, and was part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , became a German protectorate in 188 ...
, Aweida retained his
sovereignty
Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
as king of Nauru and remained the head chief of the
Nauruan people
Nauruans are a nation and an ethnic group indigenous to the Pacific island country of Nauru. They are most likely a blend of Micronesian, Melanesian and Polynesian ancestry.
The origin of the Nauruan people has not yet been finally determined ...
. He reigned as King and Head Chief from 1875 until his death in 1921. Very little his known about him due to the lack of documentation about him and his family.
After Eibinua died, Aweida remarried, this time to
Eidukiri, also of the Eamwit tribe, but they had no children.
[Professor Paul Hambruch Documents] Aweida was the de-facto king during the
Nauruan Civil War
The Nauruan Civil War was fought from 1878 to 1888, between forces loyal to incumbent King Aweida of Nauru and those seeking to depose him in favour of a rival claimant. The war was preceded by the introduction of Firearm, firearms to the island a ...
from 1878–1888. After
Australia invaded the island in World War I, he retained his position, still having the loyalty of most local chiefs.
On October 7th, 1921, Aweida drowned near the
Gabab Channel. He was brought to shore by the natives of Nauru and was put near a fire, but he collapsed and was declared dead. One of Aweida's sons,
Moses Ballarat (King Moses), was proclaimed as King of Nauru after Aweida's death.
See also
*
Eigamoiya
References
1850s births
1921 deaths
Nauruan royalty
Head Chiefs of Nauru
People from Boe District
19th-century monarchs in Oceania
19th-century Nauruan people
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