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The history of Nauru has been intrinsicly linked with the extraction of phosphate. The island was colonized by the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Japan, before gaining independence in 1968.
Early history The first Nauruans were Polynesian and Melanesian explorers. In 1798 John Fearn, a British captain of the whaling ship 'Hunter', became the first European to land on the island, naming it Pleasant Island. Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the triangle Polynesia (from Greek, poly = many and nesos = island) is a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. ...
Melanesia (from Greek black islands) is a region extending from the west Pacific to the Arafura Sea, north and north-east of Australia. ...
1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
John Fearn (born in 1768; died in 1837) was a British Royal Navy officer, ship captain and explorer. ...
Nauru had little contact with the outside world until whaling ships and other traders began to visit in the 1830s. The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch Whaling is the hunting and killing of whales. ...
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The whole island was governed by kings. When the Europeans, especially the Germans, came to Nauru, a local chieftain called Auweyida was the king of the land. He kept to be Nauru's king, although the Europeans took over-hand. King Aweida standing in the middle before Germanys realm flag. ...
European control In the nineteenth century the first Europeans came to Nauru. Many Nauruans blame the Europeans for breaking up the social structure of the island with its traditional 12 tribes. A ten-year internal war reduced the population from 1400 to 900.
The 1886 Anglo-German Convention led to the annexation of Nauru by Germany in 1888. In around 1899, the massive phosphate resources on the island were discovered. Beginning in 1906, the Pacific Phosphate Company started exploitation of the rock. 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ...
1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...
1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...
In chemistry, a phosphate is a polyatomic ion or radical consisting of one phosphorus atom and four oxygen. ...
1906 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
In 1914 Australia took control of Nauru. Then Britain held control until 1920, when the League of Nations gave Britain, Australia and New Zealand a Trustee Mandate over the territory. The British Phosphate Commissioners (BPC) were given the rights to phosphate mining. 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...
1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ...
The League of Nations was an international organization founded after the First World War at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. ...
League of Nations mandates were territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919. ...
In 1932, the first Angam Baby was born. 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ...
The Angam Day is a holiday on the island state Nauru. ...
In 1940 the Nazi German auxiliary cruiser Komet sank five merchant ships and bombarded the island, causing damage to the phosphate mining. 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...
Auxiliary cruisers were merchant ships taken over for conversion into a vessel armed with cruiser-size guns, and employed either for convoy protection against true cruisers, or for commerce-raiding missions, where its appearance was used to trick merchant ships into approaching. ...
The Nazi German Kriegsmarine auxiliary cruiser Komet (HSK7) was a commerce raider of the Second World War. ...
Japanese occupation In 1942 the Japanese occupied Nauru. The native Nauruans were badly treated by the occupying forces. On one occasion 49 leprosy sufferers were reputedly loaded on to boats which were towed out to sea and sunk. In 1943 some 1200 Nauruans were taken by Truk (now Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia) as slave labourers. This article is about the year. ...
Father Damien was a Roman Catholic missionary who helped lepers on Hawaii and also died of the disease. ...
A view of Chuuk Chuuk is an island group that comprises one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), along with Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. ...
On January 1, 1946 with Micronesia now under American control, the 800-odd Nauruans still surviving were returned to Nauru on a BPC ship 'Trienza'. During the post-war period, Nauru was administered by Australia as a UN Trust Territory. This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic Secretary-General Kofi Annan (since 1997) Established October 24, 1945 Member states 191 Headquarters New York City, NY, USA Official site http://www. ...
Independence On January 31, 1968 Nauru became an the world's smallest independent republic. Phosphate rights were acquired from Britain in 1970. Money gained from the exploitation of phosphate gave Nauruans one of the highest living standards in the Pacific. January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...
In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people who do not base their political power on any principle beyond the consent of the people living in that state or country. ...
1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ...
Modern-day Nauru By the close of the twentieth century, the phosphate supplies were fast running out. Nauru finally joined the UN in 1999. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ...
This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic Secretary-General Kofi Annan (since 1997) Established October 24, 1945 Member states 191 Headquarters New York City, NY, USA Official site http://www. ...
1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...
In 2001, Nauru was brought to world attention by the saga of the MV Tampa, a Norwegian cargo ship at the centre of a diplomatic dispute between Australia, Norway and Indonesia. The ship carried asylum seekers, hailing primarily from Afghanistan, who were rescued while attempting to reach Australia. After much debate many of the immigrants were transported to Nauru, an arrangement known in Australia as the "Pacific Solution". Shortly thereafter, the Nauruan government closed its borders to most international visitors, preventing outside observers from monitoring the refugees' condition. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...
The MV Tampa is a Norwegian cargo ship that was at the center of a diplomatic dispute between Australia, Norway, and Indonesia off the coast of Christmas Island. ...
The Pacific Solution was the name given to the Australian government policy of diverting asylum seekers to detention camps on small island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland. ...
In December of 2003, several dozen of these refugees, in protest of the conditions of their detention on Nauru, began a hunger strike. The hunger strike was concluded in early January 2004 when an Australian medical team agreed to visit the island. Since then all but 100 of the refugees have been allowed into Australia. 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
During 2002 Nauru severed diplomatic recognition with Taiwan (Republic of China) and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. This move followed China's promise to provide more than U.S. $130 million in aid. In 2004, Nauru broke off PRC relations and re-established with Taiwan. National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area - Total - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ...
2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Nauru was also approached by the U.S. with a deal to modernize Nauru's infrastructure in exchange for suppression of the island's lax banking laws that allow activities that are illegal in other countries to flourish. Under this deal Nauru would also be obligated to establish an embassy in China and perform certain "safehouse" and courier services for the U.S. government. Nauru agreed to the deal and instituted banking reform, but the U.S. later denied knowledge of the deal. The matter is being pursued in an Australian court, and initial judgments have been in favor of Nauru.
The government is desperately in need of money to pay off salary arrears of civil servants and to continue funding the welfare state built up in the heady days of phosphate mining (Nauruans pay no taxes). Nauru has yet to develop a plan to remove the innumerable coral pinnacles created by mining and make those lands suitable for human habitation.
See also King Aweida standing in the middle before Germanys realm flag. ...
Logo NPC The Nauru Phosphate Corporation (NPC) is a government-owned company controlling phosphate mining in Nauru. ...
The Angam Day is a holiday on the island state Nauru. ...
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