History of Nauru, is about Nauru, an island country in the Pacific Ocean. Human activity is thought to have begun roughly 3,000 years ago when clans settled the island. A people and culture developed on the island, the Nauru, which had 12 tribes. At the end of the 1700s, a British ship came, and this was the first known contact with the outside world. The British ship called it "pleasant island", and it was a friendly greeting; the British sailed on. Thirty years later, in 1830, an escaped Irish convict took over the island and was finally evicted in 1841. There were scattered interactions with passing vessels and trade. In the mid-to-late 19th century, a devastating civil war started, which took the lives of many Nauru. This war was ended when Germany annexed the island in 1888, and negotiations ended the fighting. In the 1900s, phosphate mining started, and the Germans built some modern facilities on the island. German control ended at the end of World War I, and it was passed to Australia as protectorate. This continued until WW2, when the Empire of Japan invaded the island. Although it was occupied for a few years, many Nauru died at this time, and much of the population was deported from the island and/or used for slave labor. With the surrender of Japan, the Nauru were returned to the island, and it was put under Australian administration again, under the condition it would become independent. This happened in 1968, and Nauru has been a stable democracy since that time. In the last three decades of the 20th century, Nauru had enormous per capita wealth from the phosphate mining, to the point they were some of the richest people on the planet. However, when this ended and the investments were depleted, it has had a harder time, and international aid is important in the 21st century.
Early history
Nauru was settled by Micronesians around 3,000 years ago, and there is evidence of possible Polynesian influence.Nauru Department of Economic Development and Environment. 2003. First National Report To the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Retrieved 2006-05-03 Nauruans subsisted on coconut and pandanus fruit, and engaged in aquaculture by catching juvenile ibija fish, acclimated them to freshwater conditions, and raised them in Buada Lagoon, providing an additional reliable source of food. Traditionally only men were permitted to fish on the reef, and did so from canoes or by using trained man-of-war hawks.
There were traditionally 12 clans or tribes on Nauru, which are represented in the 12-pointed star in the nation's flag. Nauruans traced their descent on the female side. The first Europeans to encounter the island were on the British whaling ship Hunter, in 1798. When the ship approached, "many canoes ventured out to meet the ship. The Hunters crew did not leave the ship nor did Nauruans board, but Captain John Fearn's positive impression of the island and its people" led to its English name, Pleasant Island.McDaniel, C. N. and Gowdy, J. M. 2000. Paradise for Sale. University of California Press pp. 29–30 This name was used until Germany annexed the island 90 years later.
From around 1830, Nauruans had contact with Europeans from whaling ships and traders who replenished their supplies (such as fresh water) at Nauru. The islanders traded food for alcoholic toddy and firearms. The first Europeans to live on the island, starting perhaps in 1830, were Patrick Burke and John Jones, Irish convicts who had escaped from Norfolk Island, according to Paradise for Sale.McDaniel, C. N. and Gowdy, J. M. 2000. Paradise for Sale. University of California Press pp 30 Jones became "Nauru's first and last dictator," who killed or banished several other beachcombers who arrived later, until the Nauruans banished Jones from the island in 1841.McDaniel, C. N. and Gowdy, J. M. 2000. Paradise for Sale. University of California Press p. 31
The introduction of firearms and alcohol destroyed the peaceful coexistence of the 12 tribes living on the island. A 10-year civil war began in 1878 and resulted in a reduction of the population from 1,400 (1843) to around 900 (1888). Ultimately, alcohol was banned and some arms were confiscated.
German protectorate
In 1886 Germany was granted the island under the Anglo-German Declaration. The island was annexed by Germany in 1888 and incorporated into Germany's New Guinea Protectorate. Nauru was occupied on 16 April 1888 by German troops, which ended the Nauruan Civil War. On 1 October 1888 the German gunboat SMS Eber landed 36 men on Nauru.Carl N. McDaniel, John M. Gowdy: Paradise for Sale: A Parable of Nature, University of California Press, 2000, , page 35. Accompanied by William Harris the German marines marched around the island and returned with the twelve chiefs, the white settlers and a Gilbertese missionary. The chiefs were kept under house arrest until the morning of 2 October, when the annexation ceremony began with the raising of the German flag. The Germans told the chiefs that they had to surrender all weapons and ammunition within 24 hours or the chiefs would be taken prisoner. By the morning of 3 October 765 guns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition had been turned over. The Germans called the island Nawodo or Onawero. The arrival of the Germans ended the war, and social changes brought about by the war established kings as rulers of the island, the most widely known being King Auweyida. Christian missionaries from the Gilbert Islands also arrived in 1888.Ellis, A. F. 1935. Ocean Island and Nauru – their story. Angus and Robertson Limited. pp, 29–39 The Germans ruled Nauru for almost three decades. Robert Rasch, a German trader who married a native woman, was the first administrator, appointed in 1888.
At the time there were twelve tribes on Nauru: Deiboe, Eamwidamit, Eamwidara, Eamwit, Eamgum, Eano, Emea, Eoraru, Irutsi, Iruwa, Iwi and Ranibok. Today the twelve tribes are represented by the twelve-pointed star in the flag of Nauru.
Phosphate was discovered on Nauru in 1900 by the prospector Albert Ellis. The Pacific Phosphate Company started to exploit the reserves in 1906 by agreement with Germany. The company exported its first shipment in 1907.Ellis, A. F. 1935. Ocean Island and Nauru – their story. Angus and Robertson Limited. pp. 127–139
World War I to World War II In 1914, following the outbreak of World War I, Nauru was captured by Australian troops, which held control until 1920. Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom signed the Nauru Island Agreement in 1919, creating a board known as the British Phosphate Commission (BPC). This took over the rights to phosphate mining. According to the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics (now the Australian Bureau of Statistics), "In common with other natives, the islanders are very susceptible to tuberculosis and influenza, and in 1921 an influenza epidemic caused the deaths of 230 islanders." In 1923, the League of Nations gave Australia a mandate over Nauru, with the United Kingdom and New Zealand as co-trustees.Cain, Timothy M., comp. "Nauru." The Book of Rule. 1st ed. 1 vols. New York: DK Inc., 2004. In 1932, the first Angam Baby was born.
World War II
During World War II, Nauru was subject to significant damage from both Axis (German and Japanese) and Allied forces.
On 6 and 7 December 1940 the Nazi German auxiliary cruisers Orion and Komet sank four merchant ships. On the next day, Komet shelled Nauru's phosphate mining areas, oil storage depots, and the shiploading cantilever. The attacks seriously disrupted phosphate supplies to Australia and New Zealand (mostly used for munition and fertiliser purposes.)
Japanese troops occupied Nauru on 26 August 1942,Lundstrom, John B., The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign, Naval Institute Press, 1994, p. 175. and executed 7 Europeans. The native Nauruans were badly treated by the occupying forces. On one occasion, thirty-nine people with leprosy were reputedly loaded onto boats which were towed out to sea and sunk. The Japanese troops built two airfields on Nauru, which were bombed for the first time on 25 March 1943, preventing food supplies from being flown to Nauru. In 1943 the Japanese deported 1,200 Nauruans to work as labourers in the Chuuk islands.Haden, J. D. 2000. Nauru: a middle ground in World War II Pacific Magazine Retrieved 5 May 2006
Nauru was liberated from the Japanese on 13 September 1945, when Captain Soeda, the commander of all the Japanese troops on Nauru, surrendered the island to the Royal Australian Navy and Army. This surrender was accepted by Brigadier J. R. Stevenson, who represented Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee, the commander of the First Australian Army, on board the warship HMAS DiamantinaThe Times, 14 September 1945 Arrangements were made to repatriate from Chuuk the 745 Nauruans who survived Japanese captivity there. They were returned to Nauru by the BPC ship Trienza on 1 January 1946.Garrett, J. 1996. Island Exiles. ABC. . pp. 176–181
Trust Territory In 1947, a trusteeship was established by the United Nations, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom became the U.N. trustees of the island, although practical administration was mostly handled by Australia. By 1965 the population reached 5,561, of which just under half were considered Nauruan. In July 1966 the Nauruan Head Chief spoke at the United Nations Trusteeship Council, calling for independence by 31 January 1968. This was supported by the General Assembly in December of that year. Australia and the other administering powers sought to arrange an alternative to independence, such as internal self-government similar to that of the West Indies Associated States, or with Australia retaining a role in foreign affairs. Under these envisioned solutions, the resulting political settlement would be permanent, with no route to independence. This was due to concern over implications for other Pacific territories, and for the implication of such a small community (the size of an "English village") gaining the full trappings of statehood. These suggestions were however rejected by Nauru, and Australia was concerned that even if they were accepted by Nauru, they might not be accepted by the UN. In June 1967 it was agreed that assets belonging to the British Phosphate Commission on the island would be sold to Nauru for 21 million Australian dollars. Nauru was granted unconditional independence on 31 January 1968.
Independence Nauru became self-governing in January 1966. The Parliament of Australia passed the Nauru Independence Act 1967 on 10 November 1967, which granted Nauru independence on a date fixed by proclamation by the Governor-General of Australia and authorised the Legislative Council of Nauru to establish a constitutional convention. On 31 January 1968, following a two-year constitutional convention, Nauru became the world's smallest independent republic. It was led by founding president Hammer DeRoburt. In 1967, the people of Nauru purchased the assets of the British Phosphate Commissioners, and in June 1970, control passed to the locally owned Nauru Phosphate Corporation. Money gained from the exploitation of phosphate was put into the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust and gave Nauruans the second highest GDP Per Capita (second only to the United Arab Emirates) and one of the highest standards of living in the Third World.Nauru seeks to regain lost fortunes Nick Squires, 15 March 2008, BBC News Online. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
In 1989, Nauru took legal actions against Australia in the International Court of Justice over Australia's actions during its administration of Nauru. In particular, Nauru made a legal complaint against Australia's failure to remedy the environmental damage caused by phosphate mining. Certain Phosphate Lands: Nauru v. Australia led to an out-of-court settlement to rehabilitate the mined-out areas of Nauru.