Kiribati in 1988
The Republic of Kiribati (pronounced "Kiribas", the local pronunciation of "Gilberts"), are the former Gilbert Islands, in the Micronesia subregion of the central Pacific Ocean. There are 32 coral atolls and, to the west, a raised coral island, Banaba. The string of atolls of which Tarawa hosts the capital is called Tungaru; much further east are the Line (Teraina or Equatorial) Islands, a chain of 11 atolls and coral islands south of Hawaii.
The islands were inhabited by Austronesian peoples between 3000 BCE and 1300 CE, with influences by Polynesian people from Samoa and Tonga later on. From the 17th century European ships landed and during the 19th century people were often forcibly removed to labour (blackbirding) as on other Pacific islands. In 1892 the Gilbert islands became a British Protectorate, and in 1916 a crown colony, together with the Polynesian Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu); in 1976 they separated and the Gilbert Islands gained independence as the Republic of Kiribati on 12 July 1979. Its permanent population is around 120,000 with more than half in Tarawa.
The islands were inhabited by Austronesian peoples between 3000 BCE and 1300 CE, with influences by Polynesian people from Samoa and Tonga later on. From the 17th century European ships landed and during the 19th century people were often forcibly removed to labour (blackbirding) as on other Pacific islands. In 1892 the Gilbert islands became a British Protectorate, and in 1916 a crown colony, together with the Polynesian Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu); in 1976 they separated and the Gilbert Islands gained independence as the Republic of Kiribati on 12 July 1979. Its permanent population is around 120,000 with more than half in Tarawa.
