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,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 encompassCentral Gilberts
The Central Gilberts or ''nuka'' have traditionally includedSouthern Gilberts
The Southern Gilberts include the atolls ofHistory
Prehistory
The islands had been inhabited by Oceanians for several millennia (at least 2,000 years, probably 3,000).Contact with Europeans
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 theColonial 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 BritishPopulation
The natives of the Gilbert Islands areEconomy
In the early to mid 20th century the principal source of income for Gilbert islanders was from working on the production ofAdministration
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. TheReligion
Hiram Bingham II (1831–1908) was the first to translate theThe Gilbert (and Ellice) Islanders had a strong set of beliefs of their own, pre the Christian missionaries; they had a strongfoundation 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 ...'', byArthur 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 onBanaba 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 theFirst 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 theSelf-determination
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands became autonomous in 1971. From 1975 to 1978, theSee also
*Notes
Bibliography
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