Gilbert and Ellice Islands

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands was a British territory in the southern Pacific Ocean from 1892 to 1976, comprising the present-day independent countries of Kiribati and Tuvalu.

The Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands (the colonial name of Tuvalu) were made British protectorates in 1892 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Western Pacific High Commission. They were administered through a resident commissioner, who based on Tarawa until 1908 and then moved to Ocean Island (Banaba) as the phosphate mining industry on Ocean Island became of economic importance. In 1916, the protectorate was made a Crown colony as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (GEIC). Portions of the outlying Line Islands and Phoenix Islands were also added the colony.

The Japanese invaded and occupied most of the Gilbert Islands during World War II. British administration resumed after the war's end, with moves towards self-determination beginning in the 1950s. A new constitution was adopted in 1967 allowing for the first general elections and self-government was granted in 1972. The final decades of the colony's existence were marked by tension between the majority Gilbertese and the minority Tuvaluan populations, who spoke different languages and were of Micronesian and Polynesian origin respectively. In 1974, the Ellice Islands voted in favour of separation and the GEIC was split into separate colonies with effect from 1976. Tuvalu and Kiribati achieved full independence in 1978 and 1979, respectively.