When was kiribati found

Most Europeans fled to Fiji; the remaining few were executed. The Gilbertese I-Kiribati were forbidden to move from their atolls as battles raged across Melanesia and Micronesia, finally reaching the colony in when American troops landed on Tarawa's Betio Beach and drove out the Japanese.

Mementos of that awful battle still remain. The s brought the first moves towards self-government in the form of a Colony Conference, at which Gilbertese from many walks of life recommended policies and projects. Control still lay with colonial officials but Gilbertese people were being introduced to government business. Executive and Advisory Councils were established. In the Gilbertese National Party was calling for faster change and two years later its leader was first among the 18 elected Gilbertese and 5 Ellice Islander members of the new House of Representatives.

Progress to independence was delayed by two questions: 1 should the Gilbert Islands and the Ellice Islands remain together and form one nation? Kiritimati also called Christmas Island , one of the Line Islands, occupies sq km sq mi and has the largest land area of any atoll in the world.

The majority of the atolls is barely more than six metres above sea level and surrounded by barrier reefs creating picturesque lagoons for fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming and other water sports. Prior in , the eastern and western islands groups were on either side of the International Dateline with a hour time difference between them. The President of Kiribati at that time decided to move the dateline for convenience which attributed a 2 hour difference between Islands in the Gilbert Islands Group and the Line and Phoenix Islands Group.

This also marked Kiribati to become the first nation to see in the Third Millennium and Caroline was renamed Millennium Island to celebrate the occasion during the year Kiribati was the 13th champion country that stepped forward to lead the 10th Blue Charter action group. The Connectivity Agenda is a platform for countries to exchange best practices and experiences to trade and investment and undertake domestic reform.

Site search. Learn more about the Secretariat's human rights work Legal support The Secretariat set up a mentoring and exchange programme for justice officials in Kiribati. Fishing licences, foreign aid and remittances from workers abroad also contribute, as does a trust fund set up with revenues from phosphate mines on the island of Banaba, whose depletion in hit Kiribati hard.

President: Taneti Mamau. He succeeded Anote Tong who served three successive terms, the maximum allowed by the constitution. Freedom of speech and of the media is generally respected. The government-run radio station and newspaper offer diverse views. Protestant and Catholic churches publish newsletters and periodicals; these are important sources of information. There is no domestic TV service.