1916-1939 History of the Pacific Islands




Stamp issuedby the British Postal Administration for the Gilbert and Ellice Islands



Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati, Tuvalu) 1939-1978



The Pacific phase of World War II began on December 7th 1941 with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese fleet immediately set out to occupy many of the Pacific islands, among them the Gilbert and Ellice islands. The U.S. adopted the ISLAND HOPPING strategy, Kiribati's main island TARAWA being a major battleground; the U.S. marines landed in November 1943. The U.S. established a base on the island, one of the few places offering employment in the colony.
The colony was a conglomerate of islands created to accomodate the British desire for a centralized administration; the inhabitants of the Gilbert and of the Ellice islands (Kiribatians and Tuvaluans) did not feel having too much in common; the Kiribatians are Micronesians, the Tuvaluans Polynesians. In 1974, Tuvalu (the Ellice Islands) opted for the separation from the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati). In 1976 the islands colony was separated in two; Tuvalu declared independence in 1978; Kiribati was granted independence the following year.


EXTERNAL
FILES 		History of Kiribati, from Infoplease
The Gilbert Islands in World War II, from Spartacus Schoolnet
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on July 11th 2002, last evised on November 4th 2004

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