Gilbert and Ellice Islands

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony from 1916 until 1 January 1976, when the islands were divided into two different colonies which became independent nations shortly after. The Gilbert Islands have been the major part of the nation of Kiribati since 1979, and the Ellice Islands became Tuvalu in 1978.

1 History
2 Naming
3 Postage stamps
4 References
5 Further Reading

History

The protectorate was generally established on this area (but not on these islands) by the Pacific Islanders Protection Act^[1] of 1857, and then in 1877 for the Western Pacific Territories, but the protectorate on the Gilbert group and on the Ellice group was formal and effective only from 1892, and a Resident Commissioner was appointed in 1893. The islands became a Crown Colony on 12 January 1916. The colony's capital was mainly on Banaba Island (Ocean Island) and after World War II on Tarawa, first in Betio island then near Bairiki.

The sixteen islands of the Gilberts were declared a british protectorate by Captain Davis, R. N. of HMS Royalist between 27 May and 17 June 1892. The Ellice Islands were declared a protectorate by Captain Gibson, R. N. of HMS Curaçao between 9th and 16 October of the same year; Banaba Island (or Ocean Island) was included within the protectorate in 1900 and then in the colony in 1916. In the same year, Fanning Island and Washington Island were included in it together with the islands of the Tokelau or Union Islands; Christmas Island was included in 1919 but was contested by the USA. Tokelau was transferred to New Zealand administration in 1926, abolishing the islands' chiefdoms. By the Tokelau Act of 1948, sovereignty over Tokelau was transferred to New Zealand. The Phoenix Islands were added in 1937 and the five islands of the Central and Southern Line Islands were added in 1972.

In 1974, ethnic differences within the colony caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands (later Kiribati). The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu.

Naming

The islands were named the Gilbert Islands in 1820 by a Russian admiral, Johann von Krusenstern, and French captain Louis Duperrey, after a British captain, Thomas Gilbert, who crossed the archipelago in 1788.

Funafuti was named Ellice's Island after Edward Ellice, a British politician and merchant, by Captain Arent de Peyster,^[2] who sighted the islands in 1819 sailing on the ship Rebecca.^[3] Ellice owned the cargo of the ship. The name Ellice was applied to all nine islands, of what is now Tuvalu, after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay (1812–1876)^[4]

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were formerly designated an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code "GE" until 1977.

Postage stamps

Main article: postage stamps and postal history of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands

The Islands used their own postage stamps from 1911

References

^ Other acts on the same subject : Pacific Islanders Protection Act 1872; Pacific Islanders Protection Act 1875; Pacific Island Labourers Act 1880; Pearl-Shell and Bêche-de-mer Fishery Act 1881; Native Labourers Protection Act 1884
^ Miscellanies: by an officer, Volume 1, Ch. LXXX By John Watts De Peyster, A.E. Chasmer & Co. (1888)
^ Laumua Kofe, Palagi and Pastors, Tuvalu: A History, Ch. 15, Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific and Government of Tuvalu, 1983
^ Alexander George Findlay, A Directory for the Navigation of the Pacific Ocean: With Description of Its Coasts, Islands, Etc. from the Strait of Magalhaens to the Arctic Sea

Barrie Macdonald, Cinderellas of the Empire: towards a history of Kiribati and Tuvalu, Suva, Fiji: Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, 2001. ISBN 982-02-0335-X (Australian National University Press, first published 1982).
A Pattern of Islands (US title: We Chose the Islands) by Sir Arthur Grimble, John Murray & Co, London, 1952 (A Pattern of Islands republished 2011 by Eland, London, ISBN 978-1906011-45-1
Return to the Islands by Sir Arthur Grimble, John Murray & Co, London, 1957

British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations

Legend
Current territory · Former territory
* now a Commonwealth realm · now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe

18th century
1708–1757 Minorca
since 1713 Gibraltar
1763–1782 Minorca
1798–1802 Minorca

19th century
1800–1964 Malta
1807–1890 Heligoland
1809–1864 Ionian Islands

20th century
1921–1937 Irish Free State

North America

17th century 1583–1907 Newfoundland 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia 1607–1776 Virginia since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth Colony 1623–1883 Saint Kitts (Saint Kitts & Nevis)* 1624–1966 *Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 *St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis (Saint Kitts & Nevis)* 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony 1632–1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua (Antigua & Barbuda)* 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven Colony 1643–1860 Bay Islands since 1650 Anguilla 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate) 1655–1962 *Jamaica 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702-1776 New Jersey since 1666 British Virgin Islands since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 *Bahamas 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1671–1816 Leeward Islands 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 Dominion of New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts	18th century 1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1762–1974 *Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	19th century 1818–1846 Columbia District / Oregon Country¹ 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1841–1867 Province of Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1860–1981 *British Antigua and Barbuda 1862–1863 Stikine Territory 1866–1871 Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada² 1871–1964 British Honduras (Belize)* 1882–1983 *St. Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 20th century 1907–1949 Dominion of Newfoundland³ 1958–1962 West Indies Federation
¹Occupied jointly with the United States ²In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. see Canada's name. ³Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

South America

17th century 1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1670–1688 St. Andrew and Providence Islands⁴	18th century	19th century 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) since 1833 Falkland Islands⁵ 20th century since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands⁵
⁴Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia ⁵Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982

Africa

18th century 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	19th century 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt 1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1888–1894 Matabeleland 1890–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) ⁶ 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	20th century 1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1906–1954 Nigeria Colony 1910–1931 South Africa 1911–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1914–1954 Nigeria Colony and Protectorate 1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon) ⁷ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania) ⁷ 1954–1960 Nigeria 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) ⁶
⁶Southern Rhodesia, self-governing from 1923, issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965, as Rhodesia. It returned to British control in December 1979. ⁷League of Nations mandate

Asia

17th Century
1685-1824 Bencoolen
(Sumatra)

18th century
1702–1705 Côn Đảo
1757–1947 Bengal (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh)
1762–1764 Manila
1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
1796–1965 Maldives

19th century
1812-1824 Banka (Sumatra)
1812-1824 Billiton (Sumatra)
1819–1826 British Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore)
1824-1946 Straits Settlement of Malacca

1826–1946 Straits Settlements
1839–1967 Colony of Aden
1839–1842 Afghanistan
1841–1997 Hong Kong
1841–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia)
1848-1946 Crown colony of Labuan

1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma)
1879–1919 Afghanistan
1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia)
1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States
1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei
1888–1946 Sultanate of Sulu
1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate
1892–1971 Trucial States protectorate
1895–1946 Federated Malay States
1898–1930 Weihai Garrison
1878–1960 Cyprus

20th century
1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate
1920–1932 Iraq⁷
1921–1946 Transjordan⁷
1923–1948 Palestine⁷
1945–1946 South Vietnam
1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia)
1946–1963 Singapore
1946–1948 Malayan Union
1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia)
since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus)
since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁷League of Nations mandate

Oceania

18th century 1788–1901 New South Wales	19th century 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands⁸ 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Swan River Colony/Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands 1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji⁹ 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1965 Cook Islands⁸ 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)⁸ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands¹⁰ 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands¹¹	20th century 1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue⁸ 1901–1942 *Commonwealth of Australia 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 Nauru 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea¹²
⁸Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand ⁹Suspended member ¹⁰Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu ¹¹Now the *Solomon Islands ¹²Now *Papua New Guinea

Antarctica and South Atlantic

17th century since 1659 St. Helena¹³	19th century since 1815 Ascension Island¹³ since 1816 Tristan da Cunha¹³	20th century since 1908 British Antarctic Territory¹⁴
¹³Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922—) and Tristan da Cunha (1938—) were previously dependencies of St Helena ¹⁴Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands)

Gilbert and Ellice Islands

Contents

History

Naming

Postage stamps

References

Further Reading