Nauru History

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History

This oval-shaped outcrop in the Central Pacific, west of Kiribati, is surrounded by a reef which is exposed at low tide. A century of phosphate mining has stripped 80 percent of the land area, and has left the central plateau infertile and unpopulated. The island has a fertile coastal strip.

The clan has been the traditional building block of Nauruan life, and electoral boundaries follow the clan boundaries. Clan names are of the utmost importance in doing Nauran family history work
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Timeline

1798 - Captain John Feam names it Pleasant Island
1870 - The 12 tribes of islanders have been at war and the population was decreased by one third
1888 - The Germans invaded Nauru. They make it a German protectorate along with Marshall Islands until 1914
1900 - A huge supply of phosphate is discovered and a London company begins shipping it to Australia
1914 - Australian warships wrest the island from Germany and it becomes a British-mandated territory. Phosphate mining continues, with thousands of tons of phosphate exported. Chinese laborers are brought in
1942 - The Japanese invade Nauru and deport 1200 native islanders to Truk Island for forced labor
1946 - The Japanese surrender and the British take over again
1951 - The Local Government Council is established.
1968 - Nauru wins full independence and becomes a special member of the British Commonwealth.
1996 - Due to financial need, Nauru begins to receive would-be refugees to Australia in exchange for payment

The world’s smallest republic, this oval-shaped outcrop in the Central Pacific, west of Resources available On the Internet, go to Familysearch.org. Choose the Library tab and then FamilySearch Catalog. Click on Place. Type in Nauru, and a list of current holdings for Nauru will be displayed.