Language/Nauru/Culture/Nauru-Timeline

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Historical Timeline for Nauru - A chronology of key events

Nauru Timeline[edit | edit source]

The history of Nauru is that of a small island of 21 km2 isolated in the central Pacific and which today forms an independent state: the Republic of Nauru. The events prior to its colonization at the end of the nineteenth century are little known for lack of written sources and the virtual absence of archaeological data. Later facts are closely linked to the history of its unique resource: phosphate ore.
One of the hypotheses regarding the origin of the inhabitants of Nauru is that this population has origins that are at the same time Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian, the traits of the latter dominant population1. Other observers point to the similarities between the Nauruans and the Micronesian populations of the eastern Carolinian archipelago. It was discovered by Europeans on November 8, 1798 when British captain John Fearn approached the island. It was then successively colonized or occupied by different powers: Germany in 1888, Australia in 1920, Japan from 1942 to 1945 then Australia again in 1947. Nauru acquired its independence on January 31, 1968 then joined the United States. United Nations in 1999.
From 1906, the island's phosphate ore deposit was exploited by various colonial and state companies. Phosphate was almost the island's only source of income for almost a century and provided Nauruans with a very high standard of living for several decades. Failure to anticipate the depletion of reserves, combined with economically unpredictable policies, plunged Nauru into bankruptcy and political instability from the early 1990s. Trying to diversify its sources of income, Nauru embarked on desperate expedients such as money laundering, the sale of passports or the commodification of votes in international bodies. The arrival since 2004 of a new majority in the government and of a new economic policy seems to bring better transparency in the finances of the Nauruan state.