Nauru history

Ways to colonize Nauru.

About the settlement of the island of Nauru virtually nothing is largely due to the lack of any archaeological evidence. However, there are several hypotheses. According to one of them, the island of Nauru could be inhabited by Austronesians from the southern part of the Philippine Islands and the northern part of the Moluccan Islands ^[4] . According to another version, the first settlers arrived in Nauru from the Bismarck Islands and represented the pre- Korayan ethnic group , even before its collapse into Melanesians , Micronesians and Polynesians ^[5] .

In the early history of Nauru, the population was represented by 12 tribes living in 168 villages ^[6] . These are the tribes: Deiboe ( naur. Deiboe ), Eamwidame ( naur. Eamwidamit ), Eamvidar ( naur. Eamwidara ), Eamvit ( naur. Eamwit ), Amgum ( naur. Eamgum ), Eano ( naur. Eano ), Emeo ( naur. Emeo) ), eoraru ( naur. Eoraru ), iruci ( naur. Irutsi ), iruva ( naur. Iruwa ), ivi ( naur. Iwi ) and ranibok ( naur. Ranibok ) ^[7] . Now the memory of these twelve tribes is immortalized in the national flag and coat of arms of the Republic of Nauru. These tribes no longer exist, and every inhabitant of Nauru is now identified by the county in which he lives.

The Iruva tribe consisted of people from the Gilbert Islands or Banaba ^[8] , who sailed to the island of Nauru in the XIX century ^[9] . The Irutzi and Ivi tribes have no modern descendants, since their last representatives died during the Japanese occupation of Nauru during World War II .

The supreme leader, to whom all 12 tribes would have obeyed, was absent on the island. Instead, each tribe had its own tribal leader ^[6] .

Before the appearance of Europeans on the island, the population of Nauru was in a stage of decomposition of the primitive communal system and consisted of three classes:

• Temonibe ( naur. Temonibe ) - senior members of the genus.
• Amenengame ( naur. Amenangame ) - the younger members of the genus, who formed the main part of the tribe.
• Itcio ( naur. Itsio ) - slaves ^[10] .

According to the Deutsches Kolonial Lexikon reference book, the Nauru society consisted of six classes ^[6] . Of these, four were free farmers: temoniba ( naur. Temonibä ), emo ( naur. Emo ), amanengama ( naur. Amänengamä ) and enhamam ( naur. Engamä ). And two - dependent categories: idzio ( naur. Idzio ) and ithiora ( naur. Itiora ). However, their nature is not revealed.

The belonging of a person to a certain class depended on the class of the mother. Daughters born before the birth of a son and son were attributed to the mother’s class. Children born after the first son belonged to the next highest class ^[6] .

The natives lived in the courtyards, consisting of 2-3 houses. Several courtyards made up the village. Several villages constituted the gau (district) ^[6] .

The main occupation of the ancient Nauruans was agriculture (cultivation of coconut palms , bananas , pandanuses ), as well as fishing ^[11] (including artificial breeding of Khanos fish in the lagoons of Buada and Anabar ) ^[12] . Fisheries were strictly divided between families and fenced with walls and fences. The conditions necessary for the normal breeding of fish were maintained by adult residents: they regularly mixed water to enrich it with oxygen and thereby accelerated the growth of fry. Children were strictly forbidden to beat on the water while swimming, as any noise could frighten the khanos, who would sail to the territory of another family ^[12] .

First contacts with Europeans

In 1798, the British captain of the whaling ship John Fearn, during his voyage from the coast of New Zealand to the South China Sea, became the first European to approach the island of Nauru ^[13] . He called it Pleasant Island ( Eng. Pleasant Island ), as he was pleasantly impressed by the friendliness of the islanders, who sailed to the British ship on a canoe without any weapons, and there were no warlike tattoos on the bodies of Nauruans, as was the case in other nations of Oceania ^{[13 ]} . Observing from the ship the coast, on which a large number of islanders crowded, Firn came to the conclusion that the island is densely populated. However, he did not dare to land on it. After this short visit, Nauru remained in isolation for several decades.

The first Europeans who settled in Nauru were deserters and smugglers of Irish descent who were deported from Great Britain to Norfolk Island (there was a correctional colony for the most dangerous criminals who were transported to Australia), Patrick Burke and John Jones , who later fled from Norfolk Island and sailed on Nauru in 1830 ^{[2] [13]} . In 1837, five more deserters were added to the eight European criminals already living here ^[13] . John Jones also became a true dictator of Nauru, who favored his supporters and cruelly punished his enemies ^[13] . Nevertheless, the islanders' patience ended, and Jones was expelled to Ocean Island (or Banaba ), lying 300 km east of Nauru ^[13] . His subsequent attempts to return to the island were stopped, and he was again driven out by the locals ^[13] .

In 1845, only two Europeans lived in Nauru, one of whom, Williams Harris , landed on the island in 1842 ^[13] . However, they very soon assimilated with the Nauruans, adopting their customs and having led families ^[13] . Since 1852, many of the inhabitants of the island began to engage in piracy , so most of the courts simply began to sail past Nauru ^{[2] [13]} .

The life of the Nauruans, like most of the other peoples of Oceania, changed greatly after the opening of the island by Europeans. Nauru has a lot of products and products, the existence of which the locals previously did not know: firearms , alcohol , tobacco . Sexually transmitted diseases, as well as infectious diseases such as influenza , dysentery , tuberculosis , leprosy , were recorded ^[13] . Between Europeans and Nauruans initially carried out barter, subsequently the role of money increased. The islanders mostly sold copra or coconuts.

Tribal War

With the advent of firearms in Nauru, any disputes between tribes were resolved by exchanges of fire, which subsequently led to a tribal civil war ^{[2] [14]} .

The war began in 1878 , when one of the young leaders was accidentally shot during his wedding ^[13] . This accident led to an escalation of events, many families, armed, wanted to take revenge on their enemies ^[13] . In contrast to other conflicts that were resolved, this conflict could not be avoided. During the war, small groups of armed Nauruans invisibly invaded the territory of their enemies and killed people, including women and children ^[13] .

On September 21, 1881, a British ship moored to the island to settle the conflict ^[13] . In the past, a smuggler, William Harris , climbed aboard, told of the war that had begun, that most of the warriors were intoxicated ^[7] , and the Nauruan chief Auweyid ( naur. Auweyida ) prayed for the appearance of the missionaries ^[13] .

Six years later, the island was visited by the British captain from Auckland Frederick Moss, who was going to load copra on his schooner "Baster" ^[13] . He reported on the friendliness of the local population, although most men carried weapons behind their backs. The civil war is not over yet, but the majority of the Nauruans are already tired of it ^[13] . Nevertheless, none of the conflicting parties made concessions and was not going to go to the world. The only means of settling the conflict, according to most locals and William Harris, could be complete disarmament and the establishment of a Christian mission on Nauru ^[13] .

Instability on the island had a strong impact on trade. The bloody civil strife in Nauru stopped only after its annexation by Germany in 1888 .

German Colony

Office

At the end of the 19th century , the spheres of influence in the western and central parts of the Pacific were divided between the German and British empires ^[2] . According to the agreements reached between these powers, the island of Nauru entered the sphere of influence of Germany ^[2] .

The official annexation of the island, whose population was about 1,300 inhabitants ^[1] , was held on April 16, 1888 ^[2] . The establishment of the German protectorate contributed to ending the civil war in Nauru, which lasted ten years ^[2] . The first Germans settled on the island only on October 1: they were 87 people, including missionaries from the Gilbert Islands ^[13] . Soon on the island appeared its head of police, who was the representative of the Kaiser . He appointed Auweidu ( naur. Auweyida ), the leader of Boe , and his wife Eigamoia ( naur. Eigamoiya ), the king and queen of Nauru (they retained this title until 1920 ) ^[15] . With the establishment of the German protectorate on the island, alcoholic beverages and firearms were banned, and all the leaders of the Nauruan tribes were arrested ^[13] . And in fact, the next day the weapons and ammunition were handed over to the Nauruans. Thus ended the bloody clashes between the tribes of the island ^[13] .

On October 2, 1888, in the presence of the King of the Auruyid of Nauru, the German flag was raised over the island of Nauru ^[13] .

The establishment of the German protectorate over Nauru strengthened the position of the German Empire in the region, where there were already several German colonies. And the radio station on the island was supposed to be an important link in the Etappendienst network. In 1906, Nauru was administratively attached to German New Guinea , although the island was originally part of the Marshall Islands Protectorate ^[7] managed by the Jaluit Company .

Despite German rule, Germany’s presence on the island was not too noticeable. Nauru even had its own postage stamps (the first post office on the island was opened on July 14, 1908 ) ^[16] .

German rule continued until November 8, 1914 , when Nauru was occupied by Australia .

Cultural Influence

In the early years of European rule, the colonial administration promoted the spread of German culture, literacy, and education to Nauru. For example, the Pacific Phosphate Company , which developed phosphorites on the island, opened the first Nauruan library ^[17] . The Christian mission also played a large role in the dissemination of the mores and customs of the metropolis .

The first religious mission on the island was called the Liebenzeller Mission ( German Liebenzeller Mission ), and its missionaries were Protestants . One of the first missionaries who settled on the island with his family was Philip Delaport , who had American and German roots. He sailed to Nauru in 1899 from the Hawaiian Islands . Delaport was the first to translate the Bible and other religious books into Nauru, first compiled a German-Nauruan and Nauruan-German dictionary (the book published in 1907 had 65 pages and 1,650 words) and wrote a number of scientific works about this Micronesian language.

In 1902, Catholic missionaries arrived in Nauru for the first time, and immediately after the mission was founded, they began to build a Catholic church on the island ^[17] . These missionaries also promoted literacy among the locals. In 1904, the second bilingual dictionary was compiled by the Catholic Alois Kaiser . The third dictionary was written by Paul Hambruch , who visited Nauru twice, in May 1909 and from September to November 1910 ^{[18] [19]} .

In fact, in the course of European colonization, the European way of life, customs and traditions were imposed on the Nauruans. The spread of Christianity led to the banning of polygamy , traditional dances, which were considered to be overly revealing by missionaries, and traditional clothing ^[13] . These fundamental changes in the life of the Nauruans were not without social problems.

Colonial dominion and the increase in the proportion of Europeans in the population of Nauru led to the further spread of disease. For example, in 1907, 150 local residents died of dysentery ^[13] . In 1890, the first official census of the island’s population was conducted. According to Nauru, 1,294 Nauruans and 24 Gilbertian missionaries lived on her ^[13] .

Economic Activity

In the early years of the German protectorate, the actual management of Nauru was in the hands of Jaluit Gesellschaft ^[20] (translated into Russian as Jaluit Society ), a German company that, in exchange for trade privileges, financed the colonization of the islands of the German Empire in Oceania ^[21] . The same company received the right to exploit the bowels of the island of Nauru (however, phosphate deposits on the island have not yet been discovered) ^[21] . At the end of the 19th century, the main agricultural product of the Pacific Islands was copra , which is produced by drying the oily endosperm of coconut nuts , so in the first years priority was given to creating coconut plantations ^{[1] [13]} . In order to consolidate its presence, the German government built a hospital, a desalination plant, an electricity generator in Nauru, and German gradually became the main language of communication ^[18] .

In 1899, New Zealand's geologist Sir Albert Ellis , an employee of the British Pacific Islands Company, accidentally discovered a large amount of phosphorus-containing ore in Nauru, as well as on Ocean Island (now Banaba ) ^{[2] [13]} . In 1906, the company bought from Jaluit society for £ 2,000 the right to exploit phosphorites of Nauru for a period of 99 years ^{[7] [13]} . Gradually, the Pacific Island Company (later the Pacific Phosphate Company ) occupied a key role in the island’s economy, becoming the main employer of the Nauru people. For each ton of phosphate rock, the company paid deductions to the Jaluit society, as well as to local residents ^[13] .

The extraction of phosphorites, the transportation of which was eased after the construction of the railway on the island in 1907 ^[22] , began in 1906 ^{[2] [7]} . Unskilled workers from the Gilbert Islands , the Caroline Islands , from China were imported especially for work in quarries ^[1] , since most of the Nauruans did not agree to work on phosphate rock mining ^[2] . These immigrants and their descendants continue to live in Nauru and, together with Europeans, make up 42% of the entire Nauru population ^[23] . Every year, phosphorus trade gained momentum, the volume of production increased: in the early years of development, 11,000 tons of phosphate rock was exported to Australia , and 138,725 tons of phosphate rock was transported and exported to 46 vessels by 1913 ^[13] .

All key positions in the Pacific Phosphate Company’s Nauru division were occupied by immigrants from Germany: the administrator and 22 of 63 European workers were Germans. By the beginning of World War I, the island’s population consisted of 1,400 Nauruans , 30 Germans , 70 Britons, and about 1,000 Chinese and Carolynians ^[24] .

World War I

August 4, 1914 Britain declared war on Germany, thereby entering the First World War . Nauru was subjected to the same tests as other German colonies, which were attacked by the countries of the " Triple Accord ". Since the island is strongly isolated from the outside world, the largest, most bloody battle theaters were located far from this colony. The First World War almost did not affect Nauru: the Australian troops who invaded the island captured it without spilling blood and did not meet with strong opposition from local residents ^[24] .

The German governor of Nauru, who was in constant communication with the outside world through a radio transmitter, did not initially notify the inhabitants of the island about the war between Germany and Great Britain. However, on 7 August 1914 martial law was introduced in Nauru. A small militia was formed from the Nauruans, but for a few weeks nothing happened. After the start of the war, the island was cut off from the rest of the world, and there were interruptions in food supply. It was decided to send a small mission to Ocean Island. However, the British administration of the island refused to help. Only a few days later, on September 6 , after a request from the governor of Nauru, 49 British citizens were evacuated from Nauru to Ocean by British forces.

Three days later, on September 9, an Australian warship went from Fiji to Nauru to destroy a radio station on the island, which was part of a network of stations that provide communication with German ships and ships, as well as with the metropolitan and other German colonies in the Pacific. During dawn, thanks to cohesive action and a factor of surprise, 25 Australian soldiers managed to land on the island across the pier , from where phosphates were loaded onto dry cargo ships. Immediately, nearby buildings and six residents were captured, heading towards the administrative buildings of the island. The latter did not offer any resistance and immediately surrendered ^[24] . Australian troops then went to the radio station, which, as it turned out, was previously dismantled by the Germans, who were afraid of the enemy seizing an important object. Seven hours later, the Australians left Nauru ^[24] .

Only on November 6, 1914, a group of Australians settled on the island, thus putting an end to German rule in Nauru ^[24] . Australia ruled the island until December 17, 1920 , when an agreement was signed with Britain and New Zealand, under which control of the island passed under the joint management of the three states ^[25] . Until June 1921, the island was part of the British Western Pacific Territories ( English British Western Pacific Territories ). The new colonial leadership continued the extraction of phosphorites, which was carried out by the Pacific Phosphate Company ^[15] .

Mandate of the League of Nations

After the First World War, Germany, according to Article 119 of the Versailles Peace Treaty ^[26], abandoned all its colonies, including Nauru. Australia subsequently tried to put pressure on the League of Nations to become eligible for the annexation of the island, but the American President Woodrow Wilson opposed any seizure of the former German colonies ^[13] . The League of Nations finally concluded that it was necessary to transfer Nauru to the custody of Britain. In 1923, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia signed an agreement under which the island of Nauru came under their joint management, but was administered by Australia ^{[2] [7] [27]} .

With the advent of the new colonial authorities, the economic development of Nauru and the “westernization” of the Nauru people continued. Three countries subsequently bought out for £ 3.5 million the right to develop phosphorites on the island from the Pacific Phosphate Company . The development of deposits was carried out under the leadership of the British Phosphate Commissioners ( British Phosphate Commissioners ), consisting of three people ^[2] . Phosphorites that were mined on the island were widely used in countries such as Australia and New Zealand, where farmers needed fertilizers ^[2] . The Nauruans received practically nothing from the development: they were paid only 8 pence per ton of phosphorite ^[2] .

In parallel, there was a spread of Western lifestyle, Christianity and the collapse of the traditional beliefs of local residents. In 1927, the Council of Elders was first convened in Nauru, which, however, served as advisory function ^[2] . October 26, 1932 Angamov was first celebrated the day , which after some time became a national holiday of Nauru.

World War II and Japanese occupation

Nauru is one of the few territories that survived the attacks of the Japanese and German armies during the Second World War . This was due to the relative proximity of Japanese territory and the presence of German warships in the Pacific.

At the beginning of the war, when Japan had not yet begun hostilities, the German ships were disguised as Japanese cargo ships, thus capturing islands in Oceania ( Marshall Islands , Caroline Islands ). On December 6, 1940, they attacked, ransacked and sank a British ship in the northern part of the Solomon Islands, which delivered food to Nauru ^[28] .

Subsequently, two German ships from 7 to 8 December flooded five dry cargo ships (British and Norwegian) in Nauru, which were awaiting phosphorite loading in the port of the island ^[28] . One of them, the German auxiliary cruiser Komet , has repeatedly threatened to destroy the entire infrastructure of Nauru created by the British Phosphate Company . The frequent approach of this vessel to the island was a signal for evacuation, otherwise great sacrifices could follow. After the shelling of Nauru , during which part of the island infrastructure was destroyed, including fuel tanks, the Komet sailed back to Europe ^[29] . Important facilities soon after this event were restored, and the company resumed phosphate mining. And Nauru established peace for several months. The actions of the Komet raider were condemned by the Japanese side, which was interested in the extraction of raw materials on the island, and from the headquarters of the German Navy, Komet received an angry radiogram condemning the shelling of Nauru.

A few days before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft launched several air strikes against Nauru. After the capture of the nearby Gilbert Islands, a British company engaged in phosphate mining on the island decided to evacuate their employees. Especially for this, a French ship sailed from New Hebrides . In total, 61 European, 391 Chinese and 49 members of the British garrison in Nauru were evacuated. 191 workers remained in Nauru after the promise of their emergency evacuation, which was never carried out ^[29] .

On August 26, 1942, 300 Japanese soldiers landed on the island, capturing all Europeans who remained in Nauru. 1850 Nauruans after the occupation of Japan could move freely around the island, but rationing products were introduced, which lasted until the end of the war ^[2] . The local inhabitants organized the defense of the island, including 152-mm guns on the coast, and anti-aircraft installations on the dais.

One of the most important events of the Japanese occupation was the construction of the runway, which now belongs to the Nauru International Airport . 1,500 Japanese and Koreans were involved in its construction, as well as 300 workers of Nauru and Gilbertian origin, who were forced to work by force. Construction was completed in January 1943 ^[29] . Although the Japanese wanted to restore Nauru’s infrastructure to resume phosphate mining, during the Second World War, the island served as just one of the Japanese army’s strongholds in the central Pacific.

Since 1942, offensive actions of American troops began in the Pacific Ocean . March 25, 1943 ^[29] the first shelling of Nauru by Americans took place. As a result, 15 Japanese aircraft were deployed at the aerodrome, as well as part of the installations at the airport. In November 1943, American troops after the bloody battle of Tarawa , liberated the Gilbert Islands. However, defeating the Japanese, they did not move towards Nauru.

In September 1943, the Japanese authorities decided to deport most of the Nauruans (1,200 ^[29] ) to Chuuk Island (the Caroline Islands ) ^[13] , located 1600 km north-west of Nauru ^[2] . These actions were attributed to the famine that began in Nauru due to food supply problems. By the end of the war, 300 people died because of it, and cases of cannibalism were noted ^[29] .

On September 13, 1945, after dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ( August 6 and 9 ), as well as Japan’s surrender ( September 2, 1945 ), an agreement was signed aboard the Australian warship Diamantina , under which Japanese troops surrendered Nauru Island. Subsequently, 3,745 Japanese and Koreans were repatriated, and some of them were accused of committing crimes against Europeans and Nauruans during the Second World War ^[29] . After the war, out of about 1,200 local residents deported to Chuuk Island, only 737 people survived ^[1] , who were returned home on January 31, 1946 ^[2] . The population of the island declined from 1,848 people in 1940 to 1,369 people in 1946 . A company engaged in the extraction of phosphorites on the island, in memory of the sad events of wartime, built a museum of the Second World War ^[30] .

UN Mandate

After the end of the Second World War, on November 1, 1947 ^[31] , the island of Nauru became a territory controlled by the UN , under the joint management of Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia. However, in fact, the island was ruled by Australia ^[15] . In the same year, phosphate production was resumed in Nauru ^[32] .

In 1948, the British Phosphate Company exported phosphorites in the amount of 745,000 Australian dollars , but only 2% of the Nauruans were paid from the proceeds, and 1% was paid to the administration of the island ^[13] . Very low pay to workers, mostly Chinese, poor working conditions made the life of migrants very hard. This led to the uprising in 1948 ^[33] , due to which a state of emergency was imposed on Nauru. The uprising was immediately put down by Australian troops. 11 workers were injured and 4 killed ^[33] . Between 1950 and 1953, the British company and the Australian government, fearing the spread of communist ideas by Chinese workers in Nauru, began to prepare for new insurgencies ^[33] . The local police were reorganized, the Chinese were monitored, and in 1953 ^{[33] they} even searched the homes of island workers. In the end, during the investigation, the Australian government concluded that the Chinese in Nauru were supporters of the capitalist regime on the island of Taiwan , and not the communist regime in the People's Republic of China ^[33] .

On December 18, 1951, the island government was elected to Nauru for the first time - the Nauru Council ^[2] of 9 members headed by Hammer DeRoburt , formerly deported to Chuuk Island ^{[1] [2]} . The main purpose of this body was to provide the Nauruans the right to participate in the life of their native island. However, the actual control over the council was in the hands of the Australian government, so this body was not a political entity that would determine the course of events in Nauru. This led to the proliferation of demands for the provision of greater political power to local residents and an increase in contributions, despite the gradual depletion of phosphate reserves ^[2] . Indeed, since 1963, Australian and New Zealand farmers have purchased Nauru phosphorites mined by almost 2,000 foreigners (mostly Chinese) at prices that are one-third lower than world prices. Only in 1964, world purchasing prices were set for Nauru phosphorites ^[2] . As a result, in 1966, Nauru people began to pay up to 22% of the profits, and the administrations - 14% ^[13] . Nevertheless, out of almost 65 million US dollars derived from exports of phosphate rock from 1922 to 1965, only 2.5 million US dollars were paid to Nauruans ^[34] .

In 1961 ^[12] , thanks to the support of the South Pacific Commission , Mozambican tilapia fish ( born Oreochromis mossambicus ) were introduced to Nauru, which was released to Lake Buada . But because of the very small size and poor taste, this fish was not particularly popular among the local population. Replicated in all the ponds, where the Khanos was valuable for the islanders, tilapia began to gradually replace this fish. This led to the fact that local fish farmers began to abandon the practice of breeding Khanos ^[12] .

As in previous years, in the 1960s, active development of phosphate rock was carried out. There was a destruction of vegetative, soil covers. Therefore, over time, the landscape of Nauru has become more reminiscent of the "lunar landscape", and the island has become less livable. During these years, the Australian government began to develop projects for the relocation of the inhabitants of Nauru to Fraser Island ^[1] , and then to Curtis Island (both of them are located near the coast of the Australian state of Queensland ). However, it was not possible to implement this project largely for political reasons: although the Nauruans did not oppose resettlement, they demanded independence for them ^[2] . The Australian government was categorically opposed to such a plan for the development of events, especially within its state border. The project was finally rejected in 1964 ^[2] . After this failure, a large part of the Nauruan population began to support the idea of ​​granting independence to the island. Already in 1966, thanks to the support of the UN Board of Trustees in Nauru, the Legislative Council was elected for the first time ^[2] . Despite the desire of Australia to retain the right to determine the foreign policy of Nauru and assume the defense of the island, most of the islanders, headed by Hammer De-Roburt ^[1], insisted on the right to full self-determination ^[2] . In the end, the Australian government put up with this idea, and the Australian National University began the process of drafting the constitution of Nauru ^[1] .

In recent years, Australian rule on the island has seen a rise in the standard of living of the Nauruans, medical services, and education; some of the Nauruan students studied in the territory of the Australian Union ^[1] . Such positive changes were largely due to the transfer of infrastructure and equipment to the control of Nauru, which belonged to the British Phosphate Commission ^[1] . In 1967, the Nauru branch of this company completely came under the control of Nauru, which allowed the islanders to control the extraction of phosphorites on the island and their export ^[2] .

Golden Years

Economic Development

January 31, 1968 , the twenty-second anniversary of the repatriation of Nauruans from Chuuk Island, Nauru became an independent state with a republican form of government ^[2] . The Australian dollar was chosen as the official monetary unit by the government of the country, which freed the country from the introduction of a new national currency and the establishment of the central bank of Nauru ^[1] .

With independence, this island nation has entered an era of economic prosperity, which was explained by several factors. In 1966, phosphate deposits were developed on Makatea Island, and in 1979, on Banaba Island . As a result, Nauru became the only island in the Pacific Ocean that exported this valuable rock to fertilizer production ^[35] . In June 1970, the government of Nauru, completing the purchase of the British Phosphate Company from the UK and becoming its absolute owner, nationalized the company and gave it a new name, Nauru Phosphate Corporation ^[14] . In the early years of independence, Nauru also observed an increase in phosphate prices in world markets, which peaked in 1975 ( $ 68 per ton ^[1] ).

All these factors played a positive role for the country's economy, where the standard of living of the population gradually approached the indicators of the advanced countries of the West. Over time , per capita GDP reached a level of 50 thousand US dollars: according to this indicator, Nauru ranked second in the world after Saudi Arabia ^[1] .

In the 1970s, the infrastructure on the island improved significantly: an administrative and community center was built, which held various international conferences, a hotel in Meneng with more than a hundred hotel rooms, a satellite communications station, through which a telephone appeared in each family, and the terminal was expanded and the airstrip of Nauru International Airport , repaired the roads around the perimeter of the island ^[36] . In 1972, its airline, Air Nauru (now Aue Airline ), appeared in the Republic of Nauru ^[36] . Nauruans entered the consumer society: cars, televisions and other household equipment that was imported from foreign countries became familiar, and the first supermarkets appeared ^[37] . During these years, the inhabitants of the island were completely exempted from paying taxes ^[13] .

Over time, the Nauru government began to realize that sooner or later the phosphate reserves on the island would be depleted, and decided to follow the same path as Kuwait ^[1] : to invest the country's money in real estate in other states ^[1] . In 1977, the building of Nauru House ^[38] was built in the city of Melbourne (Australia) on Collins Street ^[38] (the same year, the first offers appeared on the purchase by the Nauruans of ships for the independent transportation of phosphorites to the main world markets ^[1] ). The country has invested heavily in the economies of the Hawaiian Islands , Guam , Marshall Islands , India , the cities of Washington , Houston , London , and the state of Oregon ^{[13] [37]} . However, most of the investment did not produce the expected results ^[37] : the costs of maintaining the various buildings purchased by the Government of Nauru were too large ^[37] .

At the beginning of 1989, the government’s fears were justified: a decline in demand for phosphate rock was observed on world markets, which, in turn, led to a drop in their prices. As a result, Nauru’s revenues began to fall steadily, and phosphate deposits lasted for 5–10 years ^[39] .

Political Sphere

During the Cold War, the state of Nauru adhered to a policy of neutrality and non-alignment with military blocs, although in 1969 it became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations ^[40] . In 1982, the British Queen Elizabeth II visited Nauru for the first time, and a few years later, on December 30, 1987 , Nauru established diplomatic relations with the USSR ^[2] .

However, the main political event after independence was the lawsuit of 1989 to the UN International Court of Justice in Australia, in which Australia was accused of destroying the island’s ecosystem during phosphate mining during the years of domination of Nauru ^[2] . Australia agreed to start the negotiation process, and, according to the agreements reached, paid Nauru 57 million Australian dollars and promised to allocate another 50 million Australian dollars over 20 years ^[41] . The United Kingdom and New Zealand, in turn, in August 1993 paid twelve million dollars to Nauru in compensation for agricultural land destroyed during the development ^[2] . Initially, the government of the country was going to bring soil into the country with this money, but later they were spent on upgrading the island’s infrastructure.

In the 1990s, the priority of the domestic policy of Nauru was given to the ecology of the island. That is why at the XXIV Forum of the Pacific Islands , which was held on the territory of Nauru in 1993, environmental issues and countering nuclear testing in the region were central to the discussion. In 1991, Taiwan rendered financial assistance in restoring fisheries on the island (namely, in the resumption of the breeding of Khanos fish in local ponds) ^[12] .

Period of recession

Economic Crisis

At the beginning of 1990 ^{[1], the} Republic of Nauru faced a serious financial crisis caused by the strong dependence of the country's economy on phosphate prices, as well as the inept management of property investments abroad.

As a result, an increase in production costs was observed on the island due to the gradual depletion of deposits and the complicated process of phosphate production (the trade balance deficit due to the high price of imported goods caused by the high dollar rate ^[39] played a significant role in increasing the crisis). Investments in real estate and land did not provide the country with the necessary finances ^[1] . Most likely, this was caused by illiterate governance and possible corruption ^[37] . In addition, at that time in the state treasury there was only 30 million Australian dollars instead of the estimated 8 billion ^[1] . The economic crisis directly affected the political situation in the country: in the period from 1995 to 2007, eight presidents in the country changed ^[15] .

To overcome the crisis, the government of Nauru has taken a series of drastic measures. At the first stage, government spending was reduced by selling aircraft owned by the national airline, as well as by delaying the salaries of state employees ^[13] . However, this did not solve the problem of the budget deficit, which reached a size of 5.8 million US dollars or 18% of the country's GDP in 2000 ^[1] .

Along with budget cuts, the Nauru government adopted a state strategy, which provided for diversification of the economy through the development of tourism and fisheries in the exclusive coastal economic zone ^[39] .

However, these measures did not have much success. Being without sources of replenishment of the budget, the Republic of Nauru turned into a major offshore center ^{[2] [37] [42]} , where money was laundered by various criminal groups and terrorist organizations (in 2000, more than 400 offshore banks were registered in the republic ^[43] ). The country also began selling passports to foreigners ^{[1] [2] [37] [42]} .

In February 1999, this Micronesian state was named by the FATF organization as one of the four Pacific countries, “which noted a very high concentration of financial activities related to organized crime from Russia” (other countries - Cook Islands , Samoa and Vanuatu ) ^[44] . And according to a representative of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in 1998, about $ 70 billion were transferred from Russia to the Nauru banks, thus hiding their income from the state and hiding from paying taxes ^[45] . Most of the operations were carried out via the Internet through Nauru Agency Corporation , located in the Yaren district. However, offshore banks established by Russian citizens were also registered in Nauru. For example, Sinex Bank, which received laundered money from Russian banks Depository Clearing Bank and Bank Flamingo ^[46] .

This caused some concern to the world community. Already on January 17, 1999, ^[47] Deutsche Bank and Bankers Trust , which make money transfers all over the world, imposed a ban on dollar trade with Nauru (the same sanctions were applied to Palau and Vanuatu ) ^[43] . Subsequently, the G8 countries applied sanctions against this Micronesian country.

The implementation of the Australian program “ Pacific Solution ” ( eng. Pacific Solution ), launched in early 2000 , led to a number of international scandals. This program envisaged the establishment of refugee centers on the territory of several island states, including Nauru ^{[2] [42] [48] [49]} . The introduction of this program was caused by the increased immigration of immigrants from Afghanistan and Iraq to Australia. In exchange for assistance to the states where such centers were located, the Australian government paid permanent subsidies or fuel compensations ^[37] . However, the “Pacific Solution” caused widespread discontent among human rights organizations that accused Australia of violating human rights and the Geneva Refugee Convention . As a result, the Australian government was forced to abandon this program in 2005 ^[48] .

Since the end of 2003 , the standard of living in Nauru has fallen, and a significant part of the population was at the poverty line ^[12] . The government began selling equipment that was used in the extraction of phosphate rock, was sold to Nauru House in Melbourne, most of the telecommunications companies have ceased to provide communication services ^[1] . A large role in these years was played by the financial support of Australia ^[1] .

At the end of 2004, Ludwig Scotty ^[15] was elected by a majority vote of members of parliament for a second term ^[15] , who immediately announced a change in the state’s economic policy, including the export of phosphates ^[50] .

Reforms and economic recovery

In August 2004, a report was published at the Australian Center for Independent Studies ( Australian Center for Independent Studies ), which reviewed various options for the future of Nauru. One of them is the complete loss of independence and the incorporation into Australia as a territory. Other options are free association with either Australia or Oceania such as New Zealand or Fiji ^[51] . According to the comments of Professor Helen Hughes ( eng. Helen Hughes ), in Nauru it was necessary to reorganize the structure of parliament, public utilities and start living within our means ^[51] . In the meantime, a number of Pacific Island Forum member states have expressed willingness to provide financial assistance to Nauru ^[52] .

In September 2004, studies of phosphorite deposits were carried out on the island at the initiative of the representative of Nauru to the UN, Vinci Clodumar . The results showed that in some places of Nauru there are more phosphate reserves than previously thought ^[53] .

On October 1, 2004, President Nauru Ludwig Scotty declared a state of emergency in the country and at the same time dissolved the parliament, which could not accept the new budget ^[54] ; later, on October 23, early parliamentary elections were scheduled ^[55] . In addition, the president dismissed parliamentary speaker Russell Kun ( Eng. Russell Kun ) ^[54] . Scotty and his liberal reformist supporters won the election with a parliamentary majority, which was a historic event for a country in which the government changed two or three times a year ^[56] . In December 2004, for the first time in several months, phosphorites were exported: a cargo weighing 10 thousand tons was sent to South Korea ^[57] .

On August 25, 2007, the Nauruans elected a new parliament. Scotty, despite his reforms, which were not popular among the people, won a victory: his supporters received 15 of the 18 seats in parliament. And on August 27, he once again became the president of Nauru ^[58] .

However, on November 10, 2007, a new internal political crisis flared up in the country. As a result, on December 19, 2007, after a vote of no confidence in Ludwig Scotty, Marcus Stephen was elected the new president.

The chronology below includes only historical events after the discovery of the island of Nauru by Europeans.

• (eng.) BBC News - Chronology of Nauruan history
• (eng.) Lonely Planet - History of Nauru
• (eng.) Pacific Magazine . History of Nauru during the Second World War.
• (Engl.) Arthur W. Jose, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918 , Volume IX - The Royal Australian Navy: 1914-1918, Chapter XII - The Royal Australian Naval Brigade , 1928