There are 233 countries in the world, and perhaps each country has its own characteristics. Some countries have a relatively large land area, some countries have a relatively large population, and some countries have a relatively developed economy. Among the many islands in the South Pacific, there is such a small island nation , Nauru.
Known as the "paradise island", Nauru is one of the smallest countries in the world. The total population of the island is only more than 10,000 people, which is not as large as the total population of a town in China. But what is the reason behind this country's economy, which was once among the best in the world? Together we walked into the country and learned stories about its development.
Nauru is located in the southern hemisphere, and in the vast South Pacific Ocean, Nauru occupies only 21.1 square kilometers. Amazingly, even though Nauru is very small, it is still divided into 14 small villages. This space, which was not spacious, seemed so crowded for a while.
After the eighteenth century, with the continuous development of shipbuilding, weapons manufacturing and other industries, some capitalist countries in Europe embarked on the road of overseas expansion. These countries include Britain, Germany, etc., whose teams sail ships around the world, and when they see good territory, they want to occupy themselves, carry out colonial plunder and aggression. Nauru became one of the plundered countries, and the first friend to visit the country was John Finn of Britain.
It was a sunny day, and the coastline rose and fell with the wind and waves, and the waves lapped the shore happily, and also brought John Finn's "Hunter" ship. He was on the boat and saw the scenery of this island, a quiet and peaceful place. After walking into this island, you will find that there are residents living in it, and they are happy and harmonious.
What you see is what you think, and John Finn named the island "Happy Island" because all he could see was a happy and peaceful atmosphere. John Finn regarded it as his place of leisure, and for various reasons he did not include the territory of Nauru, but instead lost this piece of fat that was brought to his mouth.
In the Age of Discovery, Prussia, as a small country, did not gain much wealth and land in this scramble. So the Prussian state sent a fleet of ships around the Pacific ocean to look for fish that had slipped through the net. Fortunately, Prussia met this windy and sunny "Happy Island".
Originally, there were no great expectations for the act of picking up leaks, but it turned out to be "unintentionally planting willows", which should be when God closed a door for their country, and then opened another window. Inside this small window, there are rich resources.
Some friends may wonder, how can such a small country realize the dream of being rich and invincible? According to our inherent habits of thought, it may be speculated that the inhabitants of this country developed the fishing industry. Because Nauru is an island on the verge of the sea, it is possible that fishing out to sea will be very profitable.
There is also speculation that Nauru is located in the tropics and can also develop some tropical fruit cultivation and export to other countries, so as to make a certain profit. However, in fact, these speculations do not hold. Because in such a country that is not only small in size but also has a small population, its economy wants to rely on planting and fishing to leap to the forefront of the world, which is simply impossible.
It was because Prussia discovered this resource on the island, phosphate, that the people of this small country became rich.
So, how did such a huge high-quality phosphate rock resource come about? Later, in 1901, a German geologist discovered that more than 80% of the soil on a small territory in nauru was high-quality phosphate rock. How this high-quality phosphate rock was formed on this island and why the soil layer is as thick as more than ten meters is worth a closer look.
The main source of phosphate rock resources is guano, as mentioned earlier, the weather on this island is warm and suitable, and since humans live here is an ultimate enjoyment, it is also a paradise for birds.
Over the past few hundred or even thousands of years, thousands of birds have flown back and forth many times, and many have inhabited and settled here, so the thickness of natural bird droppings will accumulate little by little.
As the saying goes: "Frozen three feet, not a day's cold". For guano, the same is true. Due to the accumulation of layers, the final depth is more than ten meters long, and eventually a thick layer of phosphate rock is formed.
In that industrial era of the twentieth century, phosphate rock resources were indispensable in the process of production and development. The demand for phosphate rock resources in many countries is very high, and in the case of a sharp rise in demand, the industrial requirements for resource quality will increase.
It just so happens that Nauru has a large amount of phosphate ore resources and high quality, so Nauru has become the first choice for many countries. In the following days, the Germans began to mine and excavate phosphate rock on a large scale, because the resource scale of phosphate ore was too large, so even if the number of mining times, it did not have a great impact.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, World War I broke out, one of the most destructive wars in European history. In the face of the international situation, the competition for Nauru's territory in some capitalist countries is becoming increasingly fierce. As the victorious power of the First World War, Britain occupied this land with a greater advantage.
As the saying goes, "fertile water does not flow into the fields of outsiders", the United Kingdom considered the interests of some other victorious countries, and generously joined Australia and New Zealand to enjoy this high-quality phosphate mineral resource. This may also be a strategy to better link relations with the victorious powers.
Since then, the small island of Nauru has not settled down, and it has changed hands several times through World War II to the Japanese. During the Japanese occupation, phosphate ore resources have also continued to be exploited, and the outflow of resources has promoted the local economic construction and development to a certain extent.
It was not until 1968, after several twists and turns, that the country of Nauru finally "stood" in the true sense of the word and became an independent country called the "Republic of Nauru". The capitalist countries have occupied and colonized Nauru for hundreds of years, and in this year, Nauru is free from the constraints of other countries, and the phosphate ore resources are already in their own hands.
Let us first say what methods the Republic of Nauru, which has assumed the right to independence and autonomy, has developed and strengthened its economy since its territorial recovery.
Through the understanding of history, we can roughly define the Republic of Nauru as a country that has exploited resources to the fullest. Beginning with the initiative in the 1970s, the Nauru government ordered large-scale exploitation of phosphate resources. As soon as this order was issued, the whole country began to exploit it.
Nauru's phosphate rock is abundant and of high quality, supported and procured by many countries. By transferring these high-quality resources abroad, Nauru can make a lot of profits from them every year.
First of all, this is a zero-cost investment, because the formation of phosphate ore resources is slowly accumulated overnight, and once formed, it is enough to be exploited and used by generations. Secondly, phosphate rock resources for Nauru, almost occupy more than half of the area, the number of large scale, do not have to worry about the shortage of short-term problems.
After the prosperity of a country is stable, then the prosperity of each citizen is followed. With a large number of export phosphate rock resources, every resident here has a thick pile of money in their wallets, and the wealth of Nauruans depends on phosphate ore to rank among the top in the world for a time.
Nauru's geographical location is relatively superior, coupled with a number of magnificent buildings rising from the ground, this place can be said to be a veritable version of paradise. I think this should be a place that many people dream of living, not only without lack of money to spend, but also to enjoy such a unique natural scenery.
It is no exaggeration to say that no one will believe that the wealth earned by Nauruans in the eighties cannot be kept up in the 21st century. Because this is a country with a per capita GDP of nearly $40,000, if you do the math, you know how rich Nauruans are.
Let's walk into this "Nauru boom" and see what other aspects of the country's developments during this period were. A country's prosperity inevitably leads to a series of developments such as infrastructure construction, and Nauru is no exception.
Although Nauru's land area is relatively small, the state has spent a lot of money to build an airport, which provides convenient transportation conditions for Nauruan residents to go abroad to other countries. Nauru residents can basically achieve whatever city they want to go to.
Local people have also bought their favorite luxury cars, and the transportation conditions are much more convenient than ever. In addition to the improvement in transportation, nauruans are not low in their own expenses. They used the money exchanged for phosphate mineral resources to buy a large number of jewelry, expensive watches and other luxury goods.
It can be said that almost all the people in this period enjoyed the life treatment of the nobility.
However, there are still many people who are not satisfied with their current lives and want to pursue extremely comfortable living conditions. The current conditions do not satisfy them, so the result is to continue to mine phosphate mines in large quantities.
Fortunately, the amount of phosphate rock resources is currently enough for them to squander. Day and night, they dig phosphate mines day and night, and then sell them abroad for money.
This is done just to make more profits so that they can live their most ideal life. Perhaps, at this time, they do not realize the fate of doing so, and they will not guess what will happen in the future. It is only for their own temporary enjoyment, but they do not care about future generations.
After making more profits, the state began to vigorously build new facilities. In order for Nauru residents to enjoy the welfare of the state, many entertainment programs are mostly free and open. Whether it is educational or medical, it is free for residents, and they do not need to bear other costs.
Five Boeing aircraft purchased by the state travel to and from the United States, providing convenience for students who want to study in the United States. However, there are drawbacks to state welfare. Money can make people lazy, because with a convenient, well-fed and comfortable life, more and more Nauruans have developed bad habits of sitting at home while eating and watching TV.
The improvement of living conditions has led them to increase their appetite, and it is said that they eat as much as 6 meals a day. As we all know, Nauruans love beer, so the state has built a brewery on the Solomon Islands, which is not sold, but is specially provided to the nationals in Nauru.
In addition, they do not limit their diet, often eating glutinous rice mixed with sugar and various high-fat foods. In the long run, the consequences can be imagined, the obesity rate in Nauru country is as high as 90%, and 60% of people have diabetes. The sheer size of this number has forced many people to change their lifestyle and eating habits.
In terms of entertainment, Nauru has established three television stations, and three buildings broadcast world programmes throughout the day, which provides convenience for Nauruans to understand the current development status and situation in other countries in the world. The government has also held zero-return opera performances at the London Opera House for the long-term development of the entertainment industry.
These are all benefits given by the Government of Nauru to the people in terms of life and entertainment, which have enriched the spiritual life of the People of Nauru to a certain extent. Affected by government financial subsidies, locals are almost all upstarts, as if they regard spending money as their own job, and they also set their sights overseas and want to continue their construction projects elsewhere.
It is no exaggeration to say that as soon as an idea about this aspect is generated, the Nauruans will turn it into reality.
In 1972, the Nauruans acquired a piece of land in Melbourne and built a tallest building in someone else's country. The building was originally built to house all the people of Nauru, and now that dream has become a reality.
So at this moment, many countries are full of yearning for the people of Nauru, and they have also learned about the rich and powerful personality of Nauruans. From the appearance of the Nauru Building, not to mention the quality of the project, it is still very grand and luxurious. In addition, the unveiling ceremony of this tall building took nearly half a month, which shows the importance and love of Nauruans.
Nauru Mansion
In terms of the global economy, Nauruans have also made extensive investments, such as finance and national trusts. Until this time, government officials in Nauru were not fully aware of what kind of catastrophe would result from a lot of profligacy. It can be said that the sense of distress of the people of the whole country has disappeared little by little in the increasingly hedonistic environment, which is a very unfavorable aspect of money.
We can compare Nauru's history of prosperity to decline as a firework, which blooms brilliantly and colorfully, and then turns into ashes after falling. They lacked dedicated financial personnel to manage the country's finances and financial investments, and the financial crisis of the 1990s plunged Nauruans into a desperate quagmire that has been difficult to turn over since. Looking back at the ruined land, which they had been digging recklessly, and now that the resources were exhausted, the Nauruans were about to usher in the end of their phosphate mines.
In the 21st century, in the face of the current situation that cannot support the Nauruans to continue to exploit resources, they have gradually woken up and realized a series of financial problems in the country. So the Nauru government chose Australia, a country closer to it, to hire a finance minister to save Nauru's finances and give some economic development advice.
It was too late at this point, as Nauru's resources were nearly depleted and the economy was difficult to reverse. Nauruans, accustomed to a life of luxury, are forced to sell their physical belongings in the face of the current economic collapse, but this is not enough to save their country from the economic crisis.
It wasn't until 2004 that Nauruans had to pay off a glorious building they had built in Melbourne. To put it mildly, if one day the coastline rises and floods the island, then the Nauruans will have no shelter for them to escape disaster.
Now, in order to stabilize the economy, they work for others everywhere, and they have done all kinds of bottomless work, such as laundering money, helping others evade taxes offshore, selling passports, and so on.
The people of the world have a much less view of the Nauruans than they did before, as a group of people who would only avoid difficulties and would not think of a correct and reasonable solution. Surprisingly, nauruans are willing to sell out their diplomatic rights in order to get money back into their hands.
For example, no matter which country is willing to give Nauru some money, the Nauru government will be desperate to establish diplomatic relations with it. Algeria had promised to give Nauruans ten million dollars a year in order to make the country recognize the rights and interests of the Western Saharan countries. Nauruans are also happy to accept that as long as it is a profitable project, they choose to agree to it regardless of all the consequences.
Looking back at the history of nauru's country from prosperity to decline, all of this stems from the excessive dependence on the phosphate ore resources formed by bird droppings over the years, which led to today's decline.
In addition, the greed of Nauruans for money was the main reason for the downward decline of the Nauruan economy in the later period. For where desire is, is where money is spent. We must learn from Nauru's successes and failures and be a person worthy of the times and the country.