The Republic of Nauru, abbreviated as Nauru, is an island nation located in the Micronesian Islands of the South Pacific Ocean. The closest country to Nauru is Kiribati on Banaba Island, about 300 km east of Nauru. With an area of 21.3 square kilometers, Nauru is the smallest island nation in the world and the third smallest country in the world, only larger than the Vatican City and Monaco. With a population of about 11,000, Nauru is the third lowest in the world, just ahead of Tuvalu and the Vatican. The indigenous people of Nauru are Micronesians and Polynesians, and there are 12 tribes, which are represented by the twelve pointed stars of the flag.
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The history of Nauru can be divided into several phases: early history, German protectorates, World War I, World War II, independence, and modern times.
**Early History**
Nauru was originally inhabited by Micronesians and Polynesians, who began settling on the island about 3,000 years ago. They live on coconut and pandanus fruit and engage in aquaculture. They worship a goddess named Eijebong and use an island called Buitani as a spiritual sanctuary. Traditionally, there are 12 clan tribes on Nauru, which are represented by the 12-pointed star on the flag. Two of these tribes became extinct in the 20th century.
The first contact with Europeans came in 1798 when British whaling ships passed by, when Captain John Fain, so impressed with the island and its people that he named it "Pleasant Island". The first white man to succeed in settling on the island was Willam Harris of England, who in 1842 at the age of 29 came to the island fascinated by the local girls and settled down, with the former president of Nauru, René Harris, as his descendant.
Between 1878 and 1888, Nauru split into North and South, and a civil war led to a drastic decline in population and social unrest.
**German Protectorate**
Under the Anglo-German agreement, Germany was granted access to the island in 1886. In 1888, Germany incorporated the island into the German New Guinea Protectorate. At that time, Germany did not pay much attention to Nauru, because there was nothing on the island except coconuts. In 1900, the staff of the British phosphate mining company accidentally discovered that there were phosphate mines on the whole island on a stone on the island of Norn, which changed the fate of the island. The Pacific Phosphates Company began mining on the island in 1907 and formed the British Phosphate Commission in 1919. These foreign companies do not care about the rights and environment of Nauruans and only want to profit from them.
**First world war**
In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, Nauru was occupied by Australian troops. It was then under British control until 1920. In 1919, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom signed the Nauru Islands Agreement establishing a British Phosphate Commission. This committee has the power to collect phosphates. Phosphate is an important chemical used in the manufacture of fertilizers, detergents, and other products. In 1920, Nauru became a League of Nations trusteeship, governed jointly by the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, with Australia acting on behalf of the three countries. The three countries continue to mine phosphorite in Nauru, causing serious damage to Nauru's environment. In 1923, Nauruans began to demand more political rights and economic benefits, but were rejected and suppressed by the Trust Power.
**Second world war**
In 1939, World War II broke out and Nauru became a strategic location, threatened by Japan and Germany. In 1940, in retaliation against the Trustee Power, the Germans sank four ships near Nauru and shelled phosphorite installations on the island. In 1942, the Japanese bombed Nauru, the inhabitants fled to Australia to avoid the massacre of the Japanese army, and on August 26, it was occupied by Japan, becoming a tactical support base for the Japanese army in the South Pacific, garrisoning 2,000 people, and bringing a large number of Japanese and Koreans to deploy heavy defense and build two small airfields on the island, but the Allies discovered and bombed 15 aircraft on the island, so the Japanese shot 5 Europeans on the island who did not evacuate. In addition, the Japanese exiled 1,200 Nauruans from the island to work on Chuuk Island. On 13 September 1945, Nauru was separated from Japanese control¹².
**Independent**
After the war, Nauru was jointly administered by Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand by the United Nations, and reported annually to the United Nations, but they actually focused more on how to mine the island's phosphate mines and did not pay much attention to the indoctrination of Nauruans. The Australian Government has repeatedly asked the Australian Government to disclose the volume, cost and selling price of phosphate ore mined each year in order to enable Nauruans to receive a reasonable return while exporting. As the people of Nauru grew wiser, they were deeply dissatisfied with the rule of the Australians, especially the exploitation of phosphate ore, so they fought for independence and reclaimed mining rights. Under strong international pressure, the Australian government reluctantly ended its governance of Nauru, and on 31 January 1968, the Republic of Nauru declared formal independence, with Hammer DeRoburt as President, and became a Special Member of the Commonwealth in November of the same year¹².
**Nowadays**
Since independence, Nauru has relied on the export of phosphate ore as its main source of income. With no other natural resources or industrial base on the island, the government tried to diversify its economy by investing overseas and establishing tax havens. However, these efforts were not successful, and instead led to a fiscal crisis and political instability. In 1989, Nauru brought legal action against Australia before the International Court of Justice, alleging that the Australian government failed to do its utmost to protect the environment and minimize the environmental damage caused by mining. In 1993, Australia agreed to pay $57 million in compensation and $20 million for environmental restoration³⁴.
In 1999, Nauru became a Member of the United Nations and is actively involved in international affairs. Nauru once recognized sovereignty and established diplomatic relations with Taiwan Province of China, but twice severed and switched to the People's Republic of China in 2002 and 2005. In 2007, Nauru resumed diplomatic relations with Taiwan Province of China again until September 2019. Nauru is also a founding member of the Pacific Islands Forum and is actively involved in regional cooperation and development.
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Current situation in Nauru
The political situation in Nauru was very volatile at the beginning of the 21st century, with frequent changes in the President and Cabinet and repeated dissolution of Parliament. In 2003, President Bernard Dowiyogo died and was replaced by Ludwig Scotty. In 2004, Scotty won the election, but was defeated by Marcus Stephen in 2007. Stephen resigned in 2011 and was replaced by Freddie Pidge. In 2013, Baron Waka became president, but was defeated by Wilcliffe Clammen in 2016. In 2019, Lionel Angen became president .
Nauru's economic problems remain acute, with phosphate reserves depleted and much of the island's land covered by debris caused by mining. The government has tried to develop new industries such as tourism, finance and fishing, but with limited success. Nauru has also relied on Australia's assistance and cooperation in setting up a refugee detention centre on the island to process refugee claims who have entered Australia illegally. This practice has aroused criticism and controversy in the international community. To get out of the predicament, the Nauru government has also taken steps such as establishing or severing diplomatic relations with countries such as Taiwan Province of China and Kosovo in exchange for aid, and joining the United Nations and other international organizations to increase its influence. However, these measures have not fundamentally changed Nauru's economic structure and development model, nor have they resolved the environmental crisis and society it faces.
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(1) History of Nauru_Baidu Encyclopedia. https://baike.baidu.com/item/ Nauru History/12605200.
(2) History of Nauru - Wikipedia. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%91%99%E9%B2%81%E5%8E%86%E5%8F%B2.
(3) Nauru - Wikipedia. https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E8%AB%BE%E9%AD%AF.