Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Former British colony in central Pacific Ocean.
The Gilbert and Ellice Islands territory spread across dozens of atolls and coral islands scattered across the central Pacific. These low-lying landmasses featured shallow lagoons and were separated by open ocean.
Britain took control of these Pacific islands in 1892 as a protectorate and converted the territory to colonial status in 1916. The arrangement lasted until the second half of the 20th century when independence movements led to change.
The islands were home to two distinct peoples who spoke different languages and followed separate customs and traditions. These communities maintained distinct ways of life that shaped how they built settlements and organized their societies.
South Tarawa served as the administrative hub and main transport link for the entire territory. Visitors to different island groups had to travel by sea since air connections were limited or nonexistent during most of the colonial period.
The territory was split into two nations in the late 1970s, creating Tuvalu from the Ellice Islands and Kiribati from the Gilbert Islands. This division transformed a single colonial possession into two separate independent nations with different political paths.
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