The Japanese seized Kiribati during World War II, and proceeded to fortify the island. ![]() The bulk of the Kiribati islands became possessions of the British. Probably settled by the Lapitans, Kiribati’s location near the middle of the Pacific also brought it into contact with Melanesians from Fiji and Polynesians from Samoa and Tonga.Ĭontact with the West occurred sometime in the 16th century, and trade with the west precipitated local tribal wars that quickly became an excuse for colonial powers to gain control of the land. Human beings have lived on the Kiribati islands for at least 700 years, and possibly longer-the exact dating of arrival is difficult due to incomplete archeological records and oral history.
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