Kingdom of Nauru

The Kingdom of Nauru was an Austronesian kingdom located in modern-day Nauru. Originally, the island was divided into 12 cheftains in isolation.^[1]

Unification and German colonisation[edit]

During a wedding in 1878, several drunkards killed a local chief, and the wedding then escalated into violence, as did the rest of the island, which lead to the outbreak of the Nauruan Civil War. An escaped convict, Aweida, took advantage of the conflict and tried to become king, which changed the course of the war. Later, in 1881, the British Royal Navy scouted the island. William Harris, who had lived with the Nauruans for years, informed the captain of the conflict, which he told his crew "All hands constantly drunk: no fruit or vegetables to be obtained, nothing but pigs and coconuts."^[2] For the most of the war, both sides remained in a stalemate, with the two sides controlling the north or south of the island. The war largely effected German merchants, who brought their concerns to the German Government, who sent the military their to intervene on the side of King Aweida, who, with help of the German Military, achieved victory on April 16, 1888. Nauru was then annexed into the German Empire, becoming part of German New Guinea. The Colonial Government then confiscated the population’s alcohol and firearms, installed King Aweida on the throne, and then placed the 12 local cheifs under house arrest.^[3]

See also[edit]

• History of Nauru

References[edit]