The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony from 1916 until 1 January 1976, when the islands were divided into two different colonies which became independent nations shortly after. The Gilbert Islands have been the major part of the nation of Kiribati since 1979, and the Ellice Islands became Tuvalu in 1978.
Read more about Gilbert And Ellice Islands: History, Naming, Postage Stamps
Famous quotes containing the words gilbert and/or islands:
“This particularly rapid, unintelligible patter
Isn’t generally heard, and if it is it doesn’t matter!”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)
“What are the islands to me
if you are lost
what is Naxos, Tinos, Andros,
and Delos, the clasp
of the white necklace?”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)