Gilbert and Ellice Islands

Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony
1892–1976
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "God Save the King/Queen"
Status	Protectorate of the United Kingdom (1892–1916) Colony of the United Kingdom (1916–1976)
Capital	Tarawa (1895–1908 & 1946–1976) Ocean Island (1908–1942) Funafuti (1942–1946)
Common languages	English (official) Gilbertese Ellicean Tokelauan
Demonym(s)	Gilbertese and Ellicean
Monarch
• 1892–1901	Victoria (first)
• 1952–1976	Elizabeth II (last)
Governor
• 1892–1895	Charles Richard Swayne (first)
• 1973–1976	John Hilary Smith (last)
History
• Protectorate	1892
• Colony	12 January 1916
• Separation	1 January 1976
Population
• 1892	26,430
• 1935	33,713
• 1936	34,433
• 1968	53,517
Currency	Pound sterling (1892–1910) Australian pound (1910–66) Australian dollar (1966–76)
Preceded by Succeeded by 1892: British Western Pacific Territories 1945: Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands 1939: Canton and Enderbury Islands 1941: Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands 1949: Union Islands 1976: Gilbert Islands Colony of Tuvalu
Today part of	Kiribati Tokelau (NZ) Tuvalu

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976, and were administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) until they became independent. The history of GEIC was mainly characterized by phosphate mining on Ocean Island. In October 1975, these islands were divided by force of law into two separate colonies, and they became independent nations shortly thereafter: the Ellice Islands became Tuvalu in 1978, and the Gilbert Islands with Banaba (Ocean Island) became part of Kiribati in 1979.