146:
103:
322:. The war was still going on, although by this time it appeared that many of the islanders had had enough. Through his conversations with the natives, Moss noted that none of them wished to continue fighting, but no tribal group trusted the others to lay down their arms if it did so first. They wished for universal disarmament of the island. Moss received another report from Harris, who still lived on the island. Harris said that two of his family members had already been shot and that he wished a
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263:, one of the attendees fired a pistol and fatally shot the son of a clan chief. In the context of Nauruan culture, the obligation to avenge the man's death was considered unequivocal. Former feuds had their origins in similar incidents; however, this incident was the first recorded example following the introduction of firearms that had become commonplace. The conflict saw the island divided into a north and a south.
377:. German authorities declared that unless all firearms and munitions were turned over to the German government in one day, the chiefs would be executed; the next morning, the natives of the island turned over 765 weapons and several thousand rounds of ammunition, ending the bloodiest tribal war in Nauruan history.
358:
plantations and other agricultural enterprises. Because the political instability affected the German holdings directly, German authorities recommended that
Germany take over the administration of the island. Germany annexed the island on April 16, 1888, banning both alcohol and firearms. On October
487:
The conflict, which was fuelled by equal parts locally-made palm wine and
European armaments, broke out during a wedding feast on the three-kilometre-wide island in 1878. A disagreement between two guests over the finer points of dining etiquette grew hostile, at which point one of the debaters
198:
intervened by restoring Aweida to the throne and confiscating combatants' firearms; by the time they finished, the German soldiers had confiscated 791 rifles from both belligerents, nearly one gun for every remaining living adult inhabitant of the island. By historical estimates, Nauru had a
437:
He described how two factions battled ceaselessly for control — one group was headed by Aweida, the king of the island. The other was an opposing rebel clan led by a white chief who claimed the throne for himself. The
British fleet noted the situation, took Harris aboard and sailed
488:
produced a pistol and began blazing away. A stray bullet struck the son of a clan chief killing him. The island's factions, who were already nursing old grudges, used the occasion to attack one another. The fighting escalated from there.
335:
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191:, as a whole. For the majority of the war, the loyalists and the rebels found themselves in a stalemate, with one side controlling the northern and the other the southern part of the island.
29:
369:, with 87 men, anchored off the coast of Nauru. The armed German seamen met with Harris and returned with the first European settlers, as well as a Christian missionary from the
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385:
The annexation of Nauru by the German Empire brought about a lasting ceasefire. After the annexation, King Aweida nominally retook the throne, and Nauru became part of
230:. Nevertheless, in the 19th century, the immigration of Europeans, often lawbreakers, steadily increased. Traditional life had been disrupted by the introduction of
275:
anchored off the coast of Nauru on
September 21, 1881, and the squadron's flagship approached the island, to appraise the local situation. An
314:. He reported that the inhabitants of Nauru were friendly and of good humor, although most of the boys and all of the men were armed with
518:
This pervasive influence ended, in 1878, with a full scale war which broke out between the people of the
Northern and Southern districts.
373:. The next morning saw the arrest of the remaining tribal chiefs and the German annexation ceremony, complete with the hoisting of the
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354:
The war helped neither the island's copra production nor the interests and security of the German merchants, who had established
555:
202:
Having effectively been put under German control with the civil war's ceasefire, Nauru was shortly thereafter annexed into the
259:
The conflict began during a marriage festival following a verbal altercation regarding tradition. While discussing a point of
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that evening, saying that a tribal war was raging, that all of the islanders were drunk, that the actual king of the island,
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and those seeking to depose him in favour of a rival claimant. The war was preceded by the introduction of
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Photo of a
Nauruan warrior in the Nauruan Civil War around 1880 wearing traditional battle armour.
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population of approximately 1,400 in 1848; by the end of war, there were about 900 inhabitants.
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in 1798, the island had been avoided by sailors, due to its notoriety as a station for
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Nauruan population reduced from 1400 to 900, a 36% decrease in the population.
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The
Nauruans: Nature and Supernature in an Island of the Central Pacific
291:, wished to have missionaries come to the island to help stop the war.
283:, boarded the British ship, which summoned the rest of the squadron by
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was fought from 1878 to 1888, between forces loyal to incumbent King
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Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of
Oceania
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456:. U.S. Department of State. March 13, 2012. Archived from
422:"The Nauru War - The Smallest Armed Conflict in History"
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landing on Nauru while his ship was being reloaded with
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unknown to
Nauruans, although the Nauruans had consumed
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Civil wars involving the states and peoples of
Oceania
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would come to the island to restore peace once again.
529:
Military History – The Smallest Conflict in History
472:"The Nauru War - The Smallest Conflict in History"
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338:Annexation ceremony in Nauru on October 3, 1888
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556:
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27:
443:
411:
998:
341:
333:
1068:
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330:German annexation and end of the war
298:-dwelling British sea captain named
187:to the island and its inhabitants,
13:
563:
14:
1127:
1011:Nauru Regional Processing Centre
619:
144:
101:
500:Petit-Skinner, Solange (1981).
1081:Civil wars of the 19th century
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266:
1:
506:. MacDuff Press. p. 29.
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213:
16:Civil war in Nauru, 1878–1888
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246:for several thousand years.
73:Nauru is annexed as part of
7:
392:
359:1 of that year, the German
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63:Loyalist and German victory
10:
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897:Effects of mining in Nauru
271:A squadron of the British
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805:
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638:
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218:When the British captain
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37:
26:
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454:"Background Note: Nauru"
1116:Wars involving Germany
1016:Nauru Secondary School
476:MilitaryHistoryNow.com
426:MilitaryHistoryNow.com
351:
339:
204:German colonial empire
131:Unknown rival claimant
119:Commanders and leaders
345:
337:
160:Casualties and losses
1091:Wars involving Nauru
460:on October 17, 2012.
294:Six years later, an
950:Indigenous religion
653:Navigational system
605:Japanese occupation
279:local beachcomber,
45:1878 – October 1888
904:Telecommunications
595:Colonial governors
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114:Anti-Aweida rebels
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856:Political parties
829:Foreign relations
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610:COVID-19 pandemic
387:German New Guinea
324:Christian mission
208:German New Guinea
173:Nauruan Civil War
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75:German New Guinea
22:Nauruan Civil War
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965:Nauruan language
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892:Phosphate mining
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846:Pacific Solution
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399:History of Nauru
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980:Public holidays
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371:Gilbert Islands
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281:William Harris
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136:Units involved
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206:, as part of
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196:German Empire
194:In 1888, the
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109:German Empire
97:
93:
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79:German Empire
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59:
58:
52:
49:
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41:
40:
36:
30:
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945:Demographics
834:Human rights
819:Constitution
589:
517:
502:
495:
486:
480:. Retrieved
478:. 2013-02-18
475:
466:
458:the original
436:
430:. Retrieved
428:. 2013-02-18
425:
384:
365:
353:
347:
307:
302:came in his
293:
277:acculturated
270:
258:
238:, a form of
217:
201:
193:
172:
170:
89:Belligerents
746:Settlements
375:German flag
267:War reports
68:Territorial
1070:Categories
851:Parliament
706:Denigomodu
585:Head Chief
482:2022-01-03
432:2019-08-05
405:References
273:Royal Navy
220:John Fearn
214:Background
999:Landmarks
935:Angam Day
909:Transport
887:Companies
861:President
824:Elections
663:Districts
631:Geography
590:Civil War
381:Aftermath
285:semaphore
261:etiquette
244:palm wine
141:Loyalists
98:loyalists
1055:Category
807:Politics
569:articles
393:See also
320:carbines
304:schooner
296:Auckland
255:Outbreak
250:Timeline
232:firearms
222:came to
189:Nauruans
185:firearms
151:SMS Eber
128:of Nauru
50:Location
1039:Outline
990:Tourism
975:Obesity
940:Culture
923:Society
875:Economy
784:Ubenide
686:Anibare
577:History
361:gunboat
350:in 1887
308:Buster,
236:spirits
228:pirates
77:by the
70:changes
779:Meneng
764:Anetan
759:Anabar
721:Meneng
691:Baitsi
681:Anetan
676:Anabar
643:Canals
567:
510:
316:rifles
306:, the
289:Aweida
177:Aweida
155:Rebels
126:Aweida
111:(1888)
106:
96:Aweida
60:Result
1046:Index
985:Sport
970:Music
789:Yaren
774:Buada
736:Yaren
731:Uaboe
726:Nibok
701:Buada
565:Nauru
438:away.
356:cacao
312:copra
224:Nauru
181:Nauru
124:King
94:King
54:Nauru
839:LGBT
754:Aiwo
716:Ijuw
671:Aiwo
508:ISBN
366:Eber
364:SMS
348:Eber
346:SMS
318:and
234:and
171:The
42:Date
769:Boe
711:Ewa
696:Boe
179:of
1072::
516:.
485:.
474:.
445:^
435:.
424:.
413:^
389:.
210:.
557:e
550:t
543:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
