Nauru

Nauru , in API, Nauruan Na Naoero , in long form Republic of Nauru , is a Island state of Oceania located in Micronesia and composed of single a populated island: 13287 inhabitants in 2006.

Located at 42 kilometers in the south of the equator, the island measures only 21.3 km2 of surface and is made of a plate central relatively low culminating with 71 meters of altitude to the Command Ridge girdled by narrow a coastal Plaine. On this plain the dwellings and the structures Industrie them, agricultural concentrate, public and of Transport, the interior of the grounds being mainly reserved for the extraction of the ore of phosphate which constitutes the only natural wealth of Nauru and reaches the Indépendance on January 31st, 1968. Between these two dates, the island is successively German colony of 1888 then Australia of 1914 with 1968 with one period of occupation Japan ease between 1942 and 1946. But what marks most deeply the company nauruane, it is its economic history. Registered as of the end of the 19th century in a system of maritime exchanges with the close islands, Nauru opens truly with the world commerce when the export of the Phosphate, extracted the ground of the island by workers Chinese, gilbertins and caroliniens, is flourishing starting from 1906, the Nauruan, although only Official language of the island, is more and more supplanted by the English, largely employed in the Commerce, the administration and the higher learning.

Etymology

The etymology of “Nauru” is unknown.

The German Paul Hambruch, which visited the island in May 1909 and from September to November 1910, indicated that Naoero could be interpreted as the contraction of the sentence a-nuau-a-a-ororo (which would be written today has nuaw ea arourõ ) meaning “I go to the beach”. Anáoero enters in 1920 the German colonial dictionary.

The German Alois Kayser, who remained on Nauru during more than thirty years at the beginning of the 20th century and studied the Nauruan, rejected the explanation of Hambruch for the reason which it missed the verb of movement rodu associated with the word “beach”. Indeed Nauruans regard the Plage as the place low geographically as well with regard to the ground as the sea. Thus, according to Kayser, the absence of this verb in the translation of Hambruch the invalid just as the etymology of Naoero and consequently of “Nauru”.

The island took various names according to the times and the colonial powers in possession of the île : the British first colonists called it Pleasant Island (“Pleasant Island”) or Shank Island while the German colonists named it Nawodo or Onawero . Finally, the current name of “Nauru” was created so that Européens and Nord-Américains has a common name while in nauruan, the spoken language by the Nauruans, the island is named Naoero .

History

See also: History of Nauru

Pre-colonial period

The events former to the Colonisation of Nauru at the end of the 19th century are little known fault of scriptural sources and in the quasi-absence of archaeological data .

Probably populated at the origin of Mélanésie NS and micronésiens, she knows the arrival of one second wave of migration coming from the littoral Chinese via the Filipino in the neighborhoods of 1200 av. J-C. the company nauruane is organized then into twelve tribes speaking each one a Dialecte different from the Nauruan, the language originating in the island, and saw culture of the Cocotier S, Bananier S, Pandanus and takamakas and Pisciculture of the fish-milk in two Lagune S of the island.

Colonial period, occupations and mandates

Nauru is discovered by the Européens the November 8th 1798 by the British captain John Fearn. The island is used then as refuge with deserters and smugglers. In 1878, a tribal Civil war starts at the Nauruans during which a third of the population disappears. The war ends the April 16th 1888 when the German Empire Nauru appendix under pretext of restore peace, starts in 1906. The statute of Nauru will not be obstacle between negotiators of the British Empire: with the Conference of Peace of Paris: whereas the negotiations ended up admitting the attribution of a mandate to the Japan for the German islands of the northern Pacific, and the distribution between Australia and New Zealand of those of the Southern Pacific according to their proximity with one or the other of these Dominion S, Nauru will be asserted with vehemence as well by Australian the Prime Minister Billy Hughes as by New Zealand the Prime Minister William Massey so much so that one will be forced by it in May 1919 to imagine a compromise solution, making mandate on this small island only directly allotted to the British Empire in the Pacific by the treated of Versailles . In the facts, only Australia manages the colony but it is only as from August 1942 that the island, partially evacuated by the Westerners, is occupied by the Japanese. They strengthen the island but especially build a landing strip which will be the base of current the International airport of Nauru. Running 1943, the American bombard the island within the framework of their reconquest of the islands of the Pacifique but it do not unload there. The Western lifestyle will appear harmful thereafter for the health of Nauruans with a rise of the cases of certain diseases (in particular of Obésité and diabetes) and lowers it Life expectancy.

In 1989, Nauru carries felt sorry for in front of the the International Court of Justice against Australia, claiming compensation for the destruction of the center of the island caused by the phosphate extraction.

Geography

See also: Geography of Nauru

The Republic of Nauru is made up only of only one island which is located in Oceania, as a whole regional called Micronesia and to about fifty kilometers in the south of the equator.

The island, old Calcareous Volcano covered with coral, coarsely oval and consists of a plate central relatively low occupying approximately 80% of the surface of the island. The culminating point of Nauru is the Command Ridge with 71  meters of altitude. This one was the subject of an intensive extraction during all the 20th century. This exploitation, although having temporarily enriched considerably but the population by Nauru, upset the topography of the island, irremediably destroyed the Tropical forest which was on the plate and damaged the coral Récif which makes the turn of the island completely.

A very narrow coastal plain (120 to 300 meters of width. The island is not subjected in the passing of the Cyclone S because too near to the equator.

Maritime environment (in particular the coral belt which surrounds the island) was largely degraded by the rejections related to the exploitation of the Phosphate S and the Urbanisation (population piling up on the Littoral after the interior was made practically uninhabitable by the exploitation of phosphates).

Administrative subdivisions

See also: Districts of Nauru, Electoral constituency (Nauru)

Nauru does not have territorial division corresponding to the communes. The island is divided of 14 districts gathered into 8 electoral constituencies but none has Chef-lieu.

Human geography

The population of Nauru is concentrated on the coastal strip of the island forming an almost continuous urban ribbon with less densities in the North-East. Single the other hearth of population is centered around the Lagune Buada the remainder of the center of the island making up of a calcareous plate made uncultivated and extremely arid following the exploitation of its phosphate. There are no strictly speaking cities in Nauru which is besides the only State not having capital. The transportation routes are very limited including/understanding a circular road making the turn of the island and another making it possible to join the lagoon. This network is supplemented by a series of tracks traced in order to exploit the phosphate ore.

Policy

See also: Political of Nauru, List of the presidents de Nauru

Nauru is a parliamentary democracy. The Parliament of Nauru east made up of eighteen members and is elected every three years. The Parliament elects a president among his members, which names a Cabinet from five to six people. The President is at the same time chief of the State and chief of the government. The political system of the country approaches the free Bipartisme, the two principal parties being the Democratic party and the Party of Nauru.

Between 1999 and 2003 a series of votes of distrust and elections brought Rene Harris and Bernard Dowiyogo to direct the country in alternation. Dowiyogo died whereas it directed the country the March 10th 2003 to Washington following a cardiac operation. Ludwig Scotty was elected President the May 29th 2003, making think that the period of political instability was going to be completed. However in August 2003, a new vote of distrust had passed and Harris was again elected president. Again in minority in 2004 following the dramatic state of bankruptcy of its republic, Harris was beaten once again. Current president de Nauru, Ludwig Scotty, stated in 2004 the state of emergency and has dissolves the Parliament after the rejection of his budget.

Economy

See also: Saving in Nauru

Nauru benefitted during 30 years from the richness brought by the phosphate (national wealth). 1974 are one record year for the island with 225 million euros of benefit. The State, the phosphate company, the landowners benefitted from the high courses of phosphate. In 1990,23 million euros are distributed to the inhabitants. Nauru buys grounds and properties everywhere in Oceania, thanks to the money of phosphate of 1968 with the Années 1990. Air Nauru, the national airline company made up of 6 planes was even created by the State.

Nauru is now in bankruptcy, the industry of phosphate is with the abandonment. The workmen of phosphate were turned over towards fishing. The inhabitants passed from opulence to poverty. The incomes of phosphate having decreased, the government had to sell grounds and buildings to refund its appropriations. Companies screens and sales of false passports were the state trading during a time to find money. Nauru rendered certain services in other States in order to earn money:

  • Nauru is used as prison the clandestine ones on behalf of Australia, this against a few million euros per annum;
  • Taiwan subsidizes Nauru against diplomatic privileges.

Demography

See also: Demography of Nauru

Among: 13048 residents of Nauru, 58% are Nauruans, 26% Oceania NS, 8% Chinese and 8% Occidentaux. The Official language is the Nauruan but the English is very widespread as a working language of the government and in the trade.

The inhabitants are mainly Christian (two thirds are Protestant, a catholic third ). The constitution grants the freedom of worship however the government restricted this right for two religions: the Church of Jesus-Christ of the Saints of the Last Days (mormonism) and the Church of the Pilot of Jéhovah whose faithful ones are generally foreign employees working for the Nauru Phosphate Corporation.

The increase in Standard of living to the wire of the 20th century had harmful effects on the public health. Nauruans are one of the populations where the rate of Obésité is highest in the world and among the adults 90% have a Surpoids. Nauru has the strongest world rate of Diabète of the type 2 (40% of the population are affected). One notes also a strong rate of renal problems and of cardiac failure, the life expectancy fell at 58 years for the men and 65 for the women.

The rate of elimination of illiteracy is of 97%, education is obligatory for the children from 6 to 15 years. There exists a campus of the Université of the Southern Pacific on the island. Before this last is not built, the students were to go in Australia to make academic works.

Culture

See also: Culture nauruane

Appendices

Related articles

External bonds

  • Site of the permanent mission of Nauru to the United Nations
  • Report of ARTE

Source

  • Site of the Australian Department of the Foreign affairs and the Trade

Random links:Eye lotion | Barsalogho (department) | Poncho | Divided government | Tower rebirth | Empereur_Uda