Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Micronesia. Nauru was first inhabited by Micronesians and Polynesians at least 3,000 years ago. There were traditionally 12 clans or tribes on Nauru, which are represented in the twelve-pointed star on the country’s flag.
In 1798, the British sea captain John Fearn, on his trading ship Hunter, became the first Westerner to report sighting Nauru, calling it “Pleasant Island”, because of its attractive appearance. After an agreement with Great Britain, Nauru was annexed by Germany in 1888 and incorporated into Germany’s Marshall Islands Protectorate for administrative purposes. The Germans ruled Nauru for almost three decades.
In 1914, following the outbreak of World War I, Nauru was captured by Australian troops and administered by Australia as the North West Pacific Islands. In 1919 it was agreed by the Allied and Associated Powers that His Britannic Majesty should be the administering authority under a League of Nations mandate. The Nauru Island Agreement forged in 1919 between the governments of the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand provided for the administration of the island.
During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, and was bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. After the war ended, the country entered into United Nations trusteeship.
Nauru gained its independence in 1968.
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