Click to see a larger map

Formerly part of the colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, the Gilberts became independent from Britain in 1979 and took the name Kiribati (pronounced "Keer-ee-bus"). British interest in the Gilbert Islands rested solely on the exploitation of the phosphate deposits on Banaba; these ran out in 1980. In 1981, Kiribati won damages (but not the costs of litigation) from the British for decades of phosphate exploitation.