Editing History of Nauru (section)

== Early history ==
[[File:Nauruan-warrior-1880ers.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Nauruan warrior, 1880]]
Nauru was settled by [[Micronesians]] around 3,000 years ago, and there is evidence of possible
[[Polynesians|Polynesian]] influence.<ref name="UNCCD">Nauru Department of Economic Development and Environment. 2003. [http://www.unccd.int/cop/reports/asia/national/2002/nauru-eng.pdf First National Report To the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)] Retrieved 2006-05-03 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514043420/http://www.unccd.int/cop/reports/asia/national/2002/nauru-eng.pdf |date=14 May 2015 }}</ref> [[Nauruans]] subsisted on [[coconut]] and [[Pandanus tectorius|pandanus fruit]], and engaged in [[aquaculture]] by catching juvenile [[milkfish|''ibija'' fish]], [[Acclimatization|acclimated]] them to freshwater conditions, and raised them in [[Buada Lagoon]], providing an additional reliable source of food.<ref>{{cite book|author1=McDaniel, C. N.  |author2=Gowdy, J. M. |year= 2000 | title= Paradise for Sale |publisher=University of California Press | isbn= 0-520-22229-6 |  pages= 13–28}}</ref> Traditionally only men were permitted to fish on the reef, and did so from canoes or by using trained [[great frigatebird|man-of-war hawks]].

There were traditionally 12 clans or tribes on Nauru, which are represented in the 12-pointed star in the nation's [[flag of Nauru|flag]]. Nauruans traced their descent on the [[matrilineal|female side]]. The first Europeans to encounter the island were on the British whaling ship ''Hunter'', in 1798. When the ship approached, "many canoes ventured out to meet the ship. The ''Hunter''{{'}}s crew did not leave the ship nor did Nauruans board, but Captain [[John Fearn (whaler)|John Fearn]]'s positive impression of the island and its people" led to its English name, Pleasant Island.<ref>McDaniel, C. N. and Gowdy, J. M. 2000. ''Paradise for Sale''. University of California Press {{ISBN|978-0-520-22229-8}} pp. 29–30</ref> This name was used until Germany annexed the island 90 years later.

From around 1830, Nauruans had contact with Europeans from whaling ships and traders who replenished their supplies (such as fresh water) at Nauru.<ref name="Ellis-1935">{{cite book |last1= Ellis |first1= Albert F. |author-link1= Albert Fuller Ellis |title= Ocean Island and Nauru; Their Story |year= 1935 |publisher= Angus and Robertson, limited|location= Sydney, Australia |oclc= 3444055 |page=29 }}</ref> The islanders traded food for alcoholic [[Palm wine|toddy]] and firearms. The first Europeans to live on the island, starting perhaps in 1830, were Patrick Burke and John Jones, Irish convicts who had escaped from [[Norfolk Island]], according to ''[[Paradise for Sale]]''.<ref>McDaniel, C. N. and Gowdy, J. M. 2000. ''Paradise for Sale''. University of California Press {{ISBN|978-0-520-22229-8}} pp 30</ref> Jones became "Nauru's first and last dictator," who killed or banished several other beachcombers who arrived later, until the Nauruans banished Jones from the island in 1841.<ref>McDaniel, C. N. and Gowdy, J. M. 2000. ''Paradise for Sale''. University of California Press {{ISBN|978-0-520-22229-8}} p. 31</ref>

The introduction of firearms and alcohol destroyed the peaceful coexistence of the 12 tribes living on the island. A 10-year [[Nauruan Civil War|civil war]] began in 1878 and resulted in a reduction of the population from 1,400 (1843) to around 900 (1888).<ref>{{cite web |title=Background Note: Nauru |url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/16447.htm |publisher=U.S. Department of State |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017054843/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/16447.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |date=March 13, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Ultimately, alcohol was banned and some arms were confiscated.
[[File:Warrior suit, Nauru, 1891 - Staatlichen Museums für Völkerkunde München - DSC08287.JPG|thumb|180px|[[Nauruan people|Nauruan]] warrior suit, 1891. (Exhibit in the Oceanic collection of the Staatlichen Museums für Völkerkunde München)]]