Editing History of Nauru (section)

==German protectorate==
{{Main|German New Guinea}}
[[File:Nauru Annexation Germany 1888 cropped.png|left|thumb|140x140px|2 October 1888: Annexation ceremony with King Aweida in the middle]]
In 1886 Germany was granted the island under the [[Anglo-German Declarations about the Western Pacific Ocean|Anglo-German Declaration]]. The island was annexed by Germany in 1888 and incorporated into Germany's [[German New Guinea|New Guinea]] Protectorate. Nauru was occupied on 16 April 1888 by German troops, which ended the [[Nauruan Civil War]]. On 1 October 1888 the German gunboat [[SMS Eber (1887)|SMS ''Eber'']] landed 36 men on Nauru.<ref name="gowdy">Carl N. McDaniel, John M. Gowdy: ''Paradise for Sale: A Parable of Nature'', University of California Press, 2000, {{ISBN|0520222296}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=x2GZH7mssNcC&q=%22dropped+a+landing+party+of+thirty-six+men%22&pg=PA35 page 35].</ref> Accompanied by [[William Harris (beachcomber)|William Harris]] the German marines marched around the island and returned with the twelve chiefs, the white settlers and a [[I-Kiribati|Gilbertese]] missionary.<ref name="gowdy"/> The chiefs were kept under house arrest until the morning of 2 October, when the annexation ceremony began with the raising of the German flag.<ref name="gowdy"/> The Germans told the chiefs that they had to surrender all weapons and ammunition within 24 hours or the chiefs would be taken prisoner.<ref name="gowdy"/> By the morning of 3 October 765 guns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition had been turned over.<ref name="gowdy"/> The Germans called the island Nawodo or Onawero. The arrival of the Germans ended the [[Nauruan Civil War|war]], and social changes brought about by the war established kings as rulers of the island, the most widely known being King [[Auweyida]]. Christian missionaries from the [[Gilbert Islands]] also arrived in 1888.<ref>Ellis, A. F. 1935. ''Ocean Island and Nauru – their story''. Angus and Robertson Limited. pp, 29–39</ref> The Germans ruled Nauru for almost three decades. [[Robert Rasch]], a German trader who married a native woman, was the first administrator, appointed in 1888.

At the time there were [[Nauruans#Tribes|twelve tribe]]s on Nauru: [[Deiboe]], [[Eamwidamit]], [[Eamwidara]], [[Eamwit]], [[Eamgum]], [[Eano]], [[Emeo|Emea]], [[Eoraru]], [[Irutsi]], [[Iruwa]], [[Iwi (tribe)|Iwi]] and [[Ranibok]]. Today the twelve tribes are represented by the twelve-pointed star in the [[flag of Nauru]].

Phosphate was discovered on Nauru in 1900 by the prospector [[Albert Fuller Ellis|Albert Ellis]].<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 }}</ref> The Pacific Phosphate Company started to exploit the reserves in 1906 by agreement with Germany. The company exported its first shipment in 1907.<ref>Ellis, A. F. 1935. ''Ocean Island and Nauru – their story''. Angus and Robertson Limited. pp. 127–139</ref><ref name="WM1985">{{cite book |last1= Maslyn Williams & Barrie Macdonald |title= The Phosphateers |year=1985 |publisher= Melbourne University Press |isbn=0-522-84302-6|page=11 }}</ref>