Editing History of Kiribati (section)

==Visit of Robert Louis Stevenson to Abemama and Butaritari in 1889==
[[Robert Louis Stevenson]], [[Fanny Van de Grift|Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson]], and her son [[Lloyd Osbourne]], stayed for 2 months on [[Kingdom of Abemama|Abemama]] in 1889, which was described by Stevenson in his account of the 1889 voyage of the ''[[Equator (schooner)|Equator]]'' published as ''In the South Seas''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/464/464-h/464-h.htm|title = In the South Seas, by Robert Louis Stevenson}}</ref><ref name="South Seas 1896">''In the South Seas'' (1896) & (1900) Chatto & Windus; republished by The Hogarth Press (1987), Part IV</ref> At the time of their visit, the High Chief was [[Tembinok']], the last of the dozens of expansionist chiefs of Gilbert Islands of this period, despite Abemama historically conforming to the traditional southern islands' governance of their respective ''unimwaane''. Tembinok' was immortalised in Stevenson's book as "the last tyrant",<ref name="RLSISS">{{cite book | author= Robert Louis Stevenson| title= In the South Seas, Part V, Chapter 1 | year= 1896 | publisher= Chatto & Windus; republished by The Hogarth Press}}</ref> with Stevenson delved into the high chief's character and method of rule during his stay on Abemama; Tembinok' controlled the access of european traders to the atolls under his control and jealously guarded his revenue and his prerogatives as monarch.<ref name="South Seas 1896"/> 

Robert Louis Stevenson, Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne also visited [[Butaritari]] from 14 July 1889 to early August.<ref name="PIM1933-3">{{cite web| last =Osborne | first =Ernest | work= IV(2) Pacific Islands Monthly |title= Stevenson's Bouse on Butaritari|date = 20 September 1933|url= https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-310913018/view?partId=nla.obj-310927161#page/n34/mode/1up| accessdate=27 September 2021}}</ref> At this time Nakaeia was the ruler of Butaritari and [[Makin (islands)|Makin]] [[atolls]], his father being Tebureimoa and his grandfather being Tetimararoa. Nakaeia was described by Stevenson as “a fellow of huge physical strength, masterful, violent … Alone in his islands it was he who dealt and profited; he was the planter and the merchant” with Stevenson describing his subjects toiling in servitude and fear.<ref name="South Seas 1896"/>

Nakaeia allowed two San Francisco trading firms to operate, Messrs. Crawford and Messrs. Wightman Brothers, with up to 12 Europeans resident on islands of the [[atolls]]. The presence of the Europeans, and the alcohol they traded to the islanders, resulted in periodic alcoholic binges that only ended with Nakaeia making tapu (forbidding) the sale of alcohol. During the 15 or so days that Stevenson spent on Butaritari the islanders were engaged in a drunken spree that threatened the safety of Stevenson and his family.  Stevenson adopted the strategy of describing himself as the son of [[Queen Victoria]] so as to ensure that he would be treated as a person who should not be threatened or harmed.<ref name="South Seas 1896"/>

Robert Louis Stevenson, Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne returned to Abemama in July 1890 during their cruise on the trading steamer, ''Janet Nicoll''.<ref>Fanny Stevenson incorrectly names the ship in ''The Cruise of the Janet Nichol among the South Sea Islands'' A Diary by Mrs Robert Louis Stevenson (first published 1914), republished 2004, editor, Roslyn Jolly (U. of Washington Press/U. of New South Wales Press)</ref>