Abemama

Abemama Atoll is about 150 kilometres southeast of Tarawa and just north of the Equator. There are two main islands, linked by a causeway at the village of Kariatebike. The total population is about 3,300. The island was, in the late 19th century, the seat of an influential monarchy under its king, Tembinoka or Binoka. The Kingdom of Abemama also comprised the neighbouring atolls Aranuka and Kuria. The king wanted to annex Maiana, located 100 kilometres to the northwest, and, in 1884, also conquered the island of Nonouti, which is over 100 kilometres to the south. But he was driven out by Captain Edward Davis of the HMS Royalist, a British warship. On 27 May 1892, Edward Davis declared a protectorate over the Gilbert Islands on Abemama, marking the beginning of British colonialism.