Gilbert and Ellice Islands until 1977. A protectorate was generally established over this area (but not over these islands) by the Pacific Islanders Protection Act of 1857 and then in 1877 for the Western Pacific Territories. The sixteen islands of the Gilberts were declared a British Protectorate by Captain Davis R.N., of between 27 May and 17 June 1892. The Ellice Islands were declared a British Protectorate by Captain Gibson R.N., of , between 9 and 16 October of the same year. The British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) were administered by a High Commissioner resident in Fiji. A Resident Commissioner, Charles Swayne, was appointed
History of the Pacific Islands to today's modern interpretation of what their culture might have been. It should also be mentioned that the Chamorros on Guam view their culture & language differently than the Chamorros on the Northern Mariana Islands. Hawaiian history is inextricably tied into a larger Polynesian phenomenon. Hawaii is the apex of the Polynesian Triangle, a region of the Pacific Ocean anchored by three island groups: Hawaii, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), and Aotearoa (New Zealand). The many island cultures within the Polynesian Triangle share similar languages derived from a proto-Malayo-Polynesian language used in Southeast Asia 5,000 years ago. Polynesians also share cultural