Gilbert Islands separated, and the Gilberts became the Gilbert Islands colony, which issued stamps under that name. In 1979, the Gilberts opted for independence, becoming the independent nation of Kiribati. The Ellice Islands became the independent nation of Tuvalu. Asian Development Bank. (2009b). Kiribati’s political economy and capacity development [Online]. Available: http://www.adb.org/documents/reports/KIR-Political-Economy-Capacity-Development/KIR-Economic-Development.pdf (accessed 6 February 2012). Bedford, R., Macdonald, B., & Munro, D. (1980). Population estimates for Kiribati and Tuvalu, 1850-1900: Review and speculation. Journal of the Polynesian Society, 89, 199-246. Borovnik, M. (2006). Working overseas: Seafarers' remittances and their distribution in Kiribati. Asian Pacific Viewpoint, 47, 151-161. Burnett, G. (2005). Language
History of the Pacific Islands Western Samoa became the first Pacific Island nation to gain political independence. In 1997, Samoa officially dropped the 'Western' from its name as it was an appendage from its colonial era. The human history of the Solomon Islands begins with the first settlement at least 30,000 years ago from New Guinea. They represented the furthest expansion of humans into the Pacific Ocean until the expansion of Austronesian-language speakers through the area around 4000 BCE, bringing new agricultural and maritime technology. Most of the languages spoken today in the Solomon Islands derive from this era, but some thirty languages of the