Gilbert and Ellice Islands Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony from 1916 until 1 January 1976, when the islands were divided into two colonies which became independent nations shortly after. A referendum was held in December 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration. As a consequence of the referendum, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony ceased to exist on 1 January 1976 and the separate countries of Kiribati and Tuvalu came into existence. The Gilbert Islands (formerly "Kingsmill Islands") are a chain of sixteen
Postage stamps and postal history of the Marshall Islands used from 1914 to 1944. The islands became part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific in 1947 and used U.S. stamps until 1984. Marshall Islands has issued stamps since achieving postal independence in 1984. The website of the U.S. Pacific Islands Bulletin is now: https://sites.google.com/site/pacificislanditems/united-states-pacific-islands-bulletin Postage stamps and postal history of the Marshall Islands This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the Marshall Islands. The "Republic of the Marshall Islands" (RMI) is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date