Kiribati

Comprises 33 coral islands; settled by Austronesian-speakers before the 1st century BCE; Fijans and Tongans arrived in the 14th century; Spanish landed here in the 16th century; visited by British and American whalers 18th-19th centuries; part of British Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1915; official language is English, though Gilbertese (a Micronesian dialect) is a main language.