KIRIBATI AND THE TRADERS

AND OTHER EARLY EUROPEAN (I-MATANG) CONTACTS

The arrival of Europeans led to a variety of social cultural and economic

changes that are too complex to deal with in detail. This Web Page
concentrates on trade, which was perhaps the most important single force
of change in that period, but also gives some glimpses of other forces and
their consequences.

Although European vessels had visited the Gilberts earlier, the 1830's was
a most important period because it was from then on that whalers began
to visit the islands frequently, thus bringing about the first real changes in
the way of life of the people. Since the Gilberts are poor in resources, there
was little to attract foreigners to the islands, so any earlier contact
between Europeans and Gilbertese was brief and infrequent.

REACTIONS TO THE FIRST CONTACT WITH EUROPEANS

The geographical knowledge of the Gilbertese people in those early days

was very limited. They knew there were islands in the north, south, east
and west but they did not know of a wider world with completely different
peoples and cultures. Since they seldom ventured beyond their own
islands, it is not surprising that they were bewildered by these strange
people and the new goods they brought with them.
The following story from Makin is an amusing example of the way people
today view the period of first contact between Europeans and Gilbertese. It
is said on Makin that the coming of the I-Matang was foretold many days
before the actual arrival by old men who could interpret signs in the
rafters of the village maneaba which was then under construction.

When the strange sailing ship approached the island, the people were
frightened and called upon Tabuariki (the god of Thunder) to cause a great
storm to blow the ship away. It is said that Tabuariki succeeded two times
in preventing the ship from approaching Makin, but the third time the ship
arrived safely and anchored off the island.

The people of Makin were both frightened and astounded at what they
saw. They had their weapons ready, but were mostly curious about the
strange objects. Because of its U-shape, they called the boat 'te ruarua'
(babai pit), and when several boats were lowered into the sea they
exclaimed, "te ruarua has given birth." When several oars came out from
the sides of the boats, the bewildered people shouted, "Look, its fingers
are falling off." They hid when the boats landed and the men inside came
shore.

According to the story, the people were even more astounded at what they
then saw. The gleaming white bodies with something that, when mixed
with water, made white foam like the waves breaking on the shore. Then
they wrapped their bodies in clothes - very strange to the Gilbertese since
they were used to going naked. When the strangers put on their shoes the
people later compared them to hermit crabs - they hid their feet inside
things that looked like shells.

Curiosity finally overcame the Gilbertese. They came out of their hiding
places to investigate more closely these new beings and the strange
things that they had brought with them. As the story goes, they were
especially interested in the slippery, fragrant substance that formed white
foam when wet. It is said that several people started biting bits off and
soon several became sick. Thus this first contact with the Europeans had a
dramatic ending - the soap victims became the patients of these strange
beings.

The little drama at the end was something very important to the people
and especially to the Europeans for it no doubt established a closer
relationship between the two sides. The ship with no name went away with
its crew unharmed, leaving a still bewildered island population. That was
an unforgettable day and it is not surprising that the memory of it has
been passed on from generation to generation, probably with bits and
pieces of elaboration added as time has passed.

WHALERS
The 1840's brought whalers, with their need for refreshment and their
desire for women, and the beginning of a more permanent relationship
with the islands. The southern Gilberts were a regular base for these
whaling ships since the sperm whales frequented the areas southwest of
Tamana and Nikunau. Very little whaling contact took place in the northern
Gilberts except for Kiebu, an islet next to Makin which was used for
melting down whale fat. Butaritari was visited late in the 1850's after the
development of a trading port that provided an added attraction to the
whalers.

As more and more whalers came to the area, the Gilbertese acquired a
reputation for being cunning and treacherous. There are numerous
accounts of whaling ships and their crews being attacked. Traditionally,
Gilbertese believed that anything which came to the shore of their island
belonged by right to the island people. Furthermore, if a stranger came to
an island it was thought that he was coming as an enemy to attack, or was
feeling his home island for some reason. In the former case, a battle would
be fought; in the latter, the visitor would most probably be taken as a toro
(a servant) of a high chief or king. If he were luckier, a family might adopt
him.

Because of their guns, the whalers were often considered enemies. At first
the Gilbertese were ignorant of the power of the gun but they soon came
to realise how futile it was to fight them. However, this did not totally wipe
out opposition by the islanders; and they continued to oppose the whalers.
It only made them more wary and cunning when they attacked the ships.
When they succeeded in attacking and plundering a ship, they shared the
loot among themselves with very little concern for the strangers who had
dared enter their waters. Despite the difficulties encountered ashore,
contact was still made, especially because of the desire for women and
food. It was hard for the whalers to make themselves understood, and in
trading transactions it was easy for disagreements to arise. Such things as
iron hoops and beads were traded for coconut or other food. The iron
hoops were cut into six-inch pieces and traded for about a dozen coconuts.
In addition to pieces of iron, tobacco was an extremely important trade
item. The need for tobacco became so great that whenever a ship was
close to shore the cry that was often heard from canoes was "te baakee".
This was repeated constantly until their need was replenished. A song
describing this has been composed.

Sexual favours were also sought by the whalers. On some islands the
women, most probably the nikiranroro (single women who were not virgins
and married women who were not living with their husbands) were made
available for the tobacco that was so much in demand. The usual price
was one stick of tobacco but it varied from island to island. In Nikunau,
each woman charged one stick of tobacco for her services, while at Kuria
the women demanded one and a half sticks. These women would be taken
on board while the ship cruised around for several days. When the crew
were satisfied the women were returned to their island. There were cases
reported, however, when either the current prevented their return or the
captain did not bother to return them.

Constant contact at some islands allowed the islanders to gain access to

axes, knives, nails, cooking pots, beads and other items which may seem
trifling to us today, but were extremely desirable and very useful to our
forefathers. Also the contacts presented a good opportunity for some
Gilbertese to see more of the world by serving on board the whaling
vessels. When they returned to their own islands they were a major source
of information about the outside world. With little spoken English many
had managed to learn a great deal about I-Matang ways and became
mediators between the Europeans and islanders. Also during this period,
several whalers became residents in the islands. An example was 'Baoba'
or Robert Wood (alias Grey) a young man who was put ashore at his own
request on Butaritari in 1835. He landed at Tabononobi at Ukiangang and
was adopted by a family. He had to conform to their ways of life. He
learned to live very much as a Gilbertese and was even tattooed with the
'Tekitoko' used for dancers. Beachcombers like 'Baoba' were important as
teachers and mediators in Gilbertese society. For example he taught the
people on Butaritari to make and drink sour toddy, and to use coconut oil
for lighting lamps.

The whalers were much criticised and blamed for having increased
prostitution in the islands and also for teaching the Gilbertese how to
smoke, drink liquor, and use guns. Also venereal disease was said to have
been more widespread in the islands after whaling contacts. However,
they also introduced a new technology into Gilbertese society that the
people readily accepted.

PERMANENT TRADERS

During the time the whalers were active, permanent traders were starting
to establish themselves as well. By the 1860's, the European population in
the Gilberts had increased to about fifty. They traded European
manufactured goods for such products as coconut oil, beche-de-mer and
turtle shell. The whalers had also traded for such items, but it was with the
permanent, resident traders that a regular exchange was established.

The making of coconut oil and the preservation of turtle shells were not
new skills to the Gilbertese. To acquire the desired European goods they
merely had to spend more time doing routine activities. Beche-de-mer
required the learning of a new process, that of drying and curing. It was
the coconut oil trade, however, which became the most important.
 A trader's store on Tabiteuea in 1897

Because of the greater fertility and larger rainfall in the northern islands,
greater production was possible there. This, plus the fact that the best
anchorage in the group were at Tarawa, Abemama and Butaritari, made
the northern Gilberts the centre of the coconut oil trade.

The first resident traders in the Gilberts were Randell and Durant. Both
landed at Tikurere, an islet of Butaritari in 1846. Randell remained there
but Durant soon left for Makin. Randell and Durant set themselves up as
independent traders and made their profits by playing unfairly on the
ignorance of the people. The price they received for the coconut oil was
many times what they returned to the Gilbertese in trade goods.

Another reason for Randell's success as a trader on Butaritari was his

ability to adapt to and understand the Gilbertese way of life. Randell was
typical of many European traders. He adopted into his way of life those
things from Gilbertese culture that he liked, and rejected those things
which were not acceptable to him. Polygamy, for example, was widely
accepted by resident traders, but apart from that their other ways of life
were changed very little. Randell married four Gilbertese women and is
said to have fathered over forty children.

It should be noted that not all trading agents were foreigners. Nakaiea at
Butaritari, Kaiea at Abaiang and Binika at Abemama all acted as trading
agents and handled all the coconut oil trade from their islands.

THE LABOUR TRADE

The main period for labour recruiting was from the 1860's. Most
recruitment was carried out in the southern Gilberts where population
density was greater and the problem of drought prevailed year in and year
out. Recruits mainly went to Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa and Hawaii to work in
plantations, and a few went to work on plantation in Central and South
America. At first kidnapping was common but, later, people understood
recruiting and there was also Imperial control of the trade. Missionaries
also intervened and force was eventually eliminated. As time went on
many people curious about the wider world, and with hopes of gaining
material goods, were willingly recruited.

The experience of Uaititi, of Makin, is a good illustration of he labour trade.

In the 1870's, many people of Makin were invited to a dance on board a
labour ship. Among the guests was Uaititi, a body of twelve. They were
taken to the hold and asked to dance. They were given 'te kiraoki' (grog)
to drink. They drank too much and at the end of the day, all were tired and
slept. The ship slowly slipped away and when a new day dawned their
beloved island was nowhere in sight. With no knowledge of English to
permit any form of communication, all thought they were being taken for a
cruise to be returned later. After a few days, they realised they were not
going to be returned later. After a few days, they realised they were not
going to returned and many became homesick and afraid for they did not
know what was to happen to them. They were eventually assigned to
plantations where they worked usually under quite favourable conditions,
compared to other parts of the Pacific where island labour was employed,
and after several years returned home.

Once back in the Gilberts they were usually accepted back into their family
circles. However there were some noted cases where the labourers were
not accepted so readily. There was one case in Marakei, where the
relatives of the returned labourer refused him his land. In another case, at
Tabiteuea, a woman who returned had to stay with the nuns because she
was not really accepted into her family. Some returned labourers were a
source of attention as they know about the wider world and could often
speak broken English and thus acted as interpreters. It gave a certain
pride to be labeled as a person who had been to Tahiti or Honolulu or
Samoa or Fiji.

After the first recruits returned, they were a focus of attention among the
island people. Others having heard of these experiences were prepared to
leave their homes to see a different world. In some cases, the recruits
when returned wanted to sign on again for a further term while others
were willing to stay home and begin their life again with their family.

Recruitment was seen by Gilbertese as a means of gaining European

wealth and many people were very disappointed when they found out that
this was not so. Of course, they managed to get some things, for example,
a few firearms, some pieces of material, axes, nails, tobacco, etc.; but not
as many as they hoped to get. Some younger people found it more of an
adventure. Some found it a source of pride to be able to have reached
those parts of the world and to be envied by others. Some found it a
welcome change and an escape from family commitments. Some returned
to become missionaries.

Not all recruits returned. Many died and others remained in Fiji, Hawaii,
Tahiti and elsewhere, and intermarried with the local people. One ship load
of over a hundred recruits was sent back from Peru by the Government
without any going ashore there; they were landed on Tongareva in the
northern Cook Islands and probably fathered most of the next generation
of children there as most Tongareva men were away as labourers. Most of
them eventually returned to the Gilberts from Fanning Island. In these
ways Gilbertese blood was spread throughout much of the Pacific, and
many people today trace Gilbertese ancestry from such circumstances.

The period from 1830 to 1890 was a very important one in the history of
the Gilberts. Four groups of people intruded into the area at different
times; firstly the whalers, next the beachcombers, followed by the resident
traders, and lastly the labour traders. All four groups contributed to the
changes in Gilbertese society.

As a result of these constant contacts, the Gilbertese people gained access

to a different technology through trade and learned to rely on these new
goods. Many had seen and learned about the outside world. Many foreign
diseases were introduced which affected the population at first. It was also
during that period that the Gilbertese came to live and understand some
of the ways of life of the Europeans who lived with them. When Britain
took over the islands in 1892, the islands were already depending much on
European goods and many had also accepted a new religion brought by
the Europeans and by Pacific Islanders who had been converted.