Abemama is an atoll in the central part of the Kiribati

Kiribati

Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...

 (Gilberts) Group located 152 kilometres southeast of Tarawa

Tarawa Atoll

Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. It is the location of the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, South Tarawa...

 and just north of the Equator.

Geography

It has an area of 16 square kilometres and an estimated population of 3,608. The islet

Islet

An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....

s surround a deep lagoon. The eastern part of the atoll of Abemama is linked together by causeways making automobile traffic possible between the different islets. The outlying islands of Abatiku and Bike are situated on the southwestern side of the atoll.

The village of Kariatebike serves as the government center for the atoll which includes an administration building, the police station and a hospital.

History

During the 19th century the Gilbert Islands

Gilbert Islands

The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...

 ruling family had its seat on Ademama.

Abemama is known as the island where the Declaration of a British Protectorate was first proclaimed oby Captain Davis of on 27 May 1892.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....

, Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and her son Lloyd Osbourne

Lloyd Osbourne

Samuel Lloyd Osbourne was an American author and the stepson of Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson with whom he would co-author three books and provide input and ideas on others.-Early life:...

 spent 2 months on Abemama in 1889. Near Tabontebike is the tomb of tyrant-chief Tem Binoka, who was immortalized by Stevenson in his account of the 1889 voyage of the Equator

Equator (schooner)

The two-masted pygmy trading schooner Equator on which in 1889 Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson were passengers on a voyage through the islands of Micronesia, visiting Butaritari...

 published as "In the South Seas" Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....

, Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne

Lloyd Osbourne

Samuel Lloyd Osbourne was an American author and the stepson of Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson with whom he would co-author three books and provide input and ideas on others.-Early life:...

 returned to Abemama in July 1890 during their cruise on the trading steamer the Janet Nicoll.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the American submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 USS Nautilus

USS Nautilus (SS-168)

USS Nautilus , a and one of the "V-boats", was the third ship of the United States Navy to officially bear that popular ship's name. She was originally named and designated V-6 , but was redesignated and given hull classification symbol SC-2 on 11 February 1925...

 landed a force of 78 U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance Scouts

United States Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion

The United States Marine Corps's Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion, formerly Company, was a specialized team of Marines and Navy Corpsmen that performed clandestine preliminary pre-D-Day amphibious reconnaissance of planned beachheads and their littoral area within uncharted enemy territory for...

 with Australian Army Lt George Hand formerly of the Ocean Island Defence Force acting as an interpreter to seize the island on 21 November 1943. On the morning of 25 November, a native reported to the Marines that the remaining Japanese committed suicide.

Abemama was formerly known as Roger Simpson Island.

Settlements

Binoinano

Kabangaki

Tabiang

Tabonua

Tebana

By air

Abemama Atoll Airport

Abemama Atoll Airport

Abemama Atoll Airport , often abbreviated Abemama Airport, is the airport serving Abemama, Kiribati. It is located on the north of the atoll, 200 meters northeast of the village of Tabiang....

 is located on the north end of Abemama near the village of Tabiang. It has regular connections with the international airport

Bonriki International Airport

-See also:* USAAF in the Central Pacific...

 in Tarawa four times weekly.

External links

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Abemama Atoll
• Marines take Abemama http://todayshistorylesson.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/marines-take-apamama-with-just-26-shots/
• Exhibit: The Alfred Agate Collection: The United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 from the Navy Art Gallery
• Stevenson, Robert L. (1896), In the South Seas