Paris, Kiribati
Encyclopedia
Paris is an abandoned settlement on Kiritimati Island in Kiribati
. It is one of three settlements on the island to be named after European places, along with nearby London
and Poland
.
It was the home of Father Emmanuel Rougier, a French
priest
who lease
d the island from 1917 to 1939 and planted some 800,000 coconut
trees there.
The remains of the former village are located at Benson Point, near the southern entrance to the large lagoon which dominates the western end of the island. Though only a short distance from London, the principal settlement on Kiritimati, the lagoon and its entrance channels actually place it a long distance away from present-day habitation; also, there is no good anchorage at the southern lagoon entrance, and this relative lack of easy access probably led to the village being abandoned in favor of London.
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...
. It is one of three settlements on the island to be named after European places, along with nearby London
London, Kiribati
London is the principal settlement on the atoll of Kiritimati also known as Christmas Island belonging to Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean. As of 2005 it has a population of 1,829 people, making it the second largest village on Kiritimati and in the whole Line Islands. Only Tabwakea is slightly...
and Poland
Poland, Kiribati
Poland is one of four villages on the island of Kiritimati , Kiribati. The village was named after a Polish explorer and engineer Stanisław Pełczyński who aided the villagers. He solved the problem with watering palm trees in dry season by suggesting modified irrigating system...
.
It was the home of Father Emmanuel Rougier, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
who lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
d the island from 1917 to 1939 and planted some 800,000 coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
trees there.
The remains of the former village are located at Benson Point, near the southern entrance to the large lagoon which dominates the western end of the island. Though only a short distance from London, the principal settlement on Kiritimati, the lagoon and its entrance channels actually place it a long distance away from present-day habitation; also, there is no good anchorage at the southern lagoon entrance, and this relative lack of easy access probably led to the village being abandoned in favor of London.