Kiribati

Much of early European Colonialism was a commercial venture, financed and managed privately. For over 100 years, India was ruled by the British East India Company. The first European to describe Tarawa, the main island of modern nation Kiribati, was of that same company. Kiribati became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979. The name is the local enunciation of the European Captain from the EIC... Thomas Gilbert. A self-determination referendum in 1974 resulted in 92.8% vote for separation from the Gilbert and Ellise Islands. They became Kiribati (99% Micronesian ethnicity) and Tuvalu (96% Polynesian ethnicity). The international date line used to separate parts of the country until it was moved as part of a campaign promise to keep the islands in the same work week. It was the first country to see the third millennium. It is also expected to be the first country to lose all its territory to global warming. The Government has purchased land in Fiji, and has asked citizens to migrate.

British East India Company