Humans first inhabited the islands we now know as Micronesia about 5,000 years ago, which, in the grand scope of human history, may mark the most recent habitation of any region on the planet. The peoples of most Micronesian islands share similar cultural characteristics like extensive clan systems and an intricate caste system. Kiribati, formerly known as the Gilbert Islands, is a group of 32 Micronesian atolls and one island (Banaba) sprinkled along the very hot equator and stretching from the easternmost point of the eastern hemisphere across the International Date Line and into the western hemisphere.

Kiribati, pronounced "Kiribas," was populated some time about 3000 B.C. and maintained continuous contact with Polynesian islands like Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. Unlike other Micronesian islands it was not part of the Spanish or German colonial sphere, but instead the British settled starting in 1837; the Gilberts became a British protectorate in 1892. The Japanese occupied the Gilberts during World War II and the Americans fought a bloody battle to get them back. After the War the U.S. used some of the Gilbert islands as test sites for nuclear weapons but in 1979 allowed i-Kiribati (the people of Kiribati) to become independent. Kiribati became a member of the United Nations in 1999.