History
Starbuck Island was first sighted in 1823 by Valentine Starbuck, American-born master of the British whaling ship L'Aigle. However it had probably been sighted previously that same year by his cousin and fellow-whaler Capt. Obed Starbuck. It was claimed by the United States under the 1856 Guano Act, but controlled by Britain after 1866, when possession was taken by Commodore Swinburn of HMS Mutine. Starbuck Island was mined for phosphate between 1870 and 1893. Because of its low profile (at its highest point, the island rises to about 5 meters) and the dangerous surrounding reefs, a number of ships were wrecked at Starbuck Island in the late 19th century, including the French transport Euryale on March 10, 1870. The captain of this ship, the future contre-amiral Albert Des Portes, who stayed 35 days with his crew on the atoll before being rescued and coming back to France with all the members, finally found the right geographical location of the island. In August 7, 1896 the Norwegian ship "Seladon" was wrecked against the barrier. The crew went into the lifeboats and drifted for 30 days until they landed on the island of Niulakita, Tuvalu. For 10 months they lived together with a few natives until they were picked up by a ship and rescued.
The island formed a part of the British Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony prior to the independence of Kiribati in 1979. American claims to the atoll were formally vacated in the Treaty of Tarawa, signed that same year.
Starbuck Island has been designated a protected area by the United Nations. It is occasionally visited by yachtsmen and scientists.
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“Regarding History as the slaughter-bench at which the happiness of peoples, the wisdom of States, and the virtue of individuals have been victimized—the question involuntarily arises—to what principle, to what final aim these enormous sacrifices have been offered.”
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