Canton and Enderbury Islands | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939–1979 | |||||||||
.svg)  Flag | |||||||||
 Canton and Enderbury Islands | |||||||||
| Capital | Tebaronga | ||||||||
| Government | Condominium under the administration of theUnited States and theUnited Kingdom | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 6 April 1939 | ||||||||
• UK cession/ US evacuation | 12 July 1979 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
TheCanton and Enderbury Islands consist of thecoral atolls ofCanton Island (also Kanton) andEnderbury in the northeastern part of thePhoenix Islands, about 1,850 miles (3,000 km) south ofHawaii in the centralPacific Ocean.
The islands were vital naval and air bases on the route between theAmericas and thePhilippines andAustralia and were claimed by both theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States.[1] From 1939 to 1979, they formed an Anglo–Americancondominium, with administration jointly exercised by the U.S. and the UK. This arrangement only covered Canton and Enderbury islands; the remaining Phoenix Islands were still claimed by the U.S. under theGuano Islands Act, but aside fromHull Island were either abandoned or remained under exclusive British control until 1979.[1]
Both the UK and the U.S. claimed sovereignty over the islands from the mid–19th century. The official British claim was formally reasserted on 6 August 1936, and in March 1937 the islands were attached to itsGilbert and Ellice Islands Colony; establishing a radio station on Canton on 31 August 1937.[2] In June 1937 a spat occurred at Canton between USSAvocet and HMSWellington and their crews. In response, on 26 JulyPresident Roosevelt approved a U.S. Navy plan to occupy Canton,[3] and on 3 March 1938 formally reasserted the United States claim, placing Canton and Enderbury under the control of theDepartment of the Interior.[4] Seven U.S. citizens from theAmerican Equatorial Islands Colonization Project landed on Canton on 7 March.[5] To resolve these conflicting claims, the two governments signed an agreement on 6 April 1939 providing for joint administration over the islands without prejudice to the claims of either side.[6]
The United States and the United Kingdom relinquished control over the islands to the government of newly independentKiribati; U.S. personnel left the island on 12 July 1979, the date of Kiribati's independence.[6][7] TheTreaty of Tarawa, signed on 20 September 1979 and ratified by the United States Senate on 21 June 1983 and entered into force on 23 September 1983, formally relinquished U.S. claims over the former Canton and Enderbury Islands Condominium.[8] In this treaty, the U.S. acknowledged Kiribati sovereignty over fourteen islands, but reserved the right to military bases.[9] Today the islands form part of the Phoenix Islands administrative group within the Republic ofKiribati.
As of 2005, the population of Canton Island was 41, down from 61 in 2000.[10] In May 2010 the population was reportedly 24, with 14 adults and 10 children.[11] The island's sole village is called Tebaronga. Enderbury is uninhabited.
In 2006, the government of Kiribati declared the islands, together with other Phoenix Islands, to be amarine protected area, to preserve the unique flora and fauna of the archipelago and its surrounding waters.[12]
3°00′S171°24′W / 3.000°S 171.400°W /-3.000; -171.400
Advise and consent to ratification by the Senate June 21, 1983;
