Ka cika wannan jumlar: Tsibirin Tarawa yana da muhimmanci ga tatsuniyoyi da al'adun Kiribati, amma rayuwa a Kudancin Tarawa ba ta da bambanci da ta sauran tsibiran kafin a zaɓe ta a shekara ta 1895 a matsayin wurin zama na gwamnatin mulkin mallaka na Kungiyar Gilbert da Ellice Islands. Daga 1906 zuwa 1942, tsibirin Ocean shine hedkwatar mulkin mallaka, sannan Funafuti saboda
Kasar Japan ta mamaye tsibirin Gilbert har zuwa 1946, lokacin da ta koma Tarawa.