Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme

The Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme was begun in 1938 in the western Pacific Ocean and was the last attempt at human colonisation within the British Empire. == History == Conceived by Henry E. "Harry" Maude, lands commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, and approved by His Excellency Sir Harry Luke, Governor of Fiji and High Commissioner of the Western Pacific, the goal of the project was to reduce overpopulation in the southern Gilbert Islands by developing three mostly uninhabited atolls in the Phoenix Islands archipelago: Nikumaroro (Gardner) Manra (Sydney) Orona (Hull) A secondary goal was to enhance the British presence in the western Pacific in response to growing American influence through the Guano Islands Act, especially on Canton (later Kanton), where a commercial seaplane base was being established.

Source: Wikipedia — Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme (CC BY-SA 4.0)