The history of Nauru has been intrinsically linked with the extraction of phosphate. Initially inhabited by Micronesian and Polynesian peoples, Nauru was annexed by Germany in the late 19th century, and extraction of the island's phosphate began in 1906. Following World War I it became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The island was occupied by Japan during World War II, and after the war entered into trusteeship again. Nauru achieved independence in 1968.

Nauru was first settled by Micronesian and Polynesian peoples at least 3,000 years ago. Nauruans subsisted on coconut and pandanus fruit, and caught juvenile ibija fish, acclimated them to freshwater conditions, and raised them in Buada Lagoon, providing an additional reliable source of food.] Traditionally only men were permitted to fish on the reef, and did so from canoes or by using trained Man-of-war Hawks.