Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. Ellice Islands District.

Formerly known as the Ellice Islands, Tuvalu became a British protectorate in 1892, and in 1916 the islands became part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. Tuvalu was administrered as a single administrative unit from the district headquarters in Funafuti. American military bases were set up at Funafuti, Nanumea and Nukufetau in 1942. Funafuti became the administrative centre of the colony for the period of the Japanese occupation of Nauru and the Gilbert Islands. The colonial headquarters shifted to Tarawa after the War. Tuvalu was granted self-government on 1 October 1975.