Originally populated by Micronesians around 3000 years ago, visits by Tongan and Samoan seafarers in the 13th and 14th centuries A.D. resulted in intermarriage and a gradual homogenisation of the whole population. Missionaries, whalers, slave traders, coconut oil and copra traders all converged on this region in the 1800s, bringing with them diseases for which the local communities had little resistance. The British mined phosphate on Benaba, as mentioned, generating significant wealth.
During World War II, the Japanese invaded some of the islands, with heavily fought battles ensuing in the U.S liberation process.
Both the United Kingdom and the United States have used some of the atolls for military and nuclear testing during the 1950s.