Lesson plan
Binoka
Tem Binoka ( – 10 November 1891) was the fourth (king) of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka in the Gilbert Islands from 1878 until his death. Tem Binoka was the first son and successor of Tem Baiteke, whose innovations in the State of Abemama, such as his personal oversight of border and gun control, gave him power unprecedented in the Gilbert Islands. Like his father, Tem Binoka was an autocrat but it is hard to determine how exaggerated the stories of despotism are. As king, one of his earliest actions was to monopolise the trade of copra to Europeans. Copra was the most valuable commodity in the Gilbert Islands, and Abemama its largest producer. Until 1884, Tem Binoka owned several stores and merchant ships, but he could not compete with the foreign firms. With ambitions of conquering the entire archipelago, Tem Binoka occupied Nonouti in December 1883. However, the warship HMS Dart expelled his garrison the month after. As a result, Tem Binoka led a placid life after defeating the last recorded rebellion against him in 1885. Robert Louis Stevenson visited Abemama in 1889 and befriended Tem Binoka. He was portrayed in Stevenson's In The South Seas (1896), although his name was spelled Tembinok', as a sympathetic despot who represented a bygone era before European contact. Less than a year after Tem Binoka's death, the British annexed the Gilberts.
Article summary
Tem Binoka ( – 10 November 1891) was the fourth (king) of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka in the Gilbert Islands from 1878 until his death. Tem Binoka was the first son and successor of Tem Baiteke, whose innovations in the State of Abemama, such as his personal oversight of border and gun control, gave him power unprecedented in the Gilbert Islands. Like his father, Tem Binoka was an autocrat but it is hard to determine how exaggerated the stories of despotism are. As king, one of his earliest actions was to monopolise the trade of copra to Europeans. Copra was the most valuable commodity in the Gilbert Islands, and Abemama its largest producer. Until 1884, Tem Binoka owned several stores and merchant ships, but he could not compete with the foreign firms. With ambitions of conquering the entire archipelago, Tem Binoka occupied Nonouti in December 1883. However, the warship HMS Dart expelled his garrison the month after. As a result, Tem Binoka led a placid life after defeating the last recorded rebellion against him in 1885. Robert Louis Stevenson visited Abemama in 1889 and befriended Tem Binoka. He was portrayed in Stevenson's In The South Seas (1896), although his name was spelled Tembinok', as a sympathetic despot who represented a bygone era before European contact. Less than a year after Tem Binoka's death, the British annexed the Gilberts.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.