The forgotten people of Ocean Island, the Banabans, had their island mined beneath them and their island taken from them during World War II . They have transformed their culture in a completely new way and continue to live in the hope that one day they will be able to live as their ancestors once did. This is the case in many places around the world that have been colonized. Colonization is not beneficial to developing countries because it brings disease, it overturns traditions, it disrupts resources and it separates families. For the reader to understand how colonization affected Ocean Island, the reader must understand the history of the island. In Pearl Binder's book, Treasure Islands: The Trials of the Banabans, she recounts what Ocean Island was like in the beginning. Ocean Island, or Banaba, is one of many islands in the Pacific. It is located almost exactly on the equator. The entire island is three miles long and two and a half miles wide. The highest point of Banaba is 270 feet. The island was rocky but had quite a bit of land for crops. After living alone and in peace for a long time, the Banabans allowed travelers into their land, which changed their lives forever. The Blackbirders, who recruited labor, arrived in Banaba in 1862 following the American Civil War (Binder). The need for cotton was in high demand, so they needed workers to harvest it all. Blackbirds came to kidnap strong young men from villages to use them for work in Fiji, Honolulu, South America and Queensland, where enterprising planters had started cotton plantations. While slavery was ending in the United States, it was just beginning in the Pacific (Binder). At the end of the 19th century... middle of paper... even though they won their case, it didn't change what happened to them, their lives would still never be the same. . All this was due to the introduction of colonization on their lands. Although colonization may have brought good things, like newer technology that helps us today, it tore apart cultures and societies that already existed. New technology is great and it is good that colonization brought it, but colonization brought more harm than good. Families were separated, traditions were ruined, new diseases killed people, and an entire island was ruined. This was all due to colonization. The Banabans could have remained peacefully on their own island with their families, traditions and resources and everything would have been fine, but colonization was brought to their island and their lives were changed forever. Colonization should never have happened.