how did christmas island get its name

Christmas Island is an island located in the Indian Ocean, approximately 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) northwest of Perth, Western Australia. The island was named by the Dutch explorer William de Vlamingh in 1696, during his expedition to the East Indies, because he found the island to be barren and uninhabited. It wasn't until the late 1880s that the island was settled by British colonists, who established a phosphate mining industry and a small settlement on the island.