Complex sentence: In 1908, the British government, assuming ownership of the islands, granted William Newton the rights to exploit guano deposits for the next twenty-one years, and issued a ten-year grant for seal exploitation to a sealing company in 1926.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1908, the British government, assuming ownership of the islands, granted William Newton the rights to exploit guano deposits for the next twenty-one years. A ten-year grant for seal exploitation was issued by the British to a sealing company in 1926.