Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an
island country
An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...
located in the South Pacific Ocean. The
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...
, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
, east of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
, southeast of the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
, and west of
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...
.
Vanuatu was first inhabited by
Melanesian people. The first Europeans to visit the islands were a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator
Fernandes de Queirós, who arrived on the largest island,
Espíritu Santo, in 1606. Queirós claimed the archipelago for Spain, as part of the colonial
Spanish East Indies
The Spanish East Indies ( es , Indias orientales españolas ; fil, Silangang Indiyas ng Espanya) were the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire in Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1898, governed for the Spanish Crown from Mexico City and Madri ...
, and named it .
In the 1880s,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
claimed parts of the archipelago, and in 1906, they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides, Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the isla ...
through an Anglo-French
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
.
An independence movement arose in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was founded in 1980. Since independence, the country has become a member of the United Nations,
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...
,
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...
and the
Pacific Islands Forum
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...
.
Etymology
Vanuatu's name derives from the word ''
vanua'' ("land" or "home"), which occurs in several
Austronesian languages, combined with the word ''tu'', meaning "to stand" (from
POc *'). Together, the two words convey the independent status of the country.
History
Prehistory
The history of Vanuatu before European colonisation is mostly obscure because of the lack of written sources up to that point, and because only limited archaeological work has been conducted; Vanuatu's volatile geology and climate is also likely to have destroyed or hidden many prehistoric sites.
However, archaeological evidence gathered since the 1980s supports the theory that the Vanuatuan islands were first settled about 3,000 years ago, in the period roughly between 1100 BC and 700 BC.
These were almost certainly people of the
Lapita culture
The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian people and their material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. They are believed to have originated from the northern Philipp ...
. The formerly widespread idea that Vanuatu might have been only marginally affected by this culture was rendered obsolete by the evidence uncovered in recent decades at numerous sites on most of the islands in the archipelago, ranging from the
Banks Islands
The Banks Islands (in Bislama ''Bankis'') are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The island group lies about north of Maewo, and inclu ...
in the north to
Aneityum in the south.
Notable Lapita sites include
Teouma on
Éfaté
Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate.
Geography
It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanua ...
,
Uripiv
Uripiv Island is a small inhabited island in Malampa Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. Uripiv lies off the north coast of Malekula Island. The estimated terrain elevation above the sea level is some 8 meters.
Population
As of 2015, the o ...
and
Vao off the coast of
Malakula
Malakula Island, also spelled Malekula, is the second-largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides, in Melanesia, a region of the Pacific Ocean.
Location
Malakula is separated from the islands of Espiritu Santo and Malo by ...
, and Makue on
Aore
Aore Island is an island in Sanma Province, Vanuatu. It is located opposite Luganville on Espiritu Santo and has an area of 58 km2. The estimated terrain elevation above sea level is some 89 meters.
Aore's climate is humid tropical. The aver ...
. Several ancient burial sites have been excavated, most notably Teouma on Éfaté, which has a large ancient cemetery containing the remains of 94 individuals.
There are also sites – on Éfaté and on the adjacent islands of
Lelepa and
Eretoka
Eretoka (also Hat Island, Érétoka, Retoka, Artok) is a small uninhabited island in Shefa Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. The island lies off the western coast of Efate Island. There is a lighthouse built in the 1960s.
Geography
Eret ...
– associated with the 16th–17th century chief or chiefs called
Roy Mata
Roi Mata (or Roy Mata, Roymata) was a powerful Melanesian chief in what is now Vanuatu. He is believed to have lived at the end of the 16th century, or the beginning of the 17th. ''Chief Roi Mata's domain'' (UNESCO report).
In 2008, three sites ...
. (This may be a title held by different men over several generations.) Roy Mata is said to have united local clans and instituted and presided over an era of peace.
The stories about Roy Mata come from local oral tradition, and are consistent with centuries-old evidence uncovered at archaeological sites.
The Lapita sites became Vanuatu's first UNESCO
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 2008.
![Fels Cave Drawings 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Fels_Cave_Drawings_1.jpg)
The immediate origins of the Lapita lay to the northwest, in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
and the
Bismark Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km.
History
The first inhabitants o ...
of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
,
though DNA studies of a 3,000-year-old skeleton found near
Port Vila
Port Vila (french: Port-Vila), or simply Vila (; french: Vila; bi, Vila ), is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. It is located on the island of Efate.
Its population in the last census (2009) was 44,040, an increase of 35% on the pr ...
in 2016 indicates that some may have arrived directly from the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and/or
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, pausing only briefly en route. They brought with them crops such as
yam,
taro
Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...
and banana, as well as domesticated animals such as pigs and chickens.
Their arrival is coincident with the extinction of several species, such as the
land crocodile (''Mekosuchus kalpokasi''),
land tortoise (''Meiolania damelipi'') and various flightless bird species.
Lapita settlements reached as far east as
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
and
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
at their greatest extent.
Over time, the Lapita culture lost much of its early unity; as such, it became increasingly fragmented. The precise reasons for this are unclear. However, over the centuries pottery, settlement and burial practices in Vanuatu all evolved in a more localised direction, with long-distance trade and migration patterns contracting.
However some limited long-distance trade did continue, with similar cultural practices and late-period items also being found in
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...
,
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
, the Bismarks and the Solomons.
Finds in central and southern Vanuatu, such as distinctive adzes, also indicate some trade connections with, and possibly population movements of, Polynesian peoples to the east.
Over time it is thought that the Lapita either mixed with, or acted as pioneers for, migrants coming from the Bismarks and elsewhere in Melanesia, ultimately producing the darker-skinned physiognomy that is typical of modern Ni-Vanuatu. Linguistically, however, the Lapita peoples' Austronesian languages were maintained, with all of the numerous 100+ autochthonous
languages of Vanuatu
The Republic of Vanuatu has the world's highest linguistic density per capita.
For a population of 0.3 million, Vanuatu is home to 138 indigenous Oceanic languages.
In addition, modern history has brought new languages, including the country's ...
being classified as belonging to the
Oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
branch of the
Austronesian language family.
[“Languages of Vanuatu”]
– 2013 archive from Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' (stylized as ''Ethnoloɠue'') is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensiv ...
.
This linguistic hyperdiversity resulted from a number of factors: continuing waves of migration, the existence of numerous decentralised and generally self-sufficient communities, hostilities between people groups, with none able to dominate any of the others, and the difficult geography of Vanuatu that impeded inter- and intra-island travel and communication. The geological record also shows that a huge volcanic eruption occurred on
Ambrym
Ambrym is a volcanic island in Malampa Province in the archipelago of Vanuatu. Volcanic activity on the island includes lava lakes in two craters near the summit.
Etymology
Ambrym (also known as ''Ambrin'', ''"ham rim"'' in the Ranon language ...
in circa 200 AD, which would have devastated local populations and likely resulted in further population movements.
Arrival of Europeans (1606–1906)
![Pedro_Fernández_de_Quirós](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Pedro_Fern%C3%A1ndez_de_Quir%C3%B3s.JPG)
The Vanuatu islands first had contact with Europeans in April 1606, when the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
explorer
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós ( es, Pedro Fernández de Quirós) (1563–1614) was a Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain. He is best known for his involvement with Spanish voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, in particular the 1595–1 ...
, sailing for the
Spanish Crown
, coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg
, coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain
, image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg
, incumbent = Felipe VI
, incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
, departed
El Callao
Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Call ...
, sailed by the
Banks Islands
The Banks Islands (in Bislama ''Bankis'') are a group of islands in northern Vanuatu. Together with the Torres Islands to their northwest, they make up the northernmost province of Torba. The island group lies about north of Maewo, and inclu ...
, landing briefly on
Gaua
Gaua (formerly known as ''Santa Maria Island'') is the largest and second most populous of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu. It covers 342 km².
History
Gaua was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expeditio ...
(which he called Santa María).
Continuing further south, Queirós arrived at the largest island, naming it or "The Southern Land of the Holy Spirit", believing he had arrived in
Terra Australis
(Latin: '"Southern Land'") was a hypothetical continent first posited in antiquity and which appeared on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries. Its existence was not based on any survey or direct observation, but rather on the idea that ...
(Australia).
The Spanish established a short-lived settlement named ''Nueva Jerusalem'' at Big Bay on the north side of the island.
Relations with the Ni-Vanuatu were initially friendly, though due to poor treatment of the local people by the Spanish, the situation soon soured and turned violent.
Many of the crew, including Queirós, were also suffering from ill health, with Queirós's mental state also deteriorating.
The settlement was abandoned after a month, with Queirós continuing his search for the southern continent.
Europeans did not return until 1768, when the French explorer
Louis Antoine de Bougainville
Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville (, , ; 12 November 1729 – August 1811) was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years' War in North America and the American Revolution ...
sailed by the islands on 22 May, naming them the Great
Cyclades
The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The nam ...
.
Of the various French toponyms Bougainville devised, only
Pentecost Island
Pentecost Island is one of the 83 islands that make up the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu.
It lies due north of capital Port Vila. Pentecost Island is known as in French and in Bislama. The island was known in its native languages by ...
has stuck.
The French landed on
Ambae
Ambae Island, also known as Aoba, Omba, Oba, or Opa and formerly Lepers’ Island, is an island in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, located near , approximately north-northwest of Vanuatu's capital city, Port Vila.
History
First ...
, trading with the native people in a peaceful manner, though Bougainville stated that they were later attacked, necessitating him to fire warning shots with his muskets, before his crew left and continued their voyage.
In July–September 1774 the islands were explored extensively by British explorer
Captain James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
, who named them the New Hebrides, after the
Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrid ...
off the west coast of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, a name that lasted until independence in 1980.
Cook managed to maintain generally cordial relations with the Ni-Vanuatu by giving them presents and refraining from violence.
In 1789
William Bligh
Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...
and the remainder of his crew sailed through the Banks Islands on their return voyage to
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...
following the '
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set h ...
'; Bligh later returned to the islands, naming them after his benefactor
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
.
Whaleships were among the first regular visitors to this group of islands. The first recorded visit was by the ''Rose'' in February 1804, and the last known visit by the New Bedford ship ''John and Winthrop'' in 1887. In 1825, the trader
Peter Dillon
Peter Dillon (15 June 1788 – 9 February 1847) was a ship's captain engaged in the merchant trade, explorer and writer. Dillon discovered in 1826–27 the fate of the La Pérouse expedition.
Early career
Peter Dillon was born in Martinique, the ...
's discovery of
sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...
on the island of
Erromango
Erromango is the fourth largest island in the Vanuatu archipelago. With a land area of it is the largest island in Tafea Province, the southernmost of Vanuatu's six administrative regions.
Name
The Exonym and endonym, endonym for Erromango in Er ...
, highly valued as an incense in China where it could be traded for tea, resulted in rush of incomers that ended in 1830 after a clash between immigrant Polynesian workers and indigenous Ni-Vanuatu.
Further sandalwood trees were found on Efate, Espiritu Santo, and Aneityum, prompting a series of boom and busts, though supplies were essentially exhausted by the mid-1860s, and the trade largely ceased.
During the 1860s,
planters
Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentil ...
in Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, and the Samoan islands, in need of labourers, encouraged a long-term
indentured labour
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment, ...
trade called "
blackbirding
Blackbirding involves the coercion of people through deception or kidnapping to work as slaves or poorly paid labourers in countries distant from their native land. The term has been most commonly applied to the large-scale taking of people in ...
".
At the height of the labour trade, more than one-half the adult male population of several of the islands worked abroad. Because of this, and the poor conditions and abuse often faced by workers, as well the introduction of common diseases to which native Ni-Vanuatu had no immunity, the population of Vanuatu declined severely, with the current population being greatly reduced compared to pre-contact times.
Greater oversight of the trade saw it gradually wind down, with Australia barring any further 'blackbird' labourers in 1906, followed by Fiji and Samoa in 1910 and 1913 respectively.
From 1839 onwards missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
, both Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, arrived on the islands. At first they faced hostility, most notably with the killings of John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...
and James Harris of the London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...
on Erromango in 1839. Despite this they pressed on, resulting in many conversions; however, to the consternation of the European, this was often only skin-deep, with Ni-Vanuatu syncretising Christianity with traditional ''kastom
''Kastom'' is a pidgin word (Bislama/Tok Pisin) used to refer to traditional culture, including religion, economics, art and magic in Melanesia.
The term is the generally accepted term in anthropology to describe such phenomena as well as the ...
'' beliefs. The Anglican Melanesian Mission The Melanesian Mission is an Anglican missionary agency supporting the work of local Anglican churches in Melanesia. It was founded in 1849 by George Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand.
History
Bishop Selwyn's see was focused on New Zealand. ...
also took promising young converts for further training in New Zealand and Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
. Presbyterian missionaries proved particularly successful on Aneityum, though less so on Tanna, with missionaries being repeatedly chased off the island by locals throughout the 1840s–60s. The hostile response may have been partly to blame with the waves of illnesses and deaths the missionaries inadvertently brought with them.
Other European settlers also came, looking for land for cotton plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s, the first of these being Henry Ross Lewin on Tanna in 1865 (which he later abandoned). When international cotton prices collapsed after the ending of the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, they switched to coffee, cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
, bananas, and, most successfully, coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
s. Initially British subjects from Australia made up the majority of settlers, but with little support from the British government they frequently struggled to make a success of their settlements.
French planters also began arriving, beginning with Ferdinand Chevillard on Efate in 1880, and later in larger numbers following the creation of the ''Compagnie Caledonienne des Nouvelles-Hébrides'' (CCNH) I. 1882 by John Higginson (a fiercely pro-French Irishman), which soon tipped the balance in favour of French subjects. The French government took over the CCNH in 1894 and actively encouraged French settlement. By 1906 French settlers (at 401) outnumbered the British (228) almost two to one.
Colonial era (1906–1980)
Early period (1906–1945)
The jumbling of French and British interests in the islands and the near lawlessness prevalent there brought petitions for one or another of the two powers to annex the territory. The Convention of 16 October 1887 established a joint naval commission for the sole purpose of protecting French and British citizens, with no claim to jurisdiction over internal native affairs. Hostilities between settlers and Ni-Vanuatu were commonplace, often centring on disputes over land which had been purchased in dubious circumstances. There was pressure from French settlers in New Caledonia to annex the islands, though Britain was unwilling to relinquish their influence completely.
As a result, in 1906 France and the United Kingdom agreed to administer the islands jointly; called the Anglo-French Condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
, it was a unique form of government, with two separate governmental, legal, judicial and financial systems that came together only in a (weak and ineffective) Joint Court. Land expropriation and exploitation of Ni-Vanuatu workers on plantations continued apace however. In an effort to curb the worst of the abuses, and with the support of the missionaries, the Condominium's authority was extended via the Anglo-French Protocol of 1914, although this was not formally ratified until 1922. Whilst this resulted in some improvements, labour abuses continued and Ni-Vanuatu were barred from acquiring the citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
of either power, being officially stateless. The underfunded Condominium government proved dysfunctional, with the duplication of administrations making effective governance difficult and time-consuming. Education, healthcare and other such services were left in the hands of the missionaries.
During the 1920s–30s, indentured workers from Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
(then part of French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
) came to work in the plantations in the New Hebrides. By 1929 there were some 6,000 Vietnamese people in the New Hebrides. There was some social and political unrest among them in the 1940s due to the poor working conditions and the social effects of Allied troops, who were generally more sympathetic to their plight than the planters. Most Vietnamese were repatriated in 1946 and 1963, though a small Vietnamese community remains in Vanuatu today.
The Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
brought immense change to the archipelago. The fall of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...
to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in 1940 allowed Britain to gain a level of greater authority on the islands. The Australian military stationed a 2,000-strong force on Malakula in a bid to protect Australia from a possible Japanese invasion. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
on 7 December 1941 the United States joined the war on the Allied side; Japan soon advanced rapidly throughout Melanesia and was in possession of much of what is now Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands by April 1942, leaving the New Hebrides on the frontline of any further advance. To forestall this, from May 1942 US troops were stationed on the islands, where they built airstrips, roads, military bases on Efate and Espiritu Santo, and an array of other supporting infrastructure.
At the peak of the deployment some 50,000 Americans were stationed on the two military bases, outnumbering the native population of roughly 40,000, with thousands more Allied troops passing through the islands at some point. A small Ni-Vanuatu force of some 200 men (the New Hebrides Defence Force) was established to support the Americans, and thousands more were engaged in construction and maintenance work as part of the Vanuatu Labor Corps
The Vanuatu Labor Corps was a labour unit of the United States Armed Forces consisting of New Hebrides natives. The unit was established in 1942 and dissolved in 1945. During its service it provided crucial logistical support to the Allied war ...
. The American presence effectively sidelined the Anglo-French authorities for the duration of their stay, with the Americans' more tolerant and friendly attitude to the Ni-Vanuatu, informal habits, relative wealth, and the presence of African-American troops serving with a degree of equality (albeit in a segregated force) seriously undermining the underlying ethos of colonial superiority.
With the successful reoccupation of the Solomons in 1943 the New Hebrides lost their strategic importance, and the Americans withdrew in 1945, selling much of their equipment at bargain prices and dumping the rest in the sea, at a place now called Million Dollar Point on Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
Geography
The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...
. The rapid American deployment and withdrawal led to growth in 'cargo cult
A cargo cult is an indigenist millenarian belief system, in which adherents perform rituals which they believe will cause a more technologically advanced society to deliver goods.
Causes, beliefs, and practices
Cargo cults are marked by a ...
s', most notably that of John Frum
John Frum (also called Jon Frum, John Brum, and John Prum) is a mythic figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. He is often depicted as an American World War II serviceman who will bring wealth and prosperity to the ...
, whereby Ni-Vanuatu hoped that by returning to traditional values whilst mimicking aspects of the American presence that 'cargo' (i.e. large quantities of American goods) would be delivered to them.[Western Oceanian Religions: Jon Frum Movement]
University of Cumbria Meanwhile, the Condominium government returned, though understaffed and underfunded, it struggled to reassert its authority.
Lead-up to independence (1945–1980)
Decolonisation began sweeping the European empires after the war, and from the 1950s the Condominium government began a somewhat belated campaign of modernisation and economic development. Hospitals were built, doctors trained and immunisation campaigns carried out. The inadequate mission-run school system was taken over and improved, with primary enrollment greatly increasing to be near-universal by 1970. There was greater oversight of the plantations, with worker exploitation being clamped down on and Ni-Vanuatu paid higher wages.
New industries, such as cattle ranching
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
, commercial fishing and manganese
Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
mining were established. Ni-Vanuatu began gradually to take over more positions of power and influence within the economy and the church. Despite this the British and French still dominated the politics of the colony, with an Advisory Council set up in 1957 containing some Ni-Vanuatu representation having little power.
However the economic development brought with it unintended consequences. In the 1960s many planters began fencing off and clearing large areas of bushland for cattle ranching, which were often deemed to be communally-held ''kastom'' lands by Ni-Vanuatu. On Espiritu Santo the Nagriamel
Nagriamel (sometimes seen as Vemarana, Vemerana or the Nagriamel Customs Union or Nagriamel Movement) is a political party in Vanuatu.
History
The party was established in January 1966 at a meeting of chiefs in Espiritu Santo convened by Chief ...
movement was founded in 1966 by Chief Buluk and Jimmy Stevens on a platform of opposing any further land clearances and gradual, Ni-Vanuatu-led, economic development. The movement gained a large following, prompting a crackdown by the authorities, with Buluk and Stevens being arrested in 1967. Upon their release they began to press for complete independence. In 1971 Father Walter Lini
Walter Hadye Lin̄i (1942 – 21 February 1999) was a Raga Anglican priest and politician who was the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, from independence in 1980 to 1991. He was born at Agatoa village, Pentecost Island. On his mother's side ...
established another party: the New Hebrides Cultural Association, later renamed the New Hebrides National Party (NHNP), which also focused on achieving independence and opposition to land expropriation. The NNDP first came to prominence in 1971, when the Condominium government was forced to intervene after a rash of land speculation by foreign nationals.
Meanwhile, French settlers, and Francophone and mixed-race Ni-Vanuatu, established two separate parties on a platform of more gradual political development – the ''Mouvement Autonomiste des Nouvelles-Hébrides'' (MANH), based on Espiritu Santo, and the ''Union des Communautés des Nouvelles-Hébrides'' (UCNH) on Efate. The parties aligned on linguistic and religious lines: the NHNP was seen as the party of Anglophone Protestants, and were backed by the British who wished to exit the colony altogether, whereas the MANH, UCNH, Nagriamel and others (collectively known as the 'Moderates') represented Catholic Francophone interests, and a more gradual path to independence. France backed these groups as they were keen to maintain their influence in the region, most especially in their mineral-rich colony of New Caledonia where they were attempting to suppress an independence movement.[Bombs, bribery and ballots in New Hebrides]
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1976, p8
Meanwhile, economic development continued, with numerous banks and financial centres opening up in the early 1970s to take advantage of the territory's tax haven
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
status. A mini-building boom took off in Port Vila and, following the building of a deep-sea wharf, cruise ship tourism grew rapidly, with annual arrivals reaching 40,000 by 1977. The boom encouraged increasing urbanisation and the populations of Port Vila and Luganville
Luganville is the second largest city in Vanuatu after the capital Port Vila; it is located on the island of Espiritu Santo and has a population of 18,062 as of the 2020 census. Those on Vanuatu's northern islands who regard Luganville as their bi ...
grew rapidly.
In November 1974 the British and French met and agreed to create a Representative Assembly in the colony, based partly on universal suffrage and partly on appointed persons representing various interest groups. The first election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
took place in November 1975, resulting in an overall victory for the NHNP. The Moderates disputed the results, with Jimmy Stevens threatening to secede and declare independence. The Condominium's Resident Commissioners decided to postpone the opening of the Assembly, though the two sides proved unable to agree on a solution, prompting protests and counter-protests, some of which turned violent. After discussions and some fresh elections in disputed areas, the Assembly finally convened in November 1976.[New Hebrides Assembly meets – but what's new?]
''Pacific Islands Monthly'' February 1977, pp17–18 The NHNP renamed itself the Vanua'aku Pati
The Vanua'aku Pati () is a democratic socialist political party in Vanuatu.
History
The party was founded on 17 August 1971 by Walter Lini as the New Hebridean Cultural Association, renamed later that same year as the New Hebrides National Party ...
(VP) in 1977, and now supported immediate independence under a strong central government and an Anglicisation of the islands. The Moderates meanwhile supported a more gradual transition to independence and a federal system, plus the maintenance of French as an official language.
In March 1977 a joint Anglo-French and Ni-Vanuatu conference was held in London, at which it was agreed to hold fresh Assembly elections and later an independence referendum in 1980; the VP boycotted the conference and the subsequent election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
in November.[New Hebrides' new era]
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', March 1978, p28 They set up a parallel 'People's Provisional Government' which had de facto control of many areas, prompting violent confrontations with Moderates and the Condominium government.
A compromise was eventually brokered, a Government of National Unity formed under a new constitution, and fresh elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...
held in November 1979, which the VP won with a comfortable majority. Independence was now scheduled for 30 July 1980. Performing less well than expected, the Moderates disputed the results.[New Hebrides: High hopes haunted by high danger]
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1980, pp13–14
Tensions continued throughout 1980. Violent confrontations occurred between VP and Moderate supporters on several islands. On Espiritu Santo Nagriamel and Moderate activists under Jimmy Stevens, funded by the American libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
organisation Phoenix Foundation
The Phoenix Foundation is a libertarian foundation that has supported numerous attempts, at times violent, to create independent libertarian states. The foundation was created by Nevada-based real estate millionaire Michael Oliver, his friend ...
, took over the island's government in January and declared the independent Republic of Vemarana, prompting VP supporters to flee and the central government to institute a blockade. In May an abortive Moderate rebellion broke out on Tanna, in the course of which one of their leaders was shot and killed. The British and French sent in troops in July in a bid to forestall the Vemarana secessionists, however the French, still ambivalent about independence, effectively neutered the force, prompting a collapse of law and order on Espiritu Santo resulting in large scale looting.
Independent Vanuatu (1980–present)
The New Hebrides, now renamed Vanuatu, achieved independence as planned on 30 July 1980 under Prime Minister Walter Lini
Walter Hadye Lin̄i (1942 – 21 February 1999) was a Raga Anglican priest and politician who was the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, from independence in 1980 to 1991. He was born at Agatoa village, Pentecost Island. On his mother's side ...
, with a ceremonial President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
replacing the Resident Commissioners.[ The Anglo-French forces withdrew in August, and Lini called in troops from ]Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, sparking the brief 'Coconut War
The Coconut War was a brief clash between Papua New Guinean soldiers and rebels in Espiritu Santo shortly before and after the independence of the Republic of Vanuatu was declared on 30 July 1980.
Background
Prior to Vanuatu's independence ...
' against Jimmy Stevens's Vemarana separatists. The PNG forces quickly quelled the Vemarana revolt and Stevens surrendered on 1 September; he was later jailed. Lini remained in office until 1991, running an Anglophone-dominated government and winning both the 1983 and 1987 elections.
In foreign affairs, Lini joined the Non Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
, opposed Apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
in South Africa and all forms of colonialism, established links with Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
and Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, and opposed the French presence in New Caledonia and their nuclear testing in French Polynesia
)Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze")
, anthem =
, song_type = Regional anthem
, song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui"
, image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of Frenc ...
.[HUFFER, Elise, ''Grands hommes et petites îles: La politique extérieure de Fidji, de Tonga et du Vanuatu'', Paris, Orstom, 1993, , pp. 272–282] Opposition to Lini's tight grip on power grew and in 1987, after he had suffered a stroke whilst on a visit to the United States, a section of the Vanua'aku Pati
The Vanua'aku Pati () is a democratic socialist political party in Vanuatu.
History
The party was founded on 17 August 1971 by Walter Lini as the New Hebridean Cultural Association, renamed later that same year as the New Hebrides National Party ...
(VP) under Barak Sopé broke off to form a new party (the Melanesian Progressive Party
The Melanesian Progressive Party is a political party in Vanuatu formed after an internal leadership struggle within the Vanua'aku Pati in the late 1980s. MPP founder, former Prime Minister Barak Sopé
Barak Tame Sopé Mautamata (born 1951) ...
, MPP), and an attempt was made by President Ati George Sokomanu
Ati George Sokomanu, (born George Kalkoa; 13 January 1937) is a Vanuatuan politician who served as the first president of Vanuatu from 1984 to 1989.
Early life
Born in 1937 in Mele, Sokomanu was educated at Iririki District School in Port Vil ...
to unseat Lini. This failed, and Lini became increasingly distrustful of his VP colleagues, firing anyone he deemed to be disloyal.
One such person, Donald Kalpokas
Donald Masike'Vanua Kalpokas (23 August 1943 – 20 March 2019) was a Vanuatuan politician and diplomat who twice served as Prime Minister of Vanuatu.
Biography
Kalpokas was born on Efate island. Along with Walter Lini, he founded the Vanua'aku ...
, subsequently declared himself to be VP leader, splitting the party in two. On 6 September 1991 a vote of no confidence removed Lini from power; Kalpokas became Prime Minister, and Lini formed a new party, the National United Party (NUP). Meanwhile, the economy had entered a downturn, with foreign investors and foreign aid put off by Lini's flirtation with Communist states and tourist numbers down due to the political turmoil, compounded by a crash in the price of copra
Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...
, Vanuatu's main export. As a result, the Francophone Union of Moderate Parties
The Union of Moderate Parties (french: Union des partis moderés) is a liberal political party in Vanuatu founded in 1981. At the last general election, held on 22 January 2016, they won 9.73% of the vote and 6 seats. It is currently headed by Ish ...
(UMP) won the 1991 election, but not with enough seats to form a majority. A coalition was thus formed with Lini's NUP, with the UMP's Maxime Carlot Korman
Maxime Carlot Korman (born 26 April 1941) is a Vanuatuan politician, formerly serving as the speaker of the Parliament and formerly as acting president. He served as the prime minister of Vanuatu for nearly five years, first from 16 December 199 ...
becoming Prime Minister.
Since the 1991 general election, Vanuatuan politics have been unstable with a series of fractious coalition governments and the use of no confidence votes resulting in frequent changes of prime ministers. However, the democratic system as a whole has been maintained and Vanuatu remains a peaceful and reasonably prosperous state. Throughout most of the 1990s the UMP were in power, the prime ministership switching between UMP rivals Korman and Serge Vohor
Rialuth Serge Vohor (born 23 April 1955) is a Vanuatuan politician. He hails from the largest island of Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo, from Port Olry.
He was a member of the Union of Moderate Parties, a centrist political party, until 2022. When his ...
, and the UMP instituting a more free market approach to the economy, cutting the public sector, improving opportunities for Francophone Ni-Vanuatu and renewing ties with France. The government struggled however with splits within their NUP coalition partner and a series of strikes within the Civil Service in 1993–4, the latter dealt with by a wave of firings. Financial scandals dogged both Korman and Vohor, with the latter implicated in a scheme to sell Vanuatu passports to foreigners.
In 1996 Vohor and President Jean-Marie Léyé
Jean-Marie Léyé Lenelgau (1932 – 9 December 2014) was a Vanuatuan politician and the president of Vanuatu from 2 March 1994 to 2 March 1999.
Biography
In 1976, the nation of Vanuatu was the Franco-British New Hebrides Condominium. Léyé ...
were briefly abducted by the Vanuatu Mobile Force over a pay dispute and later released unharmed. A riot occurred in Port Vila in 1998 when savers attempted to withdraw funds from the Vanuatu National Provident Fund
The Vanuatu National Provident Fund (VNPF) is a compulsory pension scheme in Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located i ...
following allegations of financial impropriety, prompting the government to declare a brief state of emergency. A Comprehensive Reform Program was enacted in the 1998 with the aim of improving economic performance and cracking down on government corruption. At the 1998 Vanuatuan general election the UMP were unseated by the VP under Donald Kalpokas.[MILES, William F.S., ''Bridging Mental Boundaries in a Postcolonial Microcosm: Identity and Development in Vanuatu'', Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1998, , p.27]Dieter Nohlen
Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...
, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p843 However Kalpokas lasted only a year, resigning when threatened with a no confidence vote, being replaced by Barak Sopé of the MPP in 1999, who himself was unseated in a confidence vote in 2001. Despite the political uncertainty Vanuatu's economy continued to grow in this period, fuelled by high demand for Vanuatu beef, tourism, remittances from foreign workers, and large aid packages from the Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...
(in 1997) and the US Millennium Challenge fund (in 2005). Vanuatu was removed from the OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
list of 'uncooperative tax havens' in 2003 and joined the World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
in 2011.
Edward Natapei
Edward Nipake Natapei Tuta Fanua`araki (17 July 1954 – 28 July 2015) was a Vanuatuan politician. He was the prime minister of Vanuatu on two occasions, and was previously the minister of Foreign Affairs briefly in 1991, the acting president of ...
of the VP became Prime Minister in 2001 and went on to win the 2002 Vanuatuan general election. The 2004 Vanuatuan general election
General elections were held in Vanuatu on 6 July 2004. The VP- VNP coalition won the most seats, but failed to gain a majority, which instead was cobbled together by Serge Vohor of the Union of Moderate Parties, who became Prime Minister, subseq ...
saw Vohor and the UMP return to power, however Vohor lost much support over a secret deal to recognise Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
in the China-Taiwan dispute and was unseated in a confidence vote less than five months after taking office, being replaced by Ham Lini
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...
.["Vanuatu court rules in favor of Parliament; Vohor appeals"]
Taiwan News (news.vu), 8 December 2004. Lini switched back recognition to the People's Republic of China and the PRC remains a major aid donor to the Vanuatu government. In 2007 violent clashes broke out in Port Vila between migrants from Tanna and Ambrym, in which two people died. Lini lost the 2008 Vanuatuan general election, with Natapei returning to power, however Vanuatu politics then entered a period of turmoil. There were frequent attempts by the opposition to unseat Natapei via the use of no confidence votes – though unsuccessful, he was briefly removed on a procedural technicality in November 2009, an action that was then overturned by the Chief Justice. Sato Kilman of the People's Progressive Party (PPP) managed to oust Natapei in another confidence vote in December 2010, only to be removed in the same manner himself by Vohor's UMP in April 2011, however the latter was deemed invalid on a technical point and Kilman returned as PM. However the Chief Justice then overturned Kilman's victory, with Natapei returning to power for 10 days, at which point the Parliament voted in Kilman once more. Kilman managed to remain in office for two years, before being ousted in March 2013.
The new government was the first time the Green Confederation
The Green Confederation ( bi, Vanuatu Grin Konfederesen, french: Confédération des Verts Vanuatu; sometimes seen as the Greens Confederation or Vanuatu Green Confederation) is a green political party in Vanuatu.
At the legislative election of ...
was in power, and the new Prime Minister, Moana Carcasses Kalosil
Moana Carcasses Kalosil (born 27 January 1963) is a Vanuatuan politician. He was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from March 2013 to May 2014. He was the first naturalized citizen of Vanuatu to become the country's prime minister.
Carcasses was ouste ...
, was the first non-Ni-Vanuatu to hold the position (Kalosil is of mixed French-Tahitian ancestry and a naturalised Vanuatu citizen). Kalosil instituted a review of the sale of diplomatic passports and publicly declared his support for the West Papua independence movement, a move supported by former PMs Kilman and Carlot Korman. Kalosil was ousted in yet another confidence vote in 2014, with the VP returning under Joe Natuman
Joe Natuman (born 24 November 1952) is a Vanuatuan politician of the Vanua'aku Pati and former Prime Minister of Vanuatu.
He is a graduate of the University of the South Pacific, and was also an exchange student at the University of Papua New Gu ...
, who himself was ousted the following year in a confidence vote led by Kilman, angered at being fired from his position of Foreign Affairs Minister. Meanwhile, the country was devastated by Cyclone Pam
Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Vanuatu. A total of 15–16 people lost ...
in 2015, which resulted in 16 deaths and enormous destruction.
A corruption investigation in 2015 resulted in the conviction of numerous MPs in Kilman's government for bribery, including former PM Moana Carcasses Kalosil. His authority severely weakened, Kilman lost the 2016 Vanuatuan general election to Charlot Salwai
Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas (born 24 April 1963)["Hon. Charlot Salwai"](_blank)
Vanuatu Pa ...
's Reunification Movement for Change (RMC). Salwai in turn lost the 2020 Vanuatuan general election amidst allegations of perjury, bringing back in the VP under Bob Loughman as the country dealt with the aftermath of Cyclone Harold
Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold was a very powerful tropical cyclone which caused widespread destruction in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga during April 2020. It was the first Category 5 tropical cyclone in 2020. The seventh named ...
and the global COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.[Vanuatu elects new prime minister as country reels from devastating cyclone](_blank)
, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 20 April 2020.
Vanuatu was one of the last places on Earth to have avoided a coronavirus outbreak, recording its first case of COVID-19 in November 2020.
Geography
Vanuatu is a Y-shaped archipelago consisting of about 83 relatively small, geologically newer islands of volcanic origin (65 of them inhabited), with about between the most northern and southern islands.[ Two of these islands ( Matthew and Hunter) are also claimed and controlled by France as part of the French collectivity of New Caledonia. The country lies between latitudes 13°S and 21°S and longitudes 166°E and 171°E.
The fourteen of Vanuatu's islands that have surface areas of more than are, from largest to smallest: ]Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
Geography
The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...
, Malakula
Malakula Island, also spelled Malekula, is the second-largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides, in Melanesia, a region of the Pacific Ocean.
Location
Malakula is separated from the islands of Espiritu Santo and Malo by ...
, Efate
Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate.
Geography
It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanua ...
, Erromango
Erromango is the fourth largest island in the Vanuatu archipelago. With a land area of it is the largest island in Tafea Province, the southernmost of Vanuatu's six administrative regions.
Name
The Exonym and endonym, endonym for Erromango in Er ...
, Ambrym
Ambrym is a volcanic island in Malampa Province in the archipelago of Vanuatu. Volcanic activity on the island includes lava lakes in two craters near the summit.
Etymology
Ambrym (also known as ''Ambrin'', ''"ham rim"'' in the Ranon language ...
, Tanna, Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
, Epi, Ambae
Ambae Island, also known as Aoba, Omba, Oba, or Opa and formerly Lepers’ Island, is an island in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, located near , approximately north-northwest of Vanuatu's capital city, Port Vila.
History
First ...
or Aoba, Gaua
Gaua (formerly known as ''Santa Maria Island'') is the largest and second most populous of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu. It covers 342 km².
History
Gaua was first sighted by Europeans during the Spanish expeditio ...
, Vanua Lava
Vanua Lava is the second largest of the Banks Islands in Torba Province, Vanuatu, after slightly larger Gaua.
It is located about 120 km north-northeast of Espiritu Santo and north of Gaua.
Name
The name ''Vanua Lava'' comes from the Mota ...
, Maewo
Maewo (; formerly ''Aurora Island'') is an island in Vanuatu in Penama province, 105 km to the east of Espiritu Santo.
It is 47 km long, and 6 km wide, with an area of 269 km2. Its highest point is 795 m above sea le ...
, Malo
Mal, which in Spanish means ''bad or evil'', may also refer to:
Places
* Malo, Italy, a town
*Malo Island, formerly known as St. Bartholomew, Vanuatu
* Malo (Solomon Islands), an island
*Malo, Washington, Ferry County, Washington, United States
* ...
and Aneityum or Anatom. The nation's largest towns are the capital Port Vila
Port Vila (french: Port-Vila), or simply Vila (; french: Vila; bi, Vila ), is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. It is located on the island of Efate.
Its population in the last census (2009) was 44,040, an increase of 35% on the pr ...
, on Efate, and Luganville
Luganville is the second largest city in Vanuatu after the capital Port Vila; it is located on the island of Espiritu Santo and has a population of 18,062 as of the 2020 census. Those on Vanuatu's northern islands who regard Luganville as their bi ...
on Espiritu Santo. The highest point in Vanuatu is Mount Tabwemasana
Mount Tabwemasana is the highest peak in Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The arc ...
, at , on the island of Espiritu Santo.
Vanuatu's total area is roughly , of which its land surface is very limited (roughly ). Most of the islands are steep, with unstable soils and little permanent fresh water.[ One estimate, made in 2005, is that only 9% of land is used for agriculture (7% with permanent crops, plus 2% considered arable).] The shoreline is mostly rocky with fringing reefs and no continental shelf
A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...
, dropping rapidly into the ocean depths.[
There are several active ]volcanoes
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
in Vanuatu, including Lopevi
Lopevi (or Lopévi) is an uninhabited island in Malampa Province, Vanuatu. It lies to the southeast of Ambrym and east of Paama.
Geography
Lopevi consists of the 7-km-wide cone of the active stratovolcano by the same name. It reaches a peak of 14 ...
, Mount Yasur
Mount Yasur is a volcano on Tanna Island, Vanuatu, high above sea level, on the coast near Sulphur Bay, northeast of the taller Mount Tukosmera, which was active in the Pleistocene. It has a largely unvegetated pyroclastic cone with a nearly c ...
and several underwater volcanoes. Volcanic activity
Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called a ...
is common, with an ever-present danger of a major eruption; a nearby undersea eruption of 6.4 magnitude occurred in November 2008 with no casualties, and an eruption occurred in 1945. Vanuatu is recognised as a distinct terrestrial ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
, which is known as the Vanuatu rain forests
The Vanuatu rain forests are tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion which includes the islands of Vanuatu, as well as the Santa Cruz Islands group of the neighboring Solomon Islands. It is part of the Australasian realm, which ...
. It is part of the Australasian realm
The Australasian realm is a biogeographic realm that is coincident with, but not (by some definitions) the same as, the geographical region of Australasia. The realm includes Australia, the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua New Guinea and ...
, which includes New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand.
Vanuatu's population (estimated in 2008 as growing 2.4% annually) is placing increasing pressure on land and resources for agriculture, grazing, hunting, and fishing. 90% of Vanuatu households fish and consume fish, which has caused intense fishing pressure near villages and the depletion of near-shore fish species. While well-vegetated, most islands show signs of deforestation. The islands have been logged, particularly of high-value timber, subjected to wide-scale slash-and-burn agriculture, and converted to coconut plantations and cattle ranches, and now show evidence of increased soil erosion and landslides.[
Many upland watersheds are being deforested and degraded, and fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce. Proper waste disposal, as well as water and air pollution, are becoming troublesome issues around urban areas and large villages. Additionally, the lack of employment opportunities in industry and inaccessibility to markets have combined to lock rural families into a subsistence or self-reliance mode, putting tremendous pressure on local ecosystems.][ The country had a 2019 ]Forest Landscape Integrity Index
The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...
mean score of 8.82/10, ranking it 18th globally out of 172 countries.
Flora and fauna
Despite its tropical forests, Vanuatu has a limited number of plant and animal species. It has an indigenous flying fox, '' Pteropus anetianus''. Flying foxes are important rainforest and timber regenerators. They pollinate and seed disperse a wide variety of native trees. Their diet is nectar, pollen and fruit and they are commonly called "fruit bats". They are in decline across their South Pacific range. However, governments are increasingly aware of the economic and ecological value of flying foxes and there are calls to increase their protection. There are no indigenous large mammals.
The nineteen species of native reptiles include the flowerpot snake, found only on Efate. The Fiji banded iguana
''Brachylophus bulabula'', commonly known as the Central Fijian Banded Iguana is a species of iguanid lizard endemic to some of the larger central and northwestern islands of Fiji ( Ovalau, Kadavu and Viti Levu), where it occurs in Fijian wet ...
(''Brachylophus fasciatus'') was introduced as a feral
A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
animal in the 1960s.[ There are eleven species of bats (three unique to Vanuatu) and sixty-one species of land and water birds. While the small ]Polynesian rat
The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), known to the Māori as ''kiore'', is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, a ...
is thought to be indigenous, the large species arrived with Europeans, as did domesticated hogs, dogs, and cattle. The ant species of some of the islands of Vanuatu were catalogued by E. O. Wilson
Edward Osborne Wilson (June 10, 1929 – December 26, 2021) was an American biologist, naturalist, entomologist and writer. According to David Attenborough, Wilson was the world's leading expert in his specialty of myrmecology, the study of an ...
.
The region is rich in sea life, with more than 4,000 species of marine molluscs and a large diversity of marine fishes. Cone snails and stonefish carry poison fatal to humans. The Giant East African land snail arrived only in the 1970s, but already has spread from the Port Vila region to Luganville.
There are three or possibly four adult saltwater crocodile
The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed ...
s living in Vanuatu's mangroves and no current breeding population. It is said the crocodiles reached the northern part of the islands after cyclones, given the island chain's proximity to the Solomon Islands and New Guinea where crocodiles are very common.
Climate
The climate is tropical, with about nine months of warm to hot rainy weather and the possibility of cyclones and three to four months of cooler, drier weather characterised by winds from the southeast. The water temperature ranges from in winter to in the summer. Cool between April and September, the days become hotter and more humid starting in October. The daily temperature ranges from . Southeasterly trade winds
The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...
occur from May to October.[''The Peace Corps Welcomes You to Vanuatu''](_blank)
. Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
(May 2007).
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Vanuatu has a long rainy season, with significant rainfall almost every month. The wettest and hottest months are December through April, which also constitutes the cyclone season. The driest months are June through November.[ Rainfall averages about per year but can be as high as in the northern islands.] According to the WorldRiskIndex 2021, Vanuatu ranks first among the countries with the highest disaster risk worldwide.
Tropical cyclones
In March 2015, Cyclone Pam
Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam was the second most intense tropical cyclone of the South Pacific Ocean in terms of sustained winds and is regarded as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Vanuatu. A total of 15–16 people lost ...
impacted much of Vanuatu as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone, causing deaths and extensive damage to all the islands. the United Nations said the official death toll was 11 (six from Efate
Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate.
Geography
It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanua ...
and five from Tanna), and 30 were reported injured; these numbers were expected to rise as more remote islands reported back. Vanuatu lands minister, Ralph Regenvanu
Ralph John Regenvanu (born 20 September 1970 in Suva, Fiji''Laef Blong Mi'', Sethy Regenvanu, op.cit., p. 76) is a Ni-Vanuatu anthropologist, artist and politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since September 2008, was a member of Cabinet ...
said, "This is the worst disaster to affect Vanuatu ever as far as we know."
In April 2020, Cyclone Harold
Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold was a very powerful tropical cyclone which caused widespread destruction in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga during April 2020. It was the first Category 5 tropical cyclone in 2020. The seventh named ...
roared through the Espiritu Santo town of Luganville, and caused great material damage there and on at least four islands.
Earthquakes
Vanuatu has relatively frequent earthquakes. Of the 58 M7 or greater events that occurred between 1909 and 2001, few were studied.
Government
Politics
The Republic of Vanuatu is a parliamentary democracy
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
with a written constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princi ...
, which declares that the "head of the Republic shall be known as the President and shall symbolise the unity of the nation." The powers of the President of Vanuatu
The president of Vanuatu (french: Président du Vanuatu) is the head of state of Vanuatu. The president is elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of Parliament and the presidents of the regional councils.
The preside ...
, who is elected for a five-year term by a two-thirds vote of an electoral college, are primarily ceremonial. The electoral college consists of members of Parliament and the presidents of Regional Councils. The President may be removed by the electoral college for gross misconduct or incapacity.
The Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
, who is the head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
, is elected by a majority vote of a three-quarters quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
of the Parliament. The Prime Minister, in turn, appoints the Council of Ministers, whose number may not exceed a quarter of the number of parliamentary representatives. The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers constitute the executive government.
The Parliament of Vanuatu
The Parliament of Vanuatu ( bi, Palamen blong Vanuatu; french: Parlement du Vanuatu) is the unicameral legislative body of the Republic of Vanuatu.
It was established by chapter 4 of the 1980 Constitution, upon Vanuatu's independence from Franc ...
is unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
and has 52 members, who are elected by popular vote every four years unless earlier dissolved by a majority vote of a three-quarters quorum or by a directive from the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. Forty-four of these MPs are elected through Single non-transferable voting
Single non-transferable vote or SNTV is an electoral system used to elect multiple winners. It is a generalization of first-past-the-post, applied to multi-member districts with each voter casting just one vote. Unlike FPTP, which is a single-winn ...
; eight are elected through single-member plurality.
The national Council of Chiefs, called the ''Malvatu Mauri
The ''Malvatu Mauri'' (Bislama) (National Council of Chiefs) is a formal advisory body of chiefs recognised by the Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu.
Members of the Council are elected by their fellow chiefs sitting in district councils ...
'' and elected by district councils of chiefs, advises the government on all matters concerning ni-Vanuatu culture and language.
Besides national authorities and figures, Vanuatu also has high-placed people at the village level. Chiefs continue to be the leading figures at the village level. It has been reported that even politicians need to oblige them.[Lonely Planet:Vanuatu] One becomes such a figure by holding a number of lavish feasts (each feast allowing them a higher ceremonial grade) or alternatively through inheritance (the latter only in Polynesian-influenced villages). In northern Vanuatu, feasts are graded through the nimangki-system.
Government and society in Vanuatu tend to divide along linguistic French and English lines. Forming coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
s has proved problematic at times, owing to differences between English and French speakers. Francophone politicians like those of the Union of Moderate Parties
The Union of Moderate Parties (french: Union des partis moderés) is a liberal political party in Vanuatu founded in 1981. At the last general election, held on 22 January 2016, they won 9.73% of the vote and 6 seats. It is currently headed by Ish ...
tend to be conservative and support neo-liberal policies, as well as closer relations with France and the West. The anglophone Vanua'aku Pati
The Vanua'aku Pati () is a democratic socialist political party in Vanuatu.
History
The party was founded on 17 August 1971 by Walter Lini as the New Hebridean Cultural Association, renamed later that same year as the New Hebrides National Party ...
identifies as socialist and anti-colonial.
The Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
consists of a chief justice and up to three other judges. Two or more members of this court may constitute a Court of Appeal. Magistrate courts handle most routine legal matters. The legal system is based on British common law
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures.
Principal elements of English law
Although the common law has, historically, b ...
and French civil law
The Law of France refers to the legal system in the French Republic, which is a civil law legal system primarily based on legal codes and statutes, with case law also playing an important role. The most influential of the French legal codes is t ...
. The constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
also provides for the establishment of village or island courts presided over by chiefs to deal with questions of customary law
A legal custom is the established pattern of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law".
Customary law (also, consuetudina ...
. Squatting
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
occurs and the principle of adverse possession
Adverse possession, sometimes colloquially described as "squatter's rights", is a legal principle in the Common law, Anglo-American common law under which a person who does not have title (property), legal title to a piece of property—usuall ...
does not exist.
Foreign relations
Vanuatu has joined the Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...
, the World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, the International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
, the ''Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique
The Agence de coopération culturelle et technique (ACCT, French for ''Agency of cultural and technical cooperation'') was founded in 1970 and was the precursor to what is now the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Canadian Jean-Louis ...
'', ''la Francophonie
Francophonie is the quality of speaking French. The term designates the ensemble of people, organisations and governments that share the use of French on a daily basis and as administrative language, teaching language or chosen language. The ...
'' and the Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...
.
Since 1980, Australia, the United Kingdom, France and New Zealand have provided the bulk of Vanuatu's development aid. Direct aid from the UK to Vanuatu ceased in 2005 following the decision by the UK to no longer focus on the Pacific.
More recently, new donors such as the Millennium Challenge Account
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries that ...
(MCA) of the United States and the People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
have been providing increased amounts of aid funding and loans. In 2005 the MCA announced that Vanuatu was one of the first 15 countries in the world selected to receive support – an amount of US$65 million was given for the provision and upgrading of key pieces of public infrastructure
Public infrastructure is infrastructure owned or available for use by the public (represented by the government). It is distinguishable from generic or private infrastructure in terms of policy, financing, purpose, etc.
Public infrastructure is ...
.
In March 2017, at the 34th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, Vanuatu made a joint statement on behalf of some other Pacific nations raising human rights abuses in the Western New Guinea
Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...
or West Papua region, which has been part of Indonesia since 1963, and requested that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights produce a report as more than 100,000 Papuans allegedly have died during decades of Papua conflict
The Papua conflict is an ongoing conflict in Western New Guinea between Indonesia and the Free Papua Movement ( id , Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM). Subsequent to the withdrawal of the Dutch administration from the Netherlands New Guinea in ...
. Indonesia rejected Vanuatu's allegations. In September 2017, at the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, the Prime Ministers of Vanuatu, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands once again raised human rights concerns in West Papua.
In 2018, newspaper reports from Australia indicated growing concern about the level of Chinese investment in Vanuatu, with over 50% of the country's debt of $440 million owed to China. Concern was focused on the possibility that China would use Vanuatu's potential inability to repay debt as leverage to bargain for control of, or a People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
presence at, Luganville
Luganville is the second largest city in Vanuatu after the capital Port Vila; it is located on the island of Espiritu Santo and has a population of 18,062 as of the 2020 census. Those on Vanuatu's northern islands who regard Luganville as their bi ...
Wharf. China loaned and funded the $114 million redevelopment of the wharf, which has already been constructed, with the capacity to dock naval vessels.
Vanuatu retains strong economic and cultural ties to Australia, the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
(in particular France), the UK and New Zealand. Australia now provides the bulk of external assistance, including to the police force, which has a paramilitary wing.
Karen Bell is the new UK High Commissioner to Vanuatu. The UK High Commission to Vanuatu, located in Port Vila, was re-opened in the summer of 2019 as part of the UK Government's 'Pacific Uplift' strategy. The British Friends of Vanuatu, based in London, provides support for Vanuatu visitors to the UK, and can often offer advice and contacts to persons seeking information about Vanuatu or wishing to visit, and welcomes new members (not necessarily resident in the UK) interested in Vanuatu. The association's Charitable Trust funds small scale assistance in the education and training sector.
Armed forces
There are two police wings: the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) and the paramilitary wing, the Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF).[The Vanuatu Police Force](_blank)
. Epress.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 17 April 2012. Altogether there were 547 police officers organised into two main police commands: one in Port Vila and one in Luganville. In addition to the two command stations there were four secondary police stations and eight police posts. This means that there are many islands with no police presence, and many parts of islands where getting to a police post can take several days. There is no purely military expenditure. In 2017, Vanuatu signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. It ...
.
Administrative divisions
Vanuatu has been divided into six provinces since 1994. The names in English of all provinces are derived from the initial letters of their constituent islands:
* Malampa
Malampa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country. It consists of three main islands: Malakula, Ambrym and Paama, and takes its name from the first syllable of their names. It includes a number of other islands ...
(Malakula, Ambrym, Paama)
* Penama
Penama is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the northeast of the country and consisting of three major islands:
* Ambae (or Aoba)
* Maewo
* Pentecost
The name Penama is derived from the initial letters of PENtecost, Ambae and MAew ...
(Pentecost, Ambae, Maewo – in French: Pénama)
* Sanma (Santo, Malo)
* Shefa (Shepherds group, Efate – in French: Shéfa)
* Tafea
Tafea is the southernmost of the six provinces of Vanuatu.
The name is an acronym for the five main islands that make up the province: Tanna, Aneityum, Futuna, Erromango and Aniwa.
History
Unlike the other provinces of Vanuatu, the territoria ...
(Tanna, Aniwa, Futuna, Erromango, Aneityum – in French: Taféa)
* Torba (Torres Islands, Banks Islands)
Provinces are autonomous units with their own popularly elected local parliaments known officially as provincial councils. They collect local taxes and make by-laws in local matters like tourism, the provincial budget or the provision of some basic services. They are headed by a chairman elected from among the members of the local parliaments and assisted by a secretary appointed by the Public Service Commission.
Their executive arm consists of a provincial government headed by an executive officer who is appointed by the Prime Minister with the advice of the minister of local government. The provincial government is usually formed by the party that has the majority in the provincial council and, like the national government, is advised in Ni-Vanuatu culture and language by the local council of chiefs. The provincial president is constitutionally a member of the electoral college that elects the President of Vanuatu.
The provinces are in turn divided into municipalities (usually consisting of an individual island) headed by a council and a mayor elected from among the members of the council.
Economy
The four mainstays of the economy are agriculture, tourism, offshore financial services
Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...
, and raising cattle.
There is substantial fishing activity, although this industry does not bring in much foreign exchange. Exports include copra
Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...
, kava
Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi), ...
, beef, cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
and timber; imports include machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, and fuels. In contrast, mining activity is very low.
Although manganese
Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
mining halted in 1978, there was an agreement in 2006 to export manganese already mined but not yet exported. The country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light-industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties and a 15% VAT
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
on goods and services. Economic development is hindered by dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural disasters, and long distances between constituent islands and from main markets.
Agriculture is used for consumption as well as for export. It provides a living for 65% of the population. In particular, production of copra and kava create substantial revenue. Many farmers have been abandoning cultivation of food crops, and use earnings from kava cultivation to buy food. Kava has also been used in ceremonial exchanges between clans and villages. Cocoa is also grown for foreign exchange.
In 2007, the number of households engaged in fishing was 15,758, mainly for consumption (99%), and the average number of fishing trips was 3 per week. The tropical climate enables growing of a wide range of fruits and vegetables and spices, including banana, garlic, cabbage
Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...
, peanuts, pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
s, sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
, taro
Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...
, yams, watermelon
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...
s, leaf spices, carrots, radish
The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an Eating, edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman Empire, Roman times.
Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, be ...
es, eggplant
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mos ...
s, vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
Pollination is required to make the p ...
(both green and cured), pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
, cucumber
Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables. and many others. In 2007, the value (in terms of millions of vatu
The vatu ( abbreviation: VT;The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu.Current Banknotes and Coins in Circulation" Accessed 2 March 2013. ISO code: VUV) is the currency of Vanuatu. The vatu has no subdivisions.
Etymology
The term ''vatu'', used in all thr ...
– the official currency of Vanuatu), for agricultural products, was estimated for different products: kava (341 million vatu), copra (195), cattle (135), crop gardens (93), cocoa (59), forestry (56), fishing (24) and coffee (12).
In 2018, Vanuatu banned all use of plastic bags and plastic straws, with more plastic items scheduled to be banned in 2020.
Tourism brings in much-needed foreign exchange. Vanuatu is widely recognised as one of the premier vacation destinations for scuba divers wishing to explore coral reefs of the South Pacific region. A further significant attraction to scuba divers is the wreck of the US ocean liner and converted troop carrier ''SS President Coolidge
SS ''President Coolidge'' was an American luxury ocean liner that was completed in 1931. She was operated by Dollar Steamship Lines until 1938, and then by American President Lines until 1941. She served as a troopship from December 1941 until ...
'' on Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.
Geography
The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...
island. Sunk during World War II, it is one of the largest shipwrecks in the world that is accessible for recreational diving. Tourism increased 17% from 2007 to 2008 to reach 196,134 arrivals, according to one estimate. The 2008 total is a sharp increase from 2000, in which there were only 57,000 visitors (of these, 37,000 were from Australia, 8,000 from New Zealand, 6,000 from New Caledonia, 3,000 from Europe, 1,000 from North America, 1,000 from Japan. Tourism has been promoted, in part, by Vanuatu being the site of several reality-TV shows. The ninth season of the reality TV series '' Survivor'' was filmed on Vanuatu, entitled '' Survivor: Vanuatu—Islands of Fire''. Two years later, Australia's '' Celebrity Survivor'' was filmed at the same location used by the US version. In mid-2002, the government stepped up efforts to boost tourism.
Financial services are an important part of the economy. Vanuatu is a tax haven
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
that until 2008 did not release account information to other governments or law-enforcement agencies. International pressure, mainly from Australia, influenced the Vanuatu government to begin adhering to international norms to improve transparency. In Vanuatu, there is no income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
, withholding tax
Tax withholding, also known as tax retention, Pay-as-You-Go, Pay-as-You-Earn, Tax deduction at source or a ''Prélèvement à la source'', is income tax paid to the government by the payer of the income rather than by the recipient of the income ...
, capital gains tax
A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, Bond (finance), bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property.
Not all count ...
, inheritance tax
An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died.
International tax law distinguishes between an es ...
, or exchange control. Many international ship-management companies choose to flag their ships under the Vanuatu flag, because of the tax benefits and favourable labour laws (Vanuatu is a full member of the International Maritime Organization
The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...
and applies its international conventions). Vanuatu is recognised as a "flag of convenience
Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state ...
" country. Several file-sharing groups, such as the providers of the KaZaA network of Sharman Networks and the developers of WinMX
WinMX (Windows Music Exchange) is a freeware peer-to-peer file sharing program authored in 2000 by Kevin Hearn (president of Frontcode Technologies) in Windsor, Ontario (Canada). According to one study, it was the number one source for online mus ...
, have chosen to incorporate in Vanuatu to avoid regulation and legal challenges. In response to foreign concerns the government has promised to tighten regulation of its offshore financial centre
An offshore financial centre (OFC) is defined as a "country or jurisdiction that provides financial services to nonresidents on a scale that is incommensurate with the size and the financing of its domestic economy."
"Offshore" does not refer ...
. Vanuatu receives foreign aid mainly from Australia and New Zealand.
Vanuatu became the 185th member of the World Intellectual Property Organization
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, 15 specialized agencies of the United Nation ...
(WIPO) in December 2011.
Raising cattle leads to beef production for export. One estimate in 2007 for the total value of cattle heads sold was 135 million vatu; cattle were first introduced into the area from Australia by British planter James Paddon. On average, each household has 5 pigs and 16 chickens, and while cattle are the "most important livestock", pigs and chickens are important for subsistence agriculture as well as playing a significant role in ceremonies and customs (especially pigs). There are 30 commercial farms (sole proprietorships (37%), partnerships (23%), corporations (17%)), with revenues of 533 million vatu and expenses of 329 million vatu in 2007.
Earthquakes can negatively affect economic activity on the island nation. A severe earthquake in November 1999, followed by a tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
, caused extensive damage to the northern island of Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
, leaving thousands homeless. Another powerful earthquake in January 2002 caused extensive damage in the capital, Port Vila, and surrounding areas, and was also followed by a tsunami. Another earthquake of 7.2 struck on 2 August 2007.
The Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO) released their 2007 agricultural census in 2008. According to the study, agricultural exports make up about three-quarters (73%) of all exports; 80% of the population lives in rural areas where "agriculture is the main source of their livelihood"; and of these households, almost all (99%) engaged in agriculture, fisheries and forestry.[Census of Agriculture 2007 (page 18)] Total annual household income was 1,803 million vatu
The vatu ( abbreviation: VT;The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu.Current Banknotes and Coins in Circulation" Accessed 2 March 2013. ISO code: VUV) is the currency of Vanuatu. The vatu has no subdivisions.
Etymology
The term ''vatu'', used in all thr ...
. Of this income, agriculture grown for their own household use was valued at 683 million vatu, agriculture for sale at 561, gifts received at 38, handicrafts at 33 and fisheries (for sale) at 18.
The largest expenditure by households was food (300 million vatu), followed by household appliances and other necessities (79 million vatu), transportation (59), education and services (56), housing (50), alcohol and tobacco (39), clothing and footwear (17). Exports were valued at 3,038 million vatu, and included copra (485), kava (442), cocoa (221), beef (fresh and chilled) (180), timber (80) and fish (live fish, aquarium, shell, button) (28). Total imports of 20,472 million vatu included industrial materials (4,261), food and drink (3,984), machinery (3,087), consumer goods (2,767), transport equipment (2,125), fuels and lubricants (187) and other imports (4,060). There are substantial numbers of crop gardens – 97,888 in 2007 – many on flat land (62%), slightly hilly slope (31%), and even on steep slopes (7%); there were 33,570 households with at least one crop garden, and of these, 10,788 households sold some of these crops over a twelve-month period.
The economy grew about 6% in the early 2000s. This is higher than in the 1990s, when GDP rose less than 3%, on average.
One report from the Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
-based Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...
about Vanuatu's economy gave mixed reviews. It noted the economy was "expanding", noting that the economy grew at an impressive 5.9% rate from 2003 to 2007, and lauded "positive signals regarding reform initiatives from the government in some areas" but described certain binding constraints such as "poor infrastructure services". Since a private monopoly generates power, "electricity costs are among the highest in the Pacific" among developing countries. The report also cited "weak governance and intrusive interventions by the State" that reduced productivity.
Vanuatu was ranked the 173rd safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings. In 2015, Vanuatu was ranked the 84th most economically free country by The Heritage Foundation and ''The Wall Street Journal''.
Vanuatu sells citizenship for about $150,000, and its passports allow visa-free travel throughout Europe. With demand from the Chinese market booming, passport sales may now account for more than 30% of the country's revenue. Such schemes have been shown to raise ethical problems, and have been involved in some political scandals.
Communications
Mobile phone service in the islands is provided by Vodafone (formerly TVL) and Digicel
Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide.
Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Ja ...
. Internet access is provided by Vodafone, Telsat Broadband, Digicel
Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide.
Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Ja ...
and Wantok using a variety of connection technologies. A submarine optical fibre cable now connects Vanuatu to Fiji.
Demographics
According to the 2009 census, Vanuatu has a population of 243,304. Males outnumber females; in 1999, according to the Vanuatu Statistics Office, there were 95,682 males and 90,996 females. The population is predominantly rural, but Port Vila and Luganville
Luganville is the second largest city in Vanuatu after the capital Port Vila; it is located on the island of Espiritu Santo and has a population of 18,062 as of the 2020 census. Those on Vanuatu's northern islands who regard Luganville as their bi ...
have populations in the tens of thousands.
The inhabitants of Vanuatu are called in English, using a recent coinage
Coinage may refer to:
* Coins, standardized as currency
* Neologism, coinage of a new word
* '' COINage'', numismatics magazine
* Tin coinage, a tax on refined tin
* Protologism
''Protologism'' is a term coined in 2003 by the American literary ...
. The ni-Vanuatu are primarily (98.5%) of Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
n descent, with the remainder made up of a mix of Europeans, Asians and other Pacific islanders. Three islands were historically colonised by Polynesians
Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...
. About 20,000 live and work in New Zealand and Australia.
Most Asians in Vanuatu are of Vietnamese descent, forming the community of Vietnamese in Vanuatu Vanuatu has a small, but significant, Vietnamese people, Vietnamese community. There are an estimated 1,000-2,000 people of Vietnamese descent, about 500 of whom are immigrants, making Vietnamese the second-largest group of foreigners in Vanuatu.
...
. Although the Vietnamese community has declined from 10% of Vanuatu's population in 1929 to about 1,000 individuals today, the Vietnamese community remains very significant and influential.
In 2006 the New Economics Foundation
The New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a British think-tank that promotes "social, economic and environmental justice".
NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) with the aim of working for a "new model of wealth ...
and Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...
environmentalist group published the Happy Planet Index
The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index of human well-being and environmental impact that was introduced by the New Economics Foundation in 2006. Each country's HPI value is a function of its average subjective life satisfaction, life expectanc ...
, which analysed data on levels of reported happiness, life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
and Ecological Footprint
The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounti ...
, and they estimated Vanuatu to be the most ecologically efficient country in the world in achieving high well-being.
Trade in citizenship for investment has been an increasingly significant revenue earner for Vanuatu in recent years. The sale of what is called "honorary citizenship" in Vanuatu has been on offer for several years under the Capital Investment Immigration Plan and more recently the Development Support Plan. People from mainland China make up the bulk of those who have purchased honorary citizenship, entitling them to a Vanuatu passport.
Languages
The national language of the Republic of Vanuatu is Bislama
Bislama (; ; also known by its earlier French name, ) is an English-based creole language and one of the official languages of Vanuatu. It is the first language of many of the "Urban ni-Vanuatu" (citizens who live in Port Vila and Luganville) ...
. The official language
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
s are Bislama, English and French. The principal languages of education are English and French. The use of English or French as the formal language is split along political lines.
Bislama is a creole spoken natively in urban areas. Combining a typical Melanesian grammar and phonology with an almost entirely English-derived vocabulary, Bislama is the lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
of the archipelago, used by the majority of the population as a second language.
In addition, 113 indigenous languages
An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...
, all of which are Southern Oceanic languages
The Southern Oceanic languages are a linkage of Oceanic languages spoken in Vanuatu and New Caledonia. It was proposed by Lynch, Ross, and Crowley in 2002 and supported by later studies. They consider it to be a linkage rather than a language gr ...
except for three outlier Polynesian languages
The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family.
There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austron ...
, are spoken in Vanuatu. The density of languages, per capita, is the highest of any nation in the world, with an average of only 2,000 speakers per language. All vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
languages of Vanuatu (i.e., excluding Bislama) belong to the Oceanic
Oceanic may refer to:
*Of or relating to the ocean
*Of or relating to Oceania
**Oceanic climate
**Oceanic languages
**Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)"
Places
* Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...
branch of the Austronesian family.
In recent years, the use of Bislama as a first language has considerably encroached on indigenous languages, whose use in the population has receded from 73.1 to 63.2 per cent between 1999 and 2009.
Religion
Christianity is the predominant religion in Vanuatu
Religion in Vanuatu is dominated by various branches of Christianity. Vanuatu is an archipelago made up of 13 larger islands, and approximately 70 smaller surrounding islands, each home to multitudes of diverse cultural and religious communities. ...
, consisting of several denominations. About one-third of the population belongs to the Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu
The Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu (french: Église presbytérienne de Vanuatu), or the Presbitirin Jyos Blong Vanuatu in Bislama, is the largest Christian denomination in Vanuatu.
History
It was created by missionaries of the London Missionary S ...
, making Vanuatu the most Presbyterian country in the world. Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
are other common denominations, each claiming about 15% of the population. As of 2010, 1.4% of the people of Vanuatu are members of the Bahá’í Faith, making Vanuatu the 6th most Bahá’í country in the world. The less significant groups are the Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
, the Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to:
Church groups
* When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16.
* The entire body of Ch ...
, Neil Thomas Ministries
Neil Thomas Ministries (NTM) is a non-profit, Christian organization whose doctrine is heavily based on Methodism, a branch of Protestant Christianity. In 1971, Neil Thomas and Tom Griffiths founded the organization's college in Canberra, Austr ...
(NTM), Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
, and others. In 2007, Islam in Vanuatu was estimated to consist of about 200 converts.
Because of the modern goods that the military in the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
brought with them when they came to the islands, several cargo cult
A cargo cult is an indigenist millenarian belief system, in which adherents perform rituals which they believe will cause a more technologically advanced society to deliver goods.
Causes, beliefs, and practices
Cargo cults are marked by a ...
s developed. Many died out, but the John Frum
John Frum (also called Jon Frum, John Brum, and John Prum) is a mythic figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. He is often depicted as an American World War II serviceman who will bring wealth and prosperity to the ...
cult on Tanna is still large, and has adherents in the parliament. Also on Tanna is the Prince Philip Movement, which reveres the United Kingdom's Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
. Villagers of the Yaohnanen tribe believed in an ancient story about the pale-skinned son of a mountain spirit venturing across the seas to look for a powerful woman to marry. Prince Philip, having visited the island with his new wife Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
, fit the description exactly and is therefore revered as a god around the isle of Tanna. After Philip died, an anthropologist familiar with the group, said that after their period of mourning the group would probably transfer their veneration to King Charles III, who had visited Vanuatu in 2018 and met with some of the tribal leaders.
Health
Education
The estimated literacy rate of people aged 15–24 years is about 74% according to UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
figures. The rate of primary school enrolment rose from 74.5% in 1989 to 78.2% in 1999 and then to 93.0% in 2004 but then fell to 85.4% in 2007. The proportion of pupils completing a primary education fell from 90% in 1991 to 72% in 2004 and up to 78% in 2012.
Port Vila and three other centres have campuses of the University of the South Pacific
The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...
, an educational institution co-owned by twelve Pacific countries. The campus in Port Vila, known as the Emalus Campus, houses the university's law school.
Culture
Vanuatu culture retains a strong diversity through local regional variations and through foreign influence. Vanuatu may be divided into three major cultural regions. In the north, wealth is established by how much one can give away, through a grade-taking
Grade-taking is a term used in anthropology for social systems under which individuals rise in status and authority by performing a series of ceremonies. Grade-taking was the system of leadership in pre-colonial societies of northern Vanuatu, ty ...
system. Pigs, particularly those with rounded tusk
Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share c ...
s, are considered a symbol of wealth throughout Vanuatu. In the centre, more traditional Melanesian cultural systems dominate. In the south, a system involving grants of title with associated privileges has developed.
Young men undergo various coming-of-age ceremonies and rituals to initiate them into manhood, usually including circumcision
Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...
.
Most villages have a ''nakamal
{{Italic title
A ''nakamal'' is a traditional meeting place in Vanuatu. It is used for gatherings, ceremonies and the drinking of kava.
A nakamal is found in every significant Vanuatu community, but the design of the nakamal and the traditions s ...
'' or village clubhouse, which serves as a meeting point for men and a place to drink ''kava
Kava or kava kava (''Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi), ...
''. Villages also have male- and female-only sections. These sections are situated all over the villages; in ''nakamals'', special spaces are provided for females when they are in their menstruation period.
There are few prominent ni-Vanuatu authors. Women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
activist Grace Mera Molisa
Grace Mera Molisa (17 February 1946, Aoba Island – 4 January 2002, Port Vila) was a Ni-Vanuatu politician, poet and campaigner for women's equality in politics. ''The Australian'' described her as "a vanguard for Melanesian culture and a voice ...
, who died in 2002, achieved international notability as a descriptive poet.
Music
The traditional music of Vanuatu
The music of Vanuatu may refer to any kind of music played in the country of Vanuatu.
Traditional music
Traditional music (known in Bislama as ''kastom singsing'' or ''kastom tanis'') is still thriving in the rural areas of Vanuatu. Musical ...
is still thriving in the rural areas of Vanuatu. Musical instruments consist mostly of idiophone
An idiophone is any musical instrument that creates sound primarily by the vibration of the instrument itself, without the use of air flow (as with aerophones), strings (chordophones), membranes (membranophones) or electricity ( electrophones) ...
s: drums of various shape and size, slit gong
A slit drum or slit gong is a hollow percussion instrument. In spite of the name, it is not a true drum but an idiophone, usually carved or constructed from bamboo or wood into a box with one or more slits in the top. Most slit drums have one sli ...
s, stamping tubes, as well as rattles, among others. Another musical genre that has become widely popular during the 20th century in all areas of Vanuatu, is known as ''string band
A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active countr ...
'' music. It combines guitars, ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
, and popular songs.
More recently the music of Vanuatu, as an industry, grew rapidly in the 1990s and several bands have forged a distinctive ni-Vanuatu identity. Popular genres of modern commercial music, which are currently being played in the urban areas include zouk
Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martini ...
music and reggaeton
Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico.
It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop m ...
. Reggaeton, a variation of Dancehall Reggae spoken in the Spanish language, played alongside its own distinctive beat, is especially played in the local nightclubs of Port Vila with, mostly, an audience of Westerners and tourists.
Cuisine
The cuisine of Vanuatu
The cuisine of Vanuatu (known in Bislama as ''aelan kakae'') incorporates fish, root vegetables such as taro and yams, fruits, and vegetables.[taro
Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...]
and yams, fruits, and vegetables. Most island families grow food in their gardens, and food shortages are rare. Papayas, pineapples, mangoes, plantain
Plantain may refer to:
Plants and fruits
* Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking
** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa''
* ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...
s, and sweet potatoes are abundant through much of the year. Coconut milk and coconut cream are used to flavour many dishes. Most food is cooked using hot stones or through boiling and steaming; very little food is fried.[
The national dish of Vanuatu is the ]laplap
Laplap (sometimes wrongly spelled ''lap lap'') is the national dish of Vanuatu. Laplap is prepared by grating breadfruit, bananas, taro or yam roots into a vegetable paste. The paste is then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground ...
.
Sports
The most practised sport in Vanuatu is football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. The top flight league is the VFF National Super League
The VFF Champions League, formerly known as the VFF National Super League and the VFF Bred Cup, is the national league of Vanuatu.
The league is not fully professional.
Format
Since 2016, the PVFA, Port Vila Football Association does not take ...
while the Port Vila Football League
Port Vila Football League, also known as the Digicel League or more simply, the Digicel Premier League is the main football competition in Port Vila, Vanuatu. It consists of 3 competitions: Port Vila Premier League, Port Vila First Division and ...
is another important competition.
Festivals
The island of Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
is known for its tradition of land diving
Land diving (known in the local Sa language as and in Bislama as ) is a ritual performed by the men of the southern part of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. Men jump off wooden towers around high, with two tree vines wrapped around the ankles. Lan ...
, locally known as ''gol''. The ritual consists of men land diving off a 98-foot-high wooden tower with their ankles tied to vines, as part of the annual yam harvest festival
A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...
. This local tradition is often credited to the inspiration of the modern practice of bungee jumping
Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...
, which was developed in New Zealand in the 1980s.
See also
* Outline of Vanuatu
Notes
References
Bibliography
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Census of Agriculture 2007 Vanuatu
Vanuatu National Statistics Office (2008)
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Further reading
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External links
Government of Vanuatu
Vanuatu
''The World Factbook
''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...
''. Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
.
Vanuatu
from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
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Vanuatu Tourism Portal, the official website of the Vanuatu National Tourism Office
Herbarium of Vanuatu (PVNH), which houses a collection of about 20,000 specimens
Drones sacrificed for spectacular volcano video
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