History of Tuvalu

The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians, so the origins of the people of Tuvalu can be traced to the spread of humans out of Southeast Asia, from Taiwan, via Melanesia and across the Pacific islands of Polynesia.

Various names were given to individual islands by the captains and chartmakers on visiting European ships. In 1819 the island of Funafuti, was named Ellice's Island; the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands, after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay. The Ellice Islands came under Great Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century as the result of a treaty between Great Britain and Germany relating to the demarcation of the spheres of influence in the Pacific Ocean. Each of the Ellice Islands was declared a British Protectorate by Captain Gibson of , between 9 and 16 October 1892. The Ellice Islands were administered as British protectorate by a Resident Commissioner from 1892 to 1916 as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), and then as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916 to 1976. The United States claimed Funafuti, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae and Niulakita under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. This claim was renounced under the 1983 treaty of friendship between Tuvalu and the United States.

In 1974, the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status as Tuvalu, separating from the Gilbert Islands which became Kiribati upon independence. The Colony of Tuvalu came into existence on 1 October 1975. Tuvalu became fully independent within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1978. On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations.

The Tuvalu National Library and Archives holds "vital documentation on the cultural, social and political heritage of Tuvalu", including surviving records from the colonial administration, as well as Tuvalu government archives."Tuvalu National Archives major project"
, British Library

Early history

Tuvaluans are a Polynesian people, with the origins of the people of Tuvalu addressed in the theories regarding migration into the Pacific that began about 3000 years ago. There is evidence for a dual genetic origin of Pacific Islanders in Asia and Melanesia, which results from an analysis of Y chromosome (NRY) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers; there is also evidence that Fiji playing a pivotal role in west-to-east expansion within Polynesia.

During pre-European-contact times there was frequent canoe voyaging between the islands, as Polynesian navigation skills are recognised to have allowed deliberate journeys on double-hulled sailing canoes or outrigger canoes. Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited; thus the name, Tuvalu, means "eight standing together" in Tuvaluan (compare to ''*walo'' meaning "eight" in Proto-Austronesian). Possible evidence of fire in the Caves of Nanumanga may indicate human occupation thousands of years before that. The pattern of settlement that is believed to have occurred is that the Polynesians spread out from the Samoan Islands into the Tuvaluan atolls, with Tuvalu providing a stepping stone to migration into the Polynesian Outlier communities in Melanesia and Micronesia.

An important creation myth of the islands of Tuvalu is the story of ''te Pusi mo te Ali'' (the Eel and the Flounder) who created the islands of Tuvalu; ''te Ali'' (the flounder) is believed to be the origin of the flat atolls of Tuvalu and ''te Pusi'' (the eel) is the model for the coconut palms that are important in the lives of Tuvaluans. The stories as to the ancestors of the Tuvaluans vary from island to island. On Niutao the understanding is that their ancestors came from Samoa in the 12th or 13th century. On Funafuti and Vaitupu the founding ancestor is described as being from Samoa; whereas on Nanumea the founding ancestor is described as being from Tonga.

These stories can be linked to what is known about the Samoa-based Tu'i Manu'a Confederacy, ruled by the holders of the Tu'i Manú'a title, which confederacy likely included much of Western Polynesia and some outliers at the height of its power in the 10th and 11th centuries. Tuvalu is thought to have been visited by Tongans in the mid-13th century and was within Tonga's sphere of influence. The extent of influence of the Tuʻi Tonga line of Tongan kings and the existence of the Tuʻi Tonga Empire which originated in the 10th century is spoken of by the world-famous Captain James Cook during his visits to the Friendly Isles of Tonga. By observing such Pacific nations as Tuvalu and Uvea, the influence of the Tu'i Tonga is quite strong and has had more of an impact in Polynesia and also parts of Micronesia than the Tu'i Manu'a.

The oral history of Niutao recalls that in the 15th century Tongan warriors were defeated in a battle on the reef of Niutao. Tongan warriors also invaded Niutao later in the 15th century and again were repelled. A third and fourth invasion of Tongan occurred in the late 16th century, again with the Tongans being defeated.

Tuvalu is on the western boundary of the Polynesian Triangle so that the northern islands of Tuvalu, particularly Nui, have links to Micronesians from Kiribati. The oral history of Niutao also recalls that during the 17th century warriors invaded from the islands of Kiribati on two occasions and were defeated in battles fought on the reef.

Voyages by Europeans in the Pacific

Tuvalu was first sighted by Europeans on 16 January 1568, during the voyage of Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira, from Spain, who sailed past the island of Nui, and charted it as ''Isla de Jesús'' (Spanish for "Island of Jesus"). This was because the previous day had been the feast of the Holy Name. Mendaña made contact with the islanders but was unable to land. During Mendaña's second voyage across the Pacific he passed Niulakita on 29 August 1595, which he named ''La Solitaria''.
Captain John Byron passed through the islands of Tuvalu in 1764 during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of the . Byron charted the atolls as ''Lagoon Islands''.

The first recorded sighting of Nanumea by Europeans was by Spanish naval officer Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa who sailed past it on 5 May 1781 as captain of the frigate ''La Princesa'', when attempting a southern crossing of the Pacific from the Philippines to New Spain. He charted Nanumea as ''San Augustin''.Keith S. Chambers & Doug Munro, ''The Mystery of Gran Cocal: European Discovery and Mis-Discovery in Tuvalu'', 89(2) (1980) ''The Journal of the Polynesian Society'', 167-198 Keith S. Chambers and Doug Munro (1980) identified Niutao as the island that Mourelle also sailed past on 5 May 1781, thus solving what Europeans had called ''The Mystery of Gran Cocal''. Mourelle's map and journal named the island ''El Gran Cocal'' ('The Great Coconut Plantation'); however, the latitude and longitude was uncertain. Longitude could only be reckoned crudely as accurate chronometers were not available until the late 18th century. Laumua Kofe (1983) accepts Chambers and Munro's conclusions, with Kofe describing Mourelle's ship ''La Princesa'', as waiting beyond the reef, with Nuitaoans coming out in canoes, bringing some coconuts with them. ''La Princesa'' was short of supplies but Mourelle was forced to sail on – naming Niutao, ''El Gran Cocal'' ('The Great Coconut Plantation').

In 1809, Captain Patterson in the brig ''Elizabeth'' sighted Nanumea while passing through the northern Tuvalu waters on a trading voyage from Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia to China.Keith S. Chambers & Doug Munro, ''The Mystery of Gran Cocal: European Discovery and Mis-Discovery in Tuvalu'', 89(2) (1980) ''The Journal of the Polynesian Society'', 167-198
In May 1819, Arent Schuyler de Peyster, of New York, captain of the armed brigantine or privateer ''Rebecca'', sailing under British colours, passed through the southern Tuvaluan waters while on a voyage from Valparaíso to India; de Peyster sighted Funafuti, which he named Ellice's Island after an English politician, Edward Ellice, the Member of Parliament for Coventry and the owner of the Rebecca's cargo. The next morning, de Peyster sighted another group of about seventeen low islands forty-three miles northwest of Funafuti, which was named "De Peyster's Islands." It is the first name, Nukufetau, that was eventually used for this atoll.

In 1820 the Russian explorer Mikhail Lazarev visited Nukufetau as commander of the ''Mirny''. Louis Isidore Duperrey, captain of ''La Coquille'', sailed past Nanumanga in May 1824 during a circumnavigation of the earth (1822–1825). A Dutch expedition (the frigate ''Maria Reigersberg'') found Nui on the morning of 14 June 1825 and named the main island (Fenua Tapu) as ''Nederlandsch Eiland''.

TROOST(1829) p405 Platte Grond van het Nederlandsch-Eiland.jpg, Dutch map of Nui atoll, made in June 1825
TROOST(1829) p297 Het Nederlandsch Eiland.jpg, View of Fenua Tapu, Nui atoll
TROOST(1829) p293 Het Nederlandsch Eilanden.jpg, View of Nui atoll

Whalers began roving the Pacific, although visiting Tuvalu only infrequently because of the difficulties of landing on the atolls. Captain George Barrett of the Nantucket whaler ''Independence II'' has been identified as the first whaler to hunt the waters around Tuvalu. In November 1821 he bartered coconuts from the people of Nukulaelae and also visited Niulakita. A shore camp was established on Sakalua islet of Nukufetau, where coal was used to melt down the whale blubber.

For less than a year between 1862–63, Peruvian ships engaged in the so-called "blackbirding" trade, combed the smaller islands of Polynesia from Easter Island in the eastern Pacific to Tuvalu and the southern atolls of the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati), seeking recruits to fill the extreme labour shortage in Peru, including workers to mine the guano deposits on the Chincha Islands.H.E. Maude, ''Slavers in Paradise'', Institute of Pacific Studies (1981) While some islanders were voluntary recruits the "blackbirders" were notorious for enticing islanders on to ships with tricks, such as pretending to be Christian missionaries, as well as kidnapping islanders at gun point. The Rev. A. W. Murray, the earliest European missionary in Tuvalu, reported that in 1863 about 180 people were taken from Funafuti and about 200 were taken from Nukulaelae, as there were fewer than 100 of the 300 recorded in 1861 as living on Nukulaelae.

Christian missionaries

Christianity came to Tuvalu in 1861 when Elekana, a Christian deacon from Manihiki in the Cook Islands became caught in a storm and drifted for 8 weeks before landing at Nukulaelae. Once there, Elekana began proselytizing Christianity. He was trained at Malua Theological College, a London Missionary Society school in Samoa, before beginning his work in establishing the Church of Tuvalu.

In 1865 the Rev. A. W. Murray of the London Missionary Society – a Protestant congregationalist missionary society – arrived as the first European missionary where he too proselytized among the inhabitants of Tuvalu. The Rev. Samual James Whitmee visited the islands in 1870. By 1878 Protestantism was well established with preachers on each island. In the later 19th century the ministers of what became the Church of Tuvalu were predominantly Samoans, who influenced the development of the Tuvaluan language and the music of Tuvalu. The missionaries imposed strict rules on the islanders. Westbrook, a trader on Funafuti, reported that the pastors impose strict rules on all people on the island, including demanding attendance at church and forbidding cooking on a Sunday.

Trading firms & traders

John (also known as Jack) O'Brien was the first European to settle in Tuvalu, he became a trader on Funafuti in the 1850s. He married Salai, the daughter of the paramount chief of Funafuti. The Sydney firms of Robert Towns and Company, J. C. Malcolm and Company, and Macdonald, Smith and Company, pioneered the coconut-oil trade in Tuvalu.Doug Munro, ''The Lives and Times of Resident Traders in Tuvalu: An Exercise in History from Below'', (1987) 10(2) Pacific Studies 73 The German firm of J.C. Godeffroy und Sohn of Hamburg established operations in Apia, Samoa. In 1865 a trading captain acting on behalf of J.C. Godeffroy und Sohn obtained a 25-year lease to the eastern islet of Niuoko of Nukulaelae atoll.

For many years the islanders and the Germans argued over the lease, including its terms and the importation of labourers, however the Germans remained until the lease expired in 1890. By the 1870s J. C. Godeffroy und Sohn began to dominate the Tuvalu copra trade, which company was in 1879 taken over by Handels-und Plantagen-Gesellschaft der Südsee-Inseln zu Hamburg (DHPG). Competition came from Ruge, Hedemann & Co, established in 1875, which was succeeded by H. M. Ruge and Company, and from Henderson and Macfarlane of Auckland, New Zealand.''The Circular Saw Shipping Line.''
Anthony G. Flude. 1993. (Chapter 7)

These trading companies engaged palagi traders who lived on the islands, some islands would have competing traders with dryer islands only have a single trader. Louis Becke, who later found success as a writer, was a trader on Nanumanga, working with the Liverpool firm of John S. de Wolf and Co., from April 1880 until the trading-station was destroyed later that year in a cyclone. He then became a trader on Nukufetau. George Westbrook and Alfred Restieaux operated trade stores on Funafuti, which were destroyed in a cyclone that struck in 1883.

H. M. Ruge and Company, a German trading firm that operated from Apia, Samoa, caused controversy when it threatened to seize the entire island of Vaitupu unless a debt of $13,000 was repaid. The debt was the result of the failed operations of the Vaitupu Company, which had been established by Thomas William Williams, with part of the debt relating to the attempts to operate the trading schooner ''Vaitupulemele''. The Vaitupuans continue to celebrate Te Aso Fiafia (Happy Day) on 25 November of each year. Te Aso Fiafia commemorates 25 November 1887 which was the date on which the final instalment of the debt of $13,000 was repaid.

From the late 1880s changes occurred with steamships replacing sailing vessels. Over time the number of competing trading companies diminished, beginning with Ruge's bankruptcy in 1888 followed by the withdrawal of the DHPG from trading in Tuvalu in 1889/90. In 1892 Captain Davis of , reported on trading activities and traders on each of the islands visited. Captain Davis identified the following traders in the Ellice Group: Edmund Duffy (Nanumea); Jack Buckland (Niutao); Harry Nitz (Vaitupu); John (also known as Jack) O'Brien (Funafuti); Alfred Restieaux and Emile Fenisot (Nukufetau); and Martin Kleis ( Nui). This was the time at which the greatest number of palagi traders lived on the atolls. In 1892 the traders either acted as agent for Henderson and Macfarlane, or traded on their own account.

From around 1900 Henderson and Macfarlane dominated the copra trade, operating their vessel SS ''Archer'' in the South Pacific with a trading route to Fiji and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. New competition came from Burns Philp, operating from what is now Kiribati, with competition from Levers Pacific Plantations from 1903 and from Captain E. F. H. Allen of the Samoa Shipping and Trading Company from 1911. Structural changes also occurred in the operation of the trading companies, which moved from a practice of having traders resident on each island to trade with the islanders to a business operation where the supercargo (the cargo manager of a trading ship) would deal directly with the islanders when a ship would visit an island; by 1909 there were no resident palagi traders representing the trading firms. Tuvaluans became responsible for operating trading stores on each island.

The last of the traders were Martin Kleis on Nui, Fred Whibley on Niutao and Alfred Restieaux on Nukufetau; who remained in the islands until their deaths.

Scientific expeditions & travellers

The United States Exploring Expedition, under Charles Wilkes, visited Funafuti, Nukufetau and Vaitupu in 1841. During the visit of the expedition to Tuvalu Alfred Thomas Agate, engraver and illustrator, recorded the dress and tattoo patterns of men of Nukufetau.

In 1885 or 1886, the New Zealand photographer Thomas Andrew visited Funafuti and Nui.

In 1890 Robert Louis Stevenson, his wife Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson, and her son Lloyd Osbourne sailed on the ''Janet Nicoll'', a trading steamer owned by Henderson and Macfarlane of Auckland, New Zealand, which operated between Sydney, Auckland and into the central Pacific. The ''Janet Nicoll'' visited three of the Ellice Islands; while Fanny records that they made landfall at Funafuti, Niutao and Nanumea; however Jane Resture suggests that it was more likely they landed at Nukufetau rather than Funafuti. An account of the voyage was written by Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and published under the title ''The Cruise of the Janet Nichol'', together with photographs taken by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.

In 1894 Count Rudolf Festetics de Tolna, his wife Eila (née Haggin) and her daughter Blanche Haggin visited Funafuti aboard the yacht ''Le Tolna''. ''Le Tolna'' spent several days at Funafuti with the Count photographing men and women on Funafuti.

The boreholes on Funafuti at the site now called ''Darwin's Drill'', are the result of drilling conducted by the Royal Society of London for the purpose of investigating the formation of coral reefs and the question as to whether traces of shallow water organisms could be found at depth in the coral of Pacific atolls. This investigation followed the work on The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs conducted by Charles Darwin in the Pacific. Drilling occurred in 1896, 1897 and 1911. In 1896 Professor Edgeworth David of the University of Sydney went to the Pacific atoll of Funafuti as part of the ''Funafuti Coral Reef Boring Expedition of the Royal Society'', under Professor William Sollas.David, Mrs Edgeworth, ''Funafuti or Three Months on a Coral Atoll: an unscientific account of a scientific expedition'', London: John Murray, 1899 There were defects in the boring machinery and the bore penetrated only slightly more than 100 feet (approx. 31 m).

Prof. Sollas published a report on the study of Funafuti atoll, and with the assistance of Jack O'Brien (as interpreter), he recorded an oral history of Funafuti given by Erivara, the chief of Funafuti, which he published as ''The Legendary History of Funafuti''. Charles Hedley, a naturalist, at the Australian Museum, accompanied the 1896 expedition and during his stay on Funafuti collected Invertebrate and Ethnological objects. The descriptions of these were published in ''Memoir III of the Australian Museum Sydney'' between 1896 and 1900. Hedley also write the ''General Account of the Atoll of Funafuti'', ''The Ethnology of Funafuti'' and ''The Mollusca of Funafuti''. Edgar Waite also was part of the 1896 expedition and published an account of ''The mammals, reptiles, and fishes of Funafuti''. William Rainbow described the spiders and insects collected at Funafuti in ''The insect fauna of Funafuti''.

In 1897 Edgeworth David led a second expedition (that included George Sweet as second-in-command, and Walter George Woolnough) which succeeded in reaching a depth of . David then organised a third expedition in 1898 which, under the leadership of Dr. Alfred Edmund Finckh, was successful in carrying the bore to . The results provided support for Charles Darwin's theory of subsidence. Cara Edgeworth accompanied her husband on the second expedition and published a well-received account called ''Funafuti, or Three Months on a Coral Island''. Photographers on the expeditions recorded people, communities and scenes at Funafuti.

Harry Clifford Fassett, captain's clerk and photographer, recorded people, communities and scenes at Funafuti in 1900 during a visit of USFC ''Albatross'' when the United States Fish Commission were investigating the formation of coral reefs on Pacific atolls.

Colonial administration

In 1876 Britain and Germany agreed to divide up the western and central Pacific, with each claiming a 'sphere of influence'. In the previous decade German traders had become active in the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Marshall Islands and the Caroline Islands. In 1877 the Governor of Fiji was given the additional title of High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. However, the claim of a 'sphere of influence' that included the Ellice Islands and the Gilbert Islands did not result in the immediate move to govern those islands.

Ships of the Royal Navy known to have visited the islands in the 19th century are:
* , under Captain J. Moresby, visited the islands in July 1872.
* , under Captain Maxwell, visited the islands in 1881.
* visited many of the islands in 1886.
* , under Captain Davis, visited each of the Ellice Islands in 1892 and reported on trading activities and traders on each of the islands visited. Captain Davis reported that the islanders wanted him to hoist the British flag on the islands, however Captain Davis did not have any orders regarding such a formal act.
* , under Captain Gibson, was sent to the Ellice Islands and between 9 and 16 October 1892. Captain Gibson visited each of the islands to make a formal declaration that the islands were to be a British protectorate.
* , under Captain Arthur Mostyn Field, delivered the Funafuti Coral Reef Boring Expedition of the Royal Society to Funafuti, arriving on 21 May 1896 and returned to Sydney on 22 August 1896. The ''Penguin'' made further voyages to Funafuti to deliver the expeditions of the Royal Society in 1897 and 1898. The surveys carried out by the ''Penguin'' resulted in the Admiralty Nautical Chart 2983 for the islands.

From 1892 to 1916 the Ellice Islands were administered as a British protectorate, as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), by a Resident Commissioner based in the Gilbert Islands. The first Resident Commissioner was C. R. Swayne, who collected the ordinances of each island of Tuvalu that had been established by the Samoan pastors of the London Missionary Society. These ordinances were the basis of the ''Native Laws of the Ellice Islands'' that were issued by C. R. Swayne in 1894. The Native Laws established and administrative structure for each island and well as prescribing criminal laws. The Native Laws also made it compulsory for children to attend school. On each island the High Chief (''Tupu'') was responsible for maintaining order; with a magistrate and policemen also responsible for maintaining order and enforcing the law. The High Chief was assisted by the councillors (''Falekaupule''). The ''Falekaupule'' on each of the Islands of Tuvalu is the traditional assembly of elders or ''te sina o fenua'' (literally: "grey-hairs of the land" in the Tuvaluan language). The ''Kaupule'' on each island is the executive arm of the ''Falekaupule''. The second Resident Commissioner was William Telfer Campbell (1896–1908), who established land registers that would assist in resolving disputes over title to land. Campbell's successor was Arthur Mahaffy. In 1909 G. B. W. Smith-Rewse was appointed as the District Officer to administer the Ellice Islands from Funafuti and remained in that position until 1915.

In 1916 the administration of the BWTP ended and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony was established, which existed from 1916 to 1974. In 1917 revised laws were issue, which abolished the office of High Chief and limited the number of members of the ''kaupule'' on each island. Under the 1917 laws the ''kaupule'' of each island could issue local regulations. Under the revised rules the magistrate was most important official and the chief kaupule was the deputy magistrate. The Colony continued to be administered by the Resident Commissioner, based in the Gilbert Islands, with a District Officer based on Funafuti.

In 1930 the Resident Commissioner, Arthur Grimble, issued revised laws, ''Regulations for the good Order and Cleanliness of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands''. The Regulations removed the ability of the ''kaupule'' to issue local regulations, and proscribed stringent rules of public and private behaviour. The attempts of the islanders to have the Regulations changed were ignored until H. E. Maude, a government officer, sent a copy to a member of the English Parliament.

Donald Gilbert Kennedy arrived in 1923 and took charge of a newly established government school on Funafuti. The following year he transferred ''Elisefou'' school to Vaitupu as the food supply was better on that island. In 1932 Kennedy was appointed the District officer on Funafuti, which office he held until 1939. Colonel Fox-Strangways, was the Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony in 1941, who was located on Funafuti.

After World War II, Kennedy encouraged Neli Lifuka in the resettlement proposal that eventually resulted in the purchase of Kioa island in Fiji.

The Pacific War and Operation Galvanic

During the Pacific War (World War II) the Ellice Islands were used as a base to prepare for the subsequent seaborn attacks on the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) that were occupied by Japanese forces. The United States Marine Corps landed on Funafuti on 2 October 1942 and on Nanumea and Nukufetau in August 1943. The Japanese had already occupied Tarawa