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111-734: Because of their remoteness and the few European presence, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were ignored by Christian missions until the latter half of the 19th century. Protestant missionaries (e.g., Hiram Bingham ) sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions first arrived in Kiribati in 1857, and missionaries from the London Missionary Society arrived in 1870. The Protestant converts were served by pastors from Hawaii , Samoa and Tuvalu until

222-544: A Congregationalist denomination. In 2014, after a Church Bi-annual Assembly (Maungatabu), which was held on the island of Arorae , the Kiribati Protestant Church changed its name to Kiribati Uniting Church. The word " uniting " reflects that the church is now a union of several Protestant denominations in Kiribati, including Congregationalists, Evangelicals , Anglicans , and Presbyterians . But 10,000 members, mainly Congregationalists, did not accept

333-653: A Crown colony on 12 January 1916 by the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Order in Council, 1915. During the year 1916, the Union Islands ( Tokelau ) were also annexed to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony. On 28 November 1919, Great Britain reasserted its claim to Christmas Island and annexed it to the colony. In July 1920, the Pacific Phosphate Company was liquidated and its assets sold to

444-622: A London Missionary Society (LMS) school in Samoa, before beginning his work in establishing the Church of Tuvalu . In 1865, the Rev. Archibald Wright Murray of the LMS, a Protestant congregationalist missionary society, arrived as the first European missionary; he also evangelised among the inhabitants of Tuvalu. By 1878 Protestantism was considered well established, as there were preachers on each island. In

555-679: A resident commissioner to administer the Ellice Islands as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT). From 1916 to 1975, they were managed as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony. A referendum was held in 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration. As a result, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony legally ceased to exist on 1 October 1975; on 1 January 1976,

666-527: A Russian admiral, Johann von Krusenstern , named the group "îles Gilbert" (French for Gilbert Islands) in honor of Captain Gilbert's earlier voyage. Around that time, the French captain Louis Duperrey became the first to map the whole Gilbert Islands archipelago. He commanded La Coquille , circumnavigating the globe between 1822 and 1825. The first recorded sighting by Europeans of an Ellice Island

777-592: A chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the western Pacific Ocean. They are part of Remote Oceania , and traditionally part of the Micronesia subregion of Oceania . The Gilbert Islands are the main part of what is now the Republic of Kiribati ("Kiribati" is the Gilbertese rendition of "Gilberts" ) The atolls of the Gilbert Islands are arranged in an approximate north-to-south line. Geographically,

888-500: A consequence of the referendum, separation occurred in two stages. The Tuvaluan Order 1975, which took effect on 1 October 1975, recognised Tuvalu as a separate Crown Colony with its own government. The second stage occurred on 1 January 1976, when separate administrations were created out of the civil service of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. In 1976, Tuvalu adopted the Tuvaluan dollar , whose currency circulates alongside

999-419: A dry season from May to October. Westerly gales and heavy rain are the predominant weather conditions from November to April, the period that is known as Tau-o-lalo , with tropical temperatures moderated by easterly winds from May to October. Tuvalu experiences the effects of El Niño and La Niña , which is caused by changes in ocean temperatures in the equatorial and central Pacific. El Niño effects increase

1110-618: A process of decolonisation; as a consequence, the British colonies in the Pacific started on a path to self-determination . In 1974, the ministerial government was introduced to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony through a change to the Constitution. In that year a general election was held, and a referendum was held in 1974 to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration. As

1221-465: A shore camp on Sakalua islet of Nukufetau , where coal was used to melt down the whale blubber. Christianity came to Tuvalu in 1861 when Elekana , a deacon of a Congregational church in Manihiki , Cook Islands , became caught in a storm and drifted for eight weeks before landing at Nukulaelae on 10 May 1861. Elekana began preaching Christianity. He was trained at Malua Theological College,

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1332-415: A significant amount of soil, so the country relies heavily on imports and fishing for food. Licensing fishing permits to international companies, grants and aid projects, and remittances to their families from Tuvaluan seafarers who work on cargo ships are important parts of the economy. Because it is a low-lying island nation, the country is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise due to climate change . It

1443-493: A single trader. In the 1890s, structural changes occurred in the operation of the Pacific trading companies; they moved from a practice of having traders resident on each island to instead becoming a business operation where the supercargo (the cargo manager of a trading ship) would deal directly with the islanders when a ship visited an island. After the high point in the 1880s, the numbers of palagi traders in Tuvalu declined;

1554-569: A staging post during the preparation for the Battle of Tarawa and the Battle of Makin that commenced on 20 November 1943. Colonel Vivian Fox-Strangways , was the Resident Commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony in 1941, who was located on Funafuti. After World War II, the colony headquarters was re-established on Tarawa , first on Betio islet and subsequently on Bairiki islet . In November 1945, Fox-Strangways

1665-465: A total land area of only about 26 square kilometres (10 square miles) making it the fourth smallest country in the world . The highest elevation is 4.6 metres (15 ft) above sea level on Niulakita ; however the low-lying atolls and reef islands of Tuvalu are susceptible to seawater flooding during cyclones and storms. The sea level at the Funafuti tide gauge has risen at 3.9 mm per year, which

1776-678: A vast expanse of water. In 1969, after political issues arose that had led to the creation, four years earlier, of the Gilbertese National Party , the hybrid term "Tungavalu" was suggested (combining the indigenous names for the islands of Tungaru and Tuvalu); the idea was rejected because of political tensions between those islands. On 31 December 1936, the population of the Crown Colony totalled 34,443 inhabitants, including 32,390 Gilbert and Ellice Islanders, 262 Europeans and 923 Chinese ("Mongoloids"). Henry Evans Maude ,

1887-489: Is active in international climate negotiations as part of the Alliance of Small Island States . The origins of the people of Tuvalu are addressed in the theories regarding the migration into the Pacific that began about 3,000 years ago. During pre-European-contact times, there was frequent canoe voyaging between the nearer islands including Samoa and Tonga . Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited. This explains

1998-600: Is an official language. Tuvalu's total land area is 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi). The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians arriving as part of the migration of Polynesians into the Pacific that began about three thousand years ago. Long before European contact with the Pacific islands , Polynesians frequently voyaged by canoe between the islands. Polynesian navigation skills enabled them to make elaborately planned journeys in either double-hulled sailing canoes or outrigger canoes . Scholars believe that

2109-470: Is approximately twice the global average. However, over four decades, there had been a net increase in land area of the islets of 73.5 ha (2.9%), although the changes are not uniform, with 74% increasing and 27% decreasing in size. A 2018 report stated that the rising sea levels are identified as creating an increased transfer of wave energy across reef surfaces, which shifts sand, resulting in accretion to island shorelines. The Tuvalu Prime Minister objected to

2220-481: Is composed of three reef islands and six atolls spread out between the latitude of 5° and 10° south and between the longitude of 176° and 180° . They lie west of the International Date Line . The 2017 census determined that Tuvalu had a population of 10,645, making it the second-least populous country in the world , behind Vatican City , and the least populous country where English

2331-674: Is named). Despite this, Sir Alfred Stephen , the Chief Justice of New South Wales, found Pritchard and Dagget innocent on the grounds that the British Slave Trade Act 1839 did not apply to the South Pacific Ocean. In 1877, the United Kingdom established a protectorate over the islands designated as being British Western Pacific Territories . In 1886, an Anglo-German agreement partitioned

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2442-543: Is now Kiribati . The United States Marine Corps landed on Funafuti on 2 October 1942, and on Nanumea and Nukufetau in August 1943. Funafuti was used as a base to prepare for the subsequent seaborne attacks on the Gilbert Islands ( Kiribati ) that were occupied by Japanese forces. The islanders assisted the American forces to build airfields on Funafuti, Nanumea and Nukufetau and to unload supplies from ships. On Funafuti,

2553-692: The Australian dollar , which was previously adopted in 1966. Elections to the House of Assembly of the British Colony of Tuvalu were held on 27 August 1977, with Toaripi Lauti being appointed chief minister in the House of Assembly of the Colony of Tuvalu on 1 October 1977. The House of Assembly was dissolved in July 1978, with the government of Toaripi Lauti continuing as a caretaker government until

2664-585: The British Phosphate Commission (BPC), a consortium established by the governments of Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand . The mining of the phosphate on Ocean Island represented the main revenue of the colony until it ended in 1979. In 1925, Great Britain asked New Zealand to accept responsibility for the administration of the Union Islands (Tokelau) and invited the United States to annex Swains Island . On 4 March 1925,

2775-665: The British Slave Trade Act 1839 to provide the authority to arrest blackbirding ships, and charge their captains and owners with slavery charges. However, this approach to suppressing blackbirding was not successful. In 1869, HMS Commander George Palmer of HMS Rosario (1860) , commenced a prosecution in the New South Wales courts of Thomas Pritchard and Captain Dagget of the Daphne . Commander Palmer had found

2886-625: The British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) were administered by a high commissioner who resided in Fiji (and later in the British Solomon Islands ). Then, Sir John Bates Thurston appointed Charles Richard Swayne as the first resident commissioner of the Ellice Islands in 1892 and as the first resident commissioner of the Gilbert Islands in 1893. He was succeeded in 1895 by William Telfer Campbell , who established himself on Tarawa , and remained in office until 1908. Campbell

2997-677: The British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), by a Resident Commissioner based in the Gilbert Islands. The administration of the BWPT ended in 1916, and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony was established, which existed until October 1975. During the Second World War , as a British colony the Ellice Islands were aligned with the Allies . Early in the war, the Japanese invaded and occupied Makin , Tarawa and other islands in what

3108-614: The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992, and ratified it in December 2002. The predominant vegetation type on the islands of Tuvalu is the cultivated coconut woodland, which covers 43% of the land. The native broadleaf forest is limited to 4.1% of the vegetation types. Tuvalu contains the Western Polynesian tropical moist forests terrestrial ecoregion. The eastern shoreline of Funafuti Lagoon on Fongafale

3219-398: The Daphne in harbour at Levuka in Fiji fitted out like an "African slaver", and filled with Islanders on board looking emaciated and having little knowledge of why they were on the ship. The Daphne was owned by Henry Ross Lewin , a long time blackbirder who had been commissioned to import south sea islanders for Robert Towns ' sugar plantations (the entrepreneur after whom Townsville

3330-677: The Ellice island group ). In 1606, Pedro Fernandes de Queirós sighted two of the islands in the Gilbert island group: Butaritari and Makin , which he named the Buen Viaje Islands ('good trip' islands in Spanish). In 1788, Thomas Gilbert , a British captain, encountered the archipelago while commanding one of two ships of the First Fleet that were looking for an outer passage route from Port Jackson to Canton . In 1820,

3441-527: The Equator is the dividing line between the northern Gilbert Islands and the southern Gilbert Islands. South of the Gilbert Islands lie the Ellice Islands (now called Tuvalu ), which were previously politically connected as part of the GEIC. The Ellice Islands comprise three reef islands and six true atolls , spread out between the latitude of 5° to 10° south and longitude of 176° to 180° , west of

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3552-735: The International Date Line . The Ellice Islands are midway between Hawaii and Australia , and they, too, lie in the Polynesia subregion of Oceania. In 1568, when Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira was commissioned to explore the South Pacific, he sailed relatively close to the Gilbert Islands. He sailed between the Line Islands and the Phoenix Islands , but without sighting land. He ultimately sailed past what he called "Isla de Jesús", (probably Nui , amongst

3663-694: 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 from the navies of the United States of America and European powers that visited

3774-399: The Solomon Islands , Tonga and Vanuatu ) launched the "Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific", calling for the phase out fossil fuels and the 'rapid and just transition ' to renewable energy and strengthening environmental law including introducing the crime of ecocide . Tuvalu experiences two distinct seasons, a wet season from November to April and

3885-506: The Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project . Sand was dredged from the lagoon to construct a platform on Fongafale islet that is 780 metres (2,560 ft) meters long and 100 metres (330 ft) meters wide, giving a total area of approximately 7.8 ha. (19.27 acres), which is designed to remain above sea level rise and the reach of storm waves beyond the year 2100. The platform starts from the northern boundary of

3996-501: The coral reefs through the introduction of foraminifera . The project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency is designed to increase the resilience of the Tuvalu coast against sea level rise, through ecosystem rehabilitation and regeneration and through support for sand production. The rising population has resulted in an increased demand on fish stocks, which are under stress, although

4107-468: 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 of the ancestors of the Tuvaluans vary from island to island. On Niutao , Funafuti and Vaitupu , the founding ancestor is described as being from Samoa, whereas on Nanumea ,

4218-522: The "High Court of Admiralty of England and every Vice-Admiralty Court in Her Majesty's dominions out of the United Kingdom shall have jurisdiction to try and condemn as forfeited to Her Majesty or restore any vessel, goods, and effects alleged to be detained or seized in pursuance of the principal Act or of this Act". The 1875 Act also provided authority for "Her Majesty to exercise power and jurisdiction over Her subjects within any islands and places in

4329-525: The "unclaimed" central Pacific, leaving Nauru in the German sphere of influence , while placing Ocean Island and the future GEIC in the British sphere of influence. German New Guinea was established in 1884, and German protectorates were established on the Marshall Islands and Nauru , in 1885 and 1888, respectively. Then, between 27 May and 17 June 1892, partly in response to the presence of

4440-744: The 1896 expedition, and during his stay on Funafuti he 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 wrote the General Account of the Atoll of Funafuti , The Ethnology of Funafuti , and The Mollusca of Funafuti . Edgar Waite was also part of the 1896 expedition and published The mammals, reptiles, and fishes of Funafuti . William Rainbow described

4551-533: The 1981 elections were held. Toaripi Lauti became the first prime minister on 1 October 1978, when Tuvalu became an independent state. That date is also celebrated as the country's Independence Day and is a public holiday. On 26 October 1982, Queen Elizabeth II made a special royal tour to Tuvalu. On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations . On 15 November 2022, amidst sea level rises, Tuvalu announced plans as

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4662-486: The 300 recorded in 1861 as living on Nukulaelae. The islands came into Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when each of the Ellice Islands was declared a British protectorate by Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS  Curacoa , between 9 and 16 October 1892. Trading companies became active in Tuvalu in the mid-19th century; the trading companies engaged white ( palagi ) traders who lived on

4773-623: The Colony were transferred from Betio to Bairiki . This development included establishing the King George V Secondary School for boys and the Elaine Bernacchi Secondary School for girls. A Colony Conference was organised at Marakei in 1956, which was attended by officials and representatives (magistrates) from each island in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, conferences were held every two years until 1962. The development of administration continued with

4884-677: The Ellice islands in 1764, during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of the Dolphin  (1751) . He charted the atolls as Lagoon Islands . Nanumea was sighted by Spanish naval officer Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa who sailed past it on 5 May 1781 with frigate La Princesa , when attempting a southern crossing of the Pacific from the Philippines to New Spain . He charted Nanumea as San Augustin . In 1809, Captain Patterson in

4995-540: The European Union directed at organic waste composting in eco-sanitation systems. The Environment Protection (Litter and Waste Control) Regulation 2013 is intended to improve the management of the importation of non-biodegradable materials. Plastic waste is a problem in Tuvalu, for much imported food and other commodities are supplied in plastic containers or packaging. In 2023 the governments of Tuvalu and other islands vulnerable to climate change ( Fiji , Niue ,

5106-473: The Funafuti Lagoon; beach areas were filled and deep-water access channels were excavated. These alterations to the reef and shoreline resulted in changes to wave patterns, with less sand accumulating to form the beaches, compared to former times. Attempts to stabilise the shoreline did not achieve the desired effect. In December 2022, work on the Funafuti reclamation project commenced, which is part of

5217-732: The Gilbert and Ellice Islands included: Ships of the Royal Navy , on the Australian Station , were involved in suppressing the coercive labour recruitment practices, known as blackbirding in the South Pacific Ocean. 1872, from 10 to 14 October, the sloop HMS  Blanche  (1867) , under Captain Cortland Herbert Simpson, visited Tawara, Abaiang and Butaritari. Also in 1872, the sloop Basilisk  (1848) , under Captain John Moresby , visited

5328-603: The Gilberts, and the corvette HMS  Barossa  (1860) , under Captain Lewis James Moore, visited Tabiteuea. 1873, from 28 to 30 June, the schooner HMS  Alacrity  (1872) , under Captain Francis W. Sanders, lands islanders on Tabiteuea and Maiana who had been kidnapped in 1871 by the brig Carl . The screw sloop HMS  Dido  (1869) also visited the Gilberts in 1873. 1874, in August,

5439-438: The Gilberts. SMS Eber of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), was sent to the Pacific to serve in the German colonial empire . In 1888 she visited the Gilberts, and also disarmed the inhabitants of Nauru , ending their civil war and annexing the island to the German Empire. 1891, the steam corvette SMS Alexandrine visited the Gilberts (Marakei, Tawara, Abaiang, Abemama and Tabiteuea). Also in 1891,

5550-498: The Governor of one of the Australian colonies to have the authority to licence British vessels in the South Pacific Ocean to carry "native labourers". The 1875 Act amended that licensing system and stated that any "British vessel may, under the principal Act, be detained, seized, and brought in for adjudication by any officer, all goods and effects found on board such vessel may also be detained, seized, and brought in for adjudication by such officer, either with or without such vessel" with

5661-486: The KUC are trained at Tangintebu Theological College, which is owned by the church. Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands ( GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976, and were administered as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) until they became independent. The history of GEIC

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5772-418: The Kingsmill Islands or Kingsmill Group in English). While in the Gilberts, they devoted considerable time to mapping and charting reefs and anchorages. Alfred Thomas Agate made drawings of men of Butaritari and Makin . 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

5883-409: The Pacific Ocean not being within Her Majesty's dominions, nor within the jurisdiction of any civilized power, in the same and as ample a manner as if such power or jurisdiction had been acquired by the cession or conquest of territory", although the 1875 Act did not specify any Pacific islands to which this authority was to be applied. The 1872 & 1875 Acts were intended to work in conjunction with

5994-444: 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 Dolphin  (1751) . He 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

6105-423: The Pacific. Drilling occurred in 1896, 1897 and 1898. Professor Edgeworth David of the University of Sydney was a member of the 1896 "Funafuti Coral Reef Boring Expedition of the Royal Society", under Professor William Sollas and led the expedition in 1897. Photographers on these trips recorded people, communities, and scenes at Funafuti. Charles Hedley , a naturalist at the Australian Museum , accompanied

6216-456: The Polynesians spread out from Samoa and Tonga into the Tuvaluan atolls, which then served as a stepping stone for further migration into the Polynesian outliers in Melanesia and Micronesia . In 1568, Spanish explorer and cartographer Álvaro de Mendaña became the first European known to sail through the archipelago, sighting the island of Nui during an expedition he was making in search of Terra Australis . The island of Funafuti

6327-509: The Queen Elizabeth Park (QEP) reclamation area and extends to the northern Tausoa Beach Groyne and the Catalina Ramp Harbour. The reefs at Funafuti suffered damage during the El Niño events that occurred between 1998 and 2001, with an average of 70% of the Staghorn ( Acropora spp. ) corals becoming bleached as a consequence of the increase in ocean temperatures. A reef restoration project has investigated reef restoration techniques; and researchers from Japan have investigated rebuilding

6438-410: 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 by the frigate Maria Reigersberg under captain Koerzen, and the corvette Pollux under captain C. Eeg, found Nui on the morning of 14 June 1825 and named

6549-563: The Treaty will involve Australia increasing its contribution to the Tuvalu Trust Fund and the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project . Australia will also provide a pathway for 280 citizens of Tuvalu to migrate to Australia each year, to enable climate-related mobility for Tuvaluans. Tuvalu is a volcanic archipelago, and consists of three reef islands ( Nanumanga , Niutao and Niulakita ) and six true atolls ( Funafuti , Nanumea , Nui , Nukufetau , Nukulaelae and Vaitupu ). Its small, scattered group of low-lying atolls have poor soil and

6660-444: The Union Islands (now known as Tokelau ); Christmas Island was included in 1919 but was unofficially contested by the USA under its Guano Islands Act of 1856. The Union Islands were transferred to New Zealand in 1926, but formally only in 1948. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony continued to be administered by a Resident Commissioner. In 1930 the Resident Commissioner, Arthur Grimble , issued revised laws, Regulations for

6771-436: The United States in Butaritari , Captain Edward Davis of HMS  Royalist made the sixteen islands of the Gilbert Islands a British protectorate . Between 9 and 16 October of the same year, Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS  Curacoa declared the Ellice Islands to be a British protectorate. The British government found it administratively convenient to govern the Ellice and Gilberts islands together. At first,

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6882-408: The United States officially annexed Swains Island as part of the territory of American Samoa . On 11 February 1926, an Order in Council transferred responsibility for administration of the Union Islands (Tokelau) to New Zealand which in turn placed administration of the islands under its Western Samoan mandate. Fanning Island and Washington Island also became included in the colony together with

6993-464: The armed brigantine or privateer Rebecca , sailing under British colours, passed through the southern Tuvaluan waters. De Peyster sighted Nukufetau , and 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 name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay . In 1820,

7104-527: The atolls, an annular reef rim surrounds the lagoon with seven natural reef channels. Surveys were carried out in May 2010 of the reef habitats of Nanumea, Nukulaelae and Funafuti; a total of 317 fish species were recorded during this Tuvalu Marine Life study. The surveys identified 66 species that had not previously been recorded in Tuvalu, which brings the total number of identified species to 607. Tuvalu's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) covers an oceanic area of approximately 900,000 km . Tuvalu signed

7215-403: The brig Elizabeth sighted Nanumea while passing through the northern Tuvalu waters on a trading voyage from Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia to China. Captain Arent de Peyster sighted the rest of the Ellice island group in 1819, while sailing the ship Rebecca . He named Funafuti atoll "Ellice's Island", after Edward Ellice , a British politician and merchant who owned the ship's cargo. After

7326-404: The central Pacific. The Janet Nicoll visited three of the Ellice Islands; while Fanny records that they made landfall at Funafuti, Niutao and Nanumea , Jane Resture suggests that it was more likely they landed at Nukufetau rather than Funafuti, as Fanny describes meeting Alfred Restieaux and his wife Litia; however they had been living on Nukufetau since the 1880s. An account of this voyage

7437-428: The creation in 1963 of an Advisory Council of five officials and 12 representatives who were appointed by the Resident Commissioner. In 1964 an Executive Council was established with eight officials and eight representatives. The representative members were elected in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Advisory Council election held in 1964. The Resident Commissioner was now required to consult the Executive Council regarding

7548-582: The creation of laws to make decisions that affected the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. Tuvalu Tuvalu ( / t uː ˈ v ɑː l uː / too- VAH -loo ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean , about midway between Hawaii and Australia . It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands ), northeast of Vanuatu , southeast of Nauru , south of Kiribati , west of Tokelau , northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna , and north of Fiji . Tuvalu

7659-403: The creation of the Funafuti Conservation Area has provided a fishing exclusion area to help sustain the fish population across the Funafuti lagoon. Population pressure on the resources of Funafuti, and inadequate sanitation systems, have resulted in pollution. The Waste Operations and Services Act of 2009 provides the legal framework for waste management and pollution control projects funded by

7770-416: The dress and tattoo patterns of the 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 and Auckland and into

7881-401: The early 20th century, after which Tuvaluans and I-Kiribati , trained at Rongorongo , on Beru Atoll , took on this role. In 1968, the first general assembly of the Gilbert Islands Protestant Church met to organise an autonomous church. In 1979, when the Gilbert Islands was renamed Kiribati, the church changed its name to the Kiribati Protestant Church. The church was originally established as

7992-633: The first country in the world to build a self-digital replica in the metaverse in order to preserve its cultural heritage. On 10 November 2023, Tuvalu signed the Falepili Union treaty with Australia. In the Tuvaluan language, Falepili describes the traditional values of good neighbourliness, care and mutual respect. The Treaty addresses climate change and security, with security threats encompassing major natural disasters, health pandemics and traditional security threats. The implementation of

8103-478: The founding ancestor is described as being from Tonga . Tuvalu was first sighted by Europeans on 16 January 1568, during the voyage of Álvaro de Mendaña from Spain, who sailed past Nui and charted it as Isla de Jesús (Spanish for "Island of Jesus") because the previous day was the feast of the Holy Name . Mendaña made contact with the islanders but was unable to land. During Mendaña's second voyage across

8214-447: 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 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,

8325-460: The good Order and Cleanliness of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands , which replaced laws created during the BWTP. In the 1930s, British officials tried to choose a less cumbersome name for the GEIC. Critics jocularly called the arbitrary collection of atolls scattered across the central Pacific the " Gilbert and Sullivans " (a reference to the famous light opera composers). One official suggested renaming

8436-542: The gunboat SMS  Wolf  (1878) visited Tawara, Abaiang and Maiana, and the cruiser SMS Sperber visited Butaritari, Maiana and Tabiteuea. In 1872, the United Kingdom passed legislation in an attempt to control the coercive labour recruitment practices known as blackbirding : the Pacific Islanders Protection Act 1872 (the principal Act), which was amended by the Pacific Islanders Protection Act 1875. The principal Act provided for

8547-640: The islanders shifted to the smaller islets so as to allow the American forces to build the airfield and Naval Base Funafuti on Fongafale . A Naval Construction Battalion ( Seabees ) built a seaplane ramp on the lagoon side of Fongafale islet, for seaplane operations by both short- and long-range seaplanes, and a compacted coral runway was also constructed on Fongafale, with runways also constructed to create Nanumea Airfield and Nukufetau Airfield . USN Patrol Torpedo Boats (PTs) and seaplanes were based at Naval Base Funafuti from 2 November 1942 to 11 May 1944. The atolls of Tuvalu acted as staging posts during

8658-413: The islands "Quateria" (after the word "quarters"), because the main inhabited archipelago extends over four notable quarters of the globe: It lies partly north and partly south of the equator, and also partly east and partly west of the international dateline. There were indigenous names, such as Tungaru and Tuvalu , but they were used to refer to only some of the islands in the group; they did not include

8769-657: The islands visited. Captain Davis identified the following traders in the Ellice Group: Edmund Duffy ( Nanumea ); Jack Buckland ( Niutao ); Harry Nitz ( Vaitupu ); Jack O'Brien (Funafuti); Alfred Restieaux and Emile Fenisot ( Nukufetau ); and Martin Kleis ( Nui ). During this time, the greatest number of palagi traders lived on the atolls, acting as agents for the trading companies. Some islands would have competing traders, while dryer islands might only have

8880-587: The islands. 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. Louis Becke , who later found success as a writer, was a trader on Nanumanga from April 1880 until the trading station was destroyed later that year in a cyclone . He then became a trader on Nukufetau . In 1892, Captain Edward Davis of HMS  Royalist reported on trading activities and traders on each of

8991-467: The land commissioner of the colony, considered the then colony overcrowded. The Phoenix Islands were added to the colony in 1937 with the view of a Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme . On 6 August 1936, a party from HMS Leith landed on Canton Island in the Phoenix Group and planted a sign asserting British sovereignty in the name of King Edward VIII . On 18 March 1937, Great Britain annexed

9102-485: The last of them were Fred Whibley on Niutao, Alfred Restieaux on Nukufetau, and Martin Kleis on Nui. By 1909 there were no more resident palagi traders representing the trading companies, although Whibley, Restieaux and Kleis remained in the islands until their deaths. The United States Exploring Expedition under Charles Wilkes visited Funafuti , Nukufetau , and Vaitupu in 1841. During this expedition, engraver and illustrator Alfred Thomas Agate recorded

9213-403: The later 19th and early 20th centuries, the ministers of what became the Church of Tuvalu ( Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu ) were predominantly Samoans, who influenced the development of the Tuvaluan language and the music of Tuvalu . For less than a year between 1862 and 1863, Peruvian ships engaged in the so-called " blackbirding " trade, by which they recruited or impressed workers, combed

9324-427: The latitude and longitude was uncertain. Longitude could be reckoned only crudely at the time, as accurate chronometers did not become available until the late 18th century. 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. In May 1819, Arent Schuyler de Peyster, of New York, captain of

9435-644: The main island ( Fenua Tapu ) as Nederlandsch Eiland . Whalers began roving the Pacific, although they visited Tuvalu only infrequently because of the difficulties of landing on the atolls. The American Captain George Barrett of the Nantucket whaler Independence II has been identified as the first whaler to hunt the waters around Tuvalu. He bartered coconuts from the people of Nukulaelae in November 1821, and also visited Niulakita . He established

9546-403: The maladministration of Telfer Campbell, linked it to criticisms of the Pacific Phosphate Company , which was operating on Ocean Island , and challenged Mahaffy's impartiality, because he was a former colonial official in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Protectorate. In 1908, the government's headquarters was moved to Ocean Island (today known as Banaba ). Ocean Island had been hastily added to

9657-515: The mostly uninhabited Phoenix and Line island groups, or Banaba (also called Ocean Island), whose phosphate rocks provided half of the GEIC's tax revenue. Further complicating the naming problem, the Tokelau atolls were made part of the colony for a decade (1916–1926), and at one point a governor of Fiji, Sir J.B. Thurston , suggested adding Rotuma to the colony to enable a more organized administration of islands that were scattered over such

9768-600: The move and recreated a separate Kiribati Protestant Church . The current head of KUC, called Moderator, is Reirei Kouraabi. KUC has 209 pastors. The majority of church members are fisherman or copra cutters. Membership is decreasing since the move of 2014. The KUC is a member of the World Council of Churches , the World Communion of Reformed Churches , and the Council for World Mission . The pastors for

9879-476: The murders in 1874, of Cornelius Sullivan on Tarawa, and St. John C. Keyes on Abaiang. The screw sloop HMS  Sappho  (1873) , under Commander Noel Stephen Fox Digby, was also sent to the Gilberts in support of HMS Renard . 1881, from 13 May to 6 June, the corvette HMS Emerald  (1876) , under Captain William Maxwell , visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. 1883, from 26 May to 10 June,

9990-465: The old administration was officially separated, and two separate British colonies, Kiribati and Tuvalu, were formed. On 1 October 1978, Tuvalu became fully independent as a sovereign state within the Commonwealth , and is a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as King of Tuvalu . On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations . The islands do not have

10101-654: The origin of the name, Tuvalu, which means "eight standing together" in Tuvaluan (compare to *walu meaning "eight" in Proto-Austronesian ). Possible evidence of human-made fires in the Caves of Nanumanga suggests humans may have occupied the islands for thousands of years. An important creation myth in the islands of Tuvalu is the story of te Pusi mo te Ali (the Eel and the Flounder), who are said to have created

10212-498: The preparation for the Battle of Tarawa and the Battle of Makin that commenced on 20 November 1943, which were part of the implementation of "Operation Galvanic". After the war, the military airfield on Funafuti was developed into Funafuti International Airport . The formation of the United Nations after World War II resulted in the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization committing to

10323-421: The protectorate in 1900 to take advantage of the improved shipping connections resulting from the Pacific Phosphate Company 's increased activities. On 12 January 1916, the islands' status was changed to that of a Crown Colony. The British colonial authorities emphasised that their role was to procure labour for phosphate mining on Ocean Island, and to maintain law and order among the workers. The islands became

10434-451: The report's implication that there were "alternate" strategies for Islanders to adapt to rising sea levels, and criticised it for neglecting issues such as saltwater intrusion into groundwater tables as a result of sea level rise. Funafuti is the largest atoll, and comprises numerous islets around a central lagoon that is approximately 25.1 kilometres (15.6 miles) (N–S) by 18.4 kilometres (11.4 miles) (W-E), centred on 179°7'E and 8°30'S. On

10545-467: The screw sloop HMS  Rosario  (1860) , under Commander Arthur Edward Dupuis, visited Tawara and Abaiang searching for William "Bully" Hayes , who was notorious for his blackbirding activities. 1875, the survey ship HMS  Myrmidon  (1867) , under Commander Richard Hare, visited the Gilberts. 1876, from April to June, the schooner HMS  Renard  (1873) , under Lieutenant Horace J. M. Pugh, visited Abaiang and Tawara, regarding

10656-570: The screw sloop HMS  Royalist , under Captain Edward Davis , visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. 1825, the schooner USS  Dolphin  (1821) , under Lieutenant Hiram Paulding , visited Nikunau and Tabiteuea. 1870, from 15 to 26 May, the sloop USS  Jamestown  (1844) , under Captain William Truxtun, visited Tawara, Abaiang and Butaritari. 1872, in August, the sloop USS  Narragansett  (1859) visited Nikunau, Beru, Tabiteuea, Abaiang and Tawara. 1889,

10767-470: 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 to determine 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

10878-513: The sloop HMS  Espiegle  (1880) , under Captain Cyprian Bridge , visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. 1884, from 13 June to 26 July, the survey ship HMS  Dart  (1882) , under Lieutenant-Commander W. W. Moore, visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. 1886, from 10 May to 26 June, the sloop HMS  Miranda , under Commander Eustace Rooke, visited the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. 1892, from 14 April to 30 August,

10989-604: The smaller islands of Polynesia from Easter Island in the eastern Pacific to Tuvalu and the southern atolls of the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati). They sought recruits to fill the extreme labour shortage in Peru. On Funafuti and Nukulaelae, the resident traders facilitated the recruiting of the islanders by the "blackbirders". The Rev. Archibald Wright Murray, the earliest European missionary in Tuvalu, reported that in 1863 about 170 people were taken from Funafuti and about 250 were taken from Nukulaelae, as there were fewer than 100 of

11100-576: The spiders and insects collected at Funafuti in The insect fauna of 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 was investigating the formation of coral reefs on Pacific atolls. The Ellice Islands were administered as a British Protectorate from 1892 to 1916, as part of

11211-497: The steam powered sloop USS  Iroquois  (1859) visited Butaritari. 1874, the corvette L'Ariane visited Arorae and Ocean Island . 1888, the cruiser Le Fabert , under Commander Benoit, visited Nikunau, Nonouti and Butaritari to deliver Father Joseph Leray, Father Edward Bontemps and Brother Conrad Weber, Roman Catholic Missionaries of the Sacred Heart , who were the first Roman Catholic missionaries to arrive in

11322-687: The uninhabited Phoenix Islands (except Howland and Baker Islands ) to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony. Banaba (Ocean Island) remained the headquarters of the colony until the British evacuation in 1942 during the Pacific War when Ocean Island and the Gilbert Islands were occupied by the Japanese . The United States forces landed in Funafuti on 2 October 1942 and on Nanumea and Nukufetau in August 1943 and constructed an airfield on each island and other bases. The atolls of Tuvalu acted as

11433-781: The work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay was published, the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands in the Ellice Island group, which is now called Tuvalu . Two ships of the United States Exploring Expedition , USS  Peacock  (1828) and USS  Flying Fish  (1838) , under the command of Captain Hudson, surveyed the Gilbert Islands of Tabiteuea , Nonouti , Aranuka , Maiana , Abemama , Kuria , Tarawa , Marakei , Butaritari , and Makin (then called

11544-534: Was approved so that 10 borrow pits would be filled with sand from the lagoon, leaving Tafua Pond, which is a natural pond. The New Zealand Government funded the BPR project. The project was carried out in 2015, with 365,000 sqm of sand being dredged from the lagoon to fill the holes and improve living conditions on the island. This project increased the usable land space on Fongafale by eight per cent. During World War II, several piers were also constructed on Fongafale in

11655-444: Was criticised for his legislative, judicial and administrative management. It was alleged that he extracted forced labour from the islanders. An inquiry into this allegation was held by Arthur Mahaffy , a former district officer in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (1896–1898) and Solomon Islands (1898-1904), and he issued his findings, which were published in 1910. In 1913, an anonymous correspondent to The New Age journal described

11766-440: Was mainly characterized by phosphate mining on Ocean Island . In October 1975, these islands were divided by force of law into two separate colonies, and they became independent nations shortly thereafter: the Ellice Islands became Tuvalu in 1978, and the Gilbert Islands with Banaba (Ocean Island) became part of Kiribati in 1979. The Gilbert Islands sometimes also known as Kingsmill Islands or King's-Mill Islands are

11877-521: Was modified during World War II when the airfield (now Funafuti International Airport ) was constructed. The coral base of the atoll was used as fill to create the runway. The resulting borrow pits impacted the fresh-water aquifer . In the low-lying areas of Funafuti, the sea water can be seen bubbling up through the porous coral rock to form pools with each high tide. In 2014, the Tuvalu Borrow Pits Remediation (BPR) project

11988-429: Was named Ellice's Island in 1819. Later, the whole group was named Ellice Islands by English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay . In the late 19th century, Great Britain claimed control over the Ellice Islands, designating them as within their sphere of influence. Between 9 and 16 October 1892, Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS  Curacoa declared each of the Ellice Islands a British protectorate . Britain assigned

12099-508: Was on 16 January 1568, during the voyage of Álvaro de Mendaña from Spain, who sailed past Nui and charted it as Isla de Jesús (Spanish for "Island of Jesus") because the previous day was 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

12210-558: Was replaced as Resident Commissioner by Henry Evans Maude (1946 to 1949). He was succeeded by John Peel , who retired in 1951. By the Tokelau Act of 1948 , sovereignty over Tokelau was transferred to New Zealand. The five islands of the Central and Southern Line Islands were added to the colony in 1972. In 1946, Tarawa , in the Gilbert Islands, was made the administrative capital, replacing Ocean Island. The headquarters of

12321-492: Was written by Fanny 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 . The Count spent several days photographing men and women on Funafuti. The boreholes on Funafuti, at

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