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 TuvaluComments on Tuvalu
About Tuvalu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the country. For other uses, see Tuvalu (disambiguation).
Tuvalu (/tuːˈvɑːluː/ ( The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesian people. In 1568 Spanish navigator Alvaro Mendaña discovered the islands during his expedition to Terra Australis. The islands came under Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century. The name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay (1812-1876)[3] The Ellice Islands were administered by Britain as part of a protectorate from 1892 to 1916 and as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916 to 1974. In 1974, the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status as Tuvalu, separating from the Gilbert Islands which became Kiribati upon independence. Tuvalu became fully independent within the Commonwealth on October 1, 1978. On September 5, 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations. [edit] HistoryMain article: History of Tuvalu
Tuvaluans are a Polynesian people who settled the islands around 3000 years ago[4] coming from Tonga and Samoa. During pre-European-contact times there was frequent canoe voyaging between the nearer islands. Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited; thus the name, Tuvalu, means "eight standing together" in Tuvaluan. Possible evidence of fire in the Caves of Nanumanga may indicate human occupation thousands of years before that. Tuvalu was first sighted by Europeans in 1568 with the arrival of Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira from Spain who also encountered the island of Nui but was unable to land. Keith S. Chambers and Doug Munro (1980) identify Niutao as the island that Francisco Antonio Mourelle named on May 5, 1781 thus solving what Europeans had called The Mystery of Gran Cocal.[5][6] The next European to visit was Arent Schuyler de Peyster, of New York, captain of the armed brigantine or privateer Rebecca, sailing under British colours,[7] which passed through the southern Tuvalu waters in May 1819 sighting Nukufetau and Funafuti, which de Peyster named Ellice's Island after an English Politician, Edward Ellice, the Member of Parliament for Coventry and the owner of the Rebecca's cargo.[8] In 1820 the Russian explorer A. P. Lazarev visited Nukufetau.[9] Following 1819 whalers were roving the Pacific though visiting Tuvalu only infrequently because of the difficulties of landing ships on the atolls. No settlements had been established by them.[10] Peruvian slave raiders ("blackbirders") seeking workers to mine the guano deposits on the Chincha Islands in Peru, combed the Pacific between 1862 and 1865, including the southern islands of Tuvalu.[11] The Rev. A. W. Murray[12], the earliest European missionary in Tuvalu, reported that in 1863 about 180 people[13] were taken from Funafuti and about 200 were taken from Nukulaelae[14] as there were fewer than 100 of the 300 recorded in 1861 as living on Nukulaelae.[15][16] Christianity first came to Tuvalu 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.[17] In 1865 the Rev. A. W. Murray of the London Missionary Society of Protestant congregationalists, arrived as the first European missionary where he too proselytized among the inhabitants of Tuvalu. By 1878 Protestantism was well established with Protestant preachers on each island.[18] [edit] Trading firms & tradersThe Sydney firms of Robert Towns and Company, J. C. Malcolm and Company, and Macdonald, Smith and Company, pioneered the coconut-oil trade in Tuvalu.[19] By the 1870’s J. C. Godeffroy und Sohn of Hamburg (operating out of Samoa) 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 H. M. Ruge and Company, and from Henderson and Macfarlane of Auckland, New Zealand. [20] 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. 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. Henderson and Macfarlane then dominated the copra trade, operating their vessel SS Archer to call on islands in Fiji, Tuvalu, and Kiribati [21] 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.[22] The numbers of palagi traders declined with the supercargo of each ship dealing directly with Tuvaluans so that by 1909 there were no resident palagi traders representing the trading firms.[23] Tuvaluans became responsible for meeting their obligation to provide copra to pay the Queen’s Tax, with Tuvaluans also taking responsibility for operating trading stores on each island. In 1892 Captain Davis of the H.M.S. Royalist, reported on trading activities and traders on each of the islands visited.[24] 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 Fenisot (Nukufetau); and Martin Kleis (Nui).[25] This was the time at which the greatest number of palagi traders lived on the atolls, acting as the agent for the trading companies.[26] In the later 1890’s and into first decade of the 20th century, structural changes occurred in the operation of the Pacific trading companies, with the trading companies moving 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. From 1900 the numbers of palagi traders in Tuvalu declined, with the last of the palagi traders being Fred Whibley on Niutao and Alfred Restieaux on Nukufetau, however by 1909 there were no resident palagi traders representing the trading companies[27] although both Fred Whibley and Alfred Restieaux remained in the islands until their deaths. [edit] Scientific expeditions & travellersThe United States Exploring Expedition under Charles Wilkes visited Funafuti, Nukufetau and Vaitupu in 1841.[28] During the visit of the expedition to Tuvalu Alfred Thomas Agate, engraver and illustrator, recorded the dress and tattoo patterns of men of Nukufetau.[29] In 1890 Robert Louis Stevenson, his wife Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson, and her son Lloyd Osbourne sailed on the Janet Nicoll,[30] 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 Tuvalu; while Fanny records that they made landfall at Funafuti and Niutao, Jane Resture suggests that it was more likely that they visited Nukufetau rather than Funafuti.[31] An account of the voyage was written by Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson and published under the title The Cruise of the Janet Nichol,[32] together with photographs taken by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne. In 1894 Count Rudolph Festetics de Tolna, his wife Eila Festetics (née Haggin) and her daughter Blanche Haggin visited Funafuti aboard the yacht Le Tolna. The Count was somewhat of a character,[33] publishing his account of his voyage through the Pacific, under the title Chez les cannibales.[34] The enduring legacy of the Count are the photographs taken on Funafuti.[35] The boreholes on Funafuti at the site now called David's Drill are the result of drilling conducted by the Royal Society of London for the purpose of investigating whether traces of shallow water organisms could be found at depth in the coral. Drilling occurred in 1896, 1897 and 1911. Professor Edgeworth David of the University of Sydney lead the 1897 expedition.[36] Photographers on the expeditions recorded people, communities and scenes at Funafuti.[37] Harry Clifford Fassett,[38] captain's clerk and photographer, recorded people, communities and scenes at Funafuti during a visit of the steamer Albatross when the U.S. Fish Commission were conducting hydrographic surveys in 1900.[39] [edit] The Pacific War & operation 'Galvanic"During the Pacific War Marine Defense Forces landed on Funafuti on October 2, 1942. The Japanese had already occupied Tarawa and other islands in what is now Kiribati, A Naval Construction Battalion (Seabees) built compacted coral runways at Funafuti with satellites airfields on both Nanumea and Nukufetau. The Seabees also blasted an opening in the reef at Nanumea, which became known as the 'American Passage'.[40] Building the runway at Funafuti involved the loss of land used for growing pulaka and taro with extensive excavation of coral from what are still known as the borrow pits. The runway continues in use today as Funafuti International Airport. While Funafuti suffered air attacks during 1943, casualties were limited, although on one occasion in April 1943, 680 people took refuge in the concrete walled, pandanus-thatched church. Fortunately an American soldier, Corporal B. F. Ladd, persuaded them to get into dugouts, as a bomb struck the building shortly after. [41] Tuvalu acted as a staging post for the invasions of Makin atoll and Tarawa atoll which commenced on 20 November 1943, which was the implementation of operation 'Galvanic'.[42] [edit] PoliticsMain article: Politics of Tuvalu
Tuvalu is a Parliamentary Democracy and Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II serving as the country's head of state, bearing the title Queen of Tuvalu. The Queen does not reside in the islands and is represented in Tuvalu by a Governor General, who is appointed by the Queen upon the advice of the country's elected Prime Minister. The local unicameral parliament, or Fale I Fono, has 15 members and is elected every four years. Its members select a Prime Minister who is the head of government. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Each island also has its own high-chief or ulu-aliki, and several sub-chiefs (alikis) and elders. The elders form together an island council of elders or te sina o fenua (literally:"grey-hairs of the land"). In the past, another caste, namely the one of the priests (tofuga) was also amongst the decision-makers. The sina o fenua, aliki and ulu-aliki exercise informal authority on a local level. Ulu-aliki are always chosen based on ancestry, and their powers are now shared with the pule o kaupule (elected village presidents; one on each atoll).[43] There are no formal political parties and election campaigns are largely on the basis of personal/family ties and reputation. The highest court in Tuvalu is the High Court; there are eight Island Courts with limited jurisdiction. Rulings from the High Court can be appealed to the Court of Appeal of Tuvalu. From the Court of Appeal there is a right of appeal to Her Majesty in Council, i.e., the Privy Council in London. [edit] DefenceTuvalu has no regular military forces, and spends no money on the military. Its police force includes a Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations. The police have a Pacific-class patrol boat (HMTSS Te Mataili) provided by Australia under the Pacific Patrol Boat Program for use in maritime surveillance and fishery patrol.[44] HMTSS stands for His/Her Majesty's Tuvaluan State Ship or His/Her Majesty's Tuvalu Surveillance Ship. [edit] Districts
Main article: Islands of Tuvalu
Tuvalu's small population is distributed across nine islands, five of which are atolls.[45] The smallest island, Niulakita, was uninhabited until it was settled by people from Niutao in 1949. Local government districts consisting of more than one islet: Local government districts consisting of only one island: [edit] Foreign relationsMain article: Foreign relations of Tuvalu
Tuvalu maintains close relations with Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. It has diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan); the ROC maintains the only resident embassy in Tuvalu and has a large assistance program in the islands. Tuvalu has maintained a mission at the UN in New York City since 2000.. A major international priority for Tuvalu in the UN, at the 2002 Earth Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa and in other international fora is promoting concern about global warming and possible sea level rise. Tuvalu advocates ratification and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. In December 2009 the islands stalled talks on climate change at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, fearing some other developing countries were not committing fully to binding deals on a reduction in carbon emission, their chief negotiator stated "Tuvalu is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, and our future rests on the outcome of this meeting."[46] It also is a member of the Asian Development Bank. Tuvalu is a party to a treaty of friendship with the United States, signed soon after independence and ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1983, under which the United States renounced prior territorial claims to four Tuvaluan islands under the Guano Act.[47] Tuvalu is also a member of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement.[48] [edit] Geography
Main article: Geography of Tuvalu
Tuvalu consists of three reef islands and six true atolls. Its small, scattered group of atolls have poor soil and a total land area of only about 26 square kilometres (less than 10 sq. mi.) making it the fourth smallest country in the world. The land is very low lying with narrow coral atolls. Funafuti is the largest atoll of the nine low reef islands and atolls that form the Tuvalu volcanic island chain. It comprises numerous islets around a central lagoon that is approximately 25.1 kilometres (15.6 mi) (N–S) by 18.4 kilometres (11.4 mi) (W-E), centred on 179°7’E and 8°30’S. An annular reef rim surrounds the lagoon, with several natural reef channels. The highest elevation is 4.5 metres (15 ft) above sea level,[49] which gives Tuvalu the second-lowest maximum elevation of any country (after the Maldives). Because of this low elevation, the islands that make up this nation may be threatened by any future sea level rise. Under such circumstances, the population may evacuate to New Zealand, Niue or the Fijian island of Kioa. Additionally, efforts are underway by researchers in Japan to rebuild the reefs through introduction of foraminifer.[50] Additionally, Tuvalu is affected by what is known as a king tide, which can raise the sea level higher than a normal high tide.[51] In the future, this may threaten to submerge the nation entirely as it is estimated that a sea level rise of 20–40 centimetres (8–16 inches) in the next 100 years could make Tuvalu uninhabitable.[52][53] Tuvalu has very poor land and the soil is hardly usable for agriculture. Drinking water is mostly obtained from rainwater collected on roofs and stored in tanks; these systems are often poorly maintained, resulting in lack of water.[54] Tuvalu has westerly gales and heavy rain from November to March and tropical temperatures moderated by easterly winds from March to November. [edit] TourismThe main island of Funafuti is the focus of travelers, as the only airport in Tuvalu is the Funafuti International Airport, with the island having hotel accommodation.[55]Ecotourism is a motivation of travelers to Tuvalu. The Funafuti Conservation Area consists of 33 square kilometers of ocean, reef, lagoon, channel and islands habitats with the Funafuti Conservation Area including six uninhabited islets.[56] The outer atolls can be visited on the two passenger/cargo ships Nivaga II and Manu Folau, which provide a round trip visiting the outer islands every three or four weeks.[57] There is no tourist accommodation on the outer atolls. [edit] EconomyMain article: Economy of Tuvalu
Tuvalu has almost no natural resources, and its main form of income consists of foreign aid About 800 Tuvaluans previously worked in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry or aboard foreign ships as sailors. When phosphate mining ceased in Nauru, 378 Tuvaluans were stranded in the country until they were repatriated in 2006 by a joint programme in which Australia, New Zealand, and the EU paid most of the cost of their return passage, and Taiwan paid the back wages they were owed.[58] Substantial income is received annually from the Tuvalu Trust Fund, which was established in 1987 by Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom and supported also by Japan and South Korea. This fund grew from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu, with 1999 payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries at about $9 million, a total which is expected to rise annually. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from use of its area code for "900" lines and from the sale of its ".tv" Internet domain name.[59] Because of the country's remoteness, tourism does not provide much income; a thousand tourists are estimated to visit Tuvalu annually.[60] [edit] DemographicsMain article: Demographics of Tuvalu
The country's population has more than doubled since 1980 and was estimated to reach 11,810 in July 2006.[61] The population of Tuvalu is primarily of Polynesian ethnicity; about 4% of the population is Micronesian. The Tuvaluan language is spoken by virtually everyone, while a language very similar to Gilbertese is spoken on Nui. English is also an official language, but is not spoken in daily use. Parliament and official functions are conducted in Tuvaluan. The introduction of Christianity ended the worship of the spirits of ancestors and other deities, along with the power of the vaka-atua (the priests of the old religions).[62] About 97% of the Tuvaluans are members of the Church of Tuvalu, a Protestant Christian church. Tuvaluans continue to have respect for their ancestors within the context of a strong Christian faith. Other religions practised on the island include Seventh-day Adventist (1.4%) and Bahá'í (1%).[61] Also the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community claims 400 members (3%) in Tuvalu.[63] [edit] Culture[edit] HeritageThe traditional community system still survives to a large extent on Tuvalu. Each family has its own task, or salanga, to perform for the community, such as fishing, house building or defence. The skills of a family are passed on from parents to children. Most islands have th This country information has been retrieved from wikipedia.org and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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