Overview
Tuvalu is an archipelagic country in the Polynesian sub-region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, located approximately midway between Hawaii and Australia. The country is positioned east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to 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 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°, lying west of the International Date Line. The country has a total land area of 25.14 square kilometres (9.71 square miles), making it one of the world's smallest nations by area.
Population and Government
According to the 2022 census, Tuvalu had a population of 10,643, making it the 194th most populous country in the world, surpassed in population only by Niue and Vatican City. Tuvalu is a constitutional monarchy with Charles III as King of Tuvalu and is a member of the Commonwealth.
Early History and Settlement
The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians who arrived as part of the migration into the Pacific that began approximately three thousand years ago. Before European contact, Polynesians frequently voyaged between islands using double-hulled sailing canoes and outrigger canoes, demonstrating sophisticated navigation skills. Scholars believe that Polynesians spread out from Samoa and Tonga into the Tuvaluan atolls, which then served as a stepping stone for further migration into Polynesian outliers in Melanesia and Micronesia.
Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited in pre-European times. The country's name, Tuvalu, means "eight standing together" in Tuvaluan, referring to the eight inhabited islands. Possible evidence of human-made fires in the Caves of Nanumanga suggests humans may have occupied the islands for thousands of years.
European Contact
Tuvalu was first sighted by Europeans on 16 January 1568, when Spanish explorer and cartographer Álvaro de Mendaña sailed past the island of Nui during an expedition in search of Terra Australis. Mendaña charted the island as Isla de Jesús (Spanish for "Island of Jesus") because the previous day was the feast of the Holy Name. He made contact with islanders but was unable to land.
In May 1819, Captain Arent Schuyler de Peyster of New York, sailing under British colours, sighted Funafuti, which he named Ellice's Island after Edward Ellice, an English politician and Member of Parliament for Coventry. The name Ellice was subsequently applied to all nine islands following the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay.
Colonial Period and Independence
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 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, the old administration was officially separated, creating two separate British colonies: Kiribati and Tuvalu. On 1 October 1978, Tuvalu became fully independent as a sovereign state within the Commonwealth. On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations.
Religion
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 in a canoe before landing at Nukulaelae on 10 May 1861. Elekana began preaching Christianity after arriving. In 1865, Reverend Archibald Wright Murray of the London Missionary Society arrived as the first European missionary. By 1878, Protestantism was well established, with preachers on each island.
Economy and Climate Challenges
The islands do not have a significant amount of soil, so the country relies heavily on imports and fishing for food. Important parts of the economy include licensing fishing permits to international companies, grants and aid projects, and remittances from Tuvaluan seafarers who work on cargo ships.
As a low-lying island nation, Tuvalu is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise due to climate change. The country is active in international climate negotiations as part of the Alliance of Small Island States.