Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is a Melanesian island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is located some 1,750 km (1090 mi) east of Australia, 500 km (310 mi) north-east of New Caledonia, west of Fiji and south of the Solomon Islands.
Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people. Europeans began to settle in the area in the late 18th century and in 1906 Britain and France officially claimed the country, jointly managing it through a British-French Condominium as the New Hebrides. An independence movement was established in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was created in 1980.
History of Vanuatu Info
Many of the islands of Vanuatu have been inhabited for thousands of years with the oldest archaeological evidence dating back to 1300 BC.
In 1606 a Spanish expedition led by explorers Luis Váez de Torres and Pedro Fernández de Quirós became the first from Europe to reach the islands which they believed to be part of Terra Australis. Europeans began settling the islands in the late 18th century after the British explorer James Cook visited the islands on his second voyage and gave them the name New Hebrides. In 1887 the islands came under the administration of a joint French-British naval commission. In 1906, the French and British agreed to an Anglo-French Condominium on the New Hebrides.
During World War II the islands of Efate and Espiritu Santo were used as allied military bases. In the 1960s the ni-Vanuatu people started to press for self-governance and, later, independence. Full sovereignty was finally granted by both European nations on July 30, 1980. Subsequently, Vanuatu joined the UN in 1981 and the Non-Aligned Movement in 1983. During the 1990s Vanuatu experienced political instability which eventually resulted in a more decentralised government. The Vanuatu Mobile Force, a paramilitary group, attempted a coup in 1996 because of a pay dispute. New elections have been called for several times since 1997.
Geography of Vanuatu Info
Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands, of which two Matthew and Hunter are also claimed by the French overseas department of New Caledonia. Of all the 83 islands, 14 have surface areas of more than 100 square kilometres, from largest to smallest: Espiritu Santo (3956 km²/1527 mi²), Malakula (2041 km²/788 mi²), Efate (900 km²/350 mi²), Erromango (888 km²/343 mi²), Ambrym (678 km²/262 mi²), Tanna (555 km²/214 mi²), Pentecôte (491 km²/190 mi²), Épi (445 km²/172 mi²), Ambae or Aoba (402 km²/155 mi²), Vanua Lava (334 km²/129 mi²), Santa Maria (328 km²/127 mi²), Maéwo (304 km²/117 mi²), Malo (180 km²/70 mi²) and Anatom or Aneityum (159 km²/65 mi²).
Most of the islands are mountainous and of volcanic origin, and have a tropical or sub-tropical climate. The nation's largest towns are the capital Port Vila, which is situated on Efate, and Luganville, on Espiritu Santo. The highest point in Vanuatu is Mount Tabwemasana, at 1879 m (6158 ft), on the island of Espiritu Santo. There are several active volcanoes in Vanuatu, including Lopevi as well as several underwater ones. Volcanic activity is common with an ever-present danger of a major eruption, the last of which occurred in 1945. Rainfall averages about 2,360 millimetres (94 in.) per year but can be as high as 4,000 millimetres (160 in.) in the northern islands.
Vanuatu is recognised as a distinct terrestrial ecoregion, known as the Vanuatu rain forests. Vanuatu is part of the Australasia ecozone, which also includes neighbouring New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands, as well as Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand.
Demographics of Vanuatu Info
Most of the population is rural, though Port Vila and Luganville have populations in the tens of thousands. The inhabitants of Vanuatu, or Ni-Vanuatu, are in majority (98.5%) of Melanesian descent, with the remainder made up of a mix of Europeans, Asians and other Pacific islanders. Three islands were historically colonized by Polynesians. About 2,000 Ni-Vanuatu live and work in New Caledonia. In 2006, the New Economics Foundation and Friends of the Earth environmentalist group rated Vanuatu as the most happy place to live of 178 nations all over the world using the Happy Planet Index.
There are three official languages in Vanuatu: English, French and Bislama. Bislama is a pidgin language and now a creole in urban areas which essentially combines a typically Melanesian grammar with a mostly English vocabulary. It is the only language that can be understood and spoken by the whole population of Vanuatu, generally as a second language.
In addition, about 110 indigenous languages are still actively spoken in Vanuatu. The density of languages per capita is the highest of any nation in the world, with an average of only 2000 speakers per language. All of these vernacular languages belong to the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Vanuatu, consisting of several denominations. The Presbyterian Church, adhered to by about one third of the population, is the largest of them. Roman Catholic and Anglican are other common denominations, each claiming about 15% of the population. Others are the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of Christ, Neil Thomas Ministries or "NTM", as well as many other religious sects and denominations.
Because of the modernities that soldiers in World War II brought with them when they came to the island, several cargo cults developed.
Vanuatu Culture Info
Vanuatu culture retains a strong diversity derived through local regional variations and through foreign influence. Vanuatu may be divided into three major cultural regions:
In the north of Vanuatu, wealth is established by how much one can give away (especially pigs, which are considered a symbol of wealth throughout Vanuatu).
In the centre of Vanuatu, more traditional Melanesian cultural systems dominate.
In the south of Vanuatu, a system involving grants of title with associated privileges has developed.
Young Vanuatu men undergo various coming-of-age ceremonies and rituals to initiate them into manhood, usually including circumcision. Visitors are encouraged to display modesty and politeness and to dress in a respectful manner. The music of Vanuatu, as an industry, grew rapidly in the 1990s, and several bands have forged a distinctive Vanuatuan identity.
In Port Vila and two other centres are locations of the University of the South Pacific, an educational institution co-owned by twelve Pacific countries.
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