History of Vanuatu

The history of Vanuatu spans its settlement by Pacific peoples, the development of Indigenous societies, European contact, joint British-French colonial rule, and independence in 1980.

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Lapita culture: A prehistoric Pacific culture known for distinctive dentate-stamped pottery and long-distance settlement. Lapita communities established some of the earliest known settlements in Vanuatu.
Anglo-French Condominium: The joint British and French colonial administration of the New Hebrides from 1906 to 1980. Its parallel administrations made colonial governance unusually fragmented.
Walter Lini: A Vanuatu Anglican priest and politician who became the country’s first prime minister. Lini led the government that guided Vanuatu through independence.
Vanuatu Independence: The establishment of Vanuatu as an independent state on 30 July 1980. It ended the Anglo-French Condominium and completed the independence movement’s central aim.
Santo Rebellion: A 1980 uprising on Espiritu Santo against the independence government, led by Jimmy Stevens and Nagriamel. It opposed the central government’s independence settlement and challenged national unity.
Austronesian expansion: The prehistoric spread of Austronesian-speaking peoples across Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This migration brought ancestral communities and languages into the archipelago.
New Hebrides: The colonial-era name for the archipelago now known as Vanuatu. Colonial records and political movements used this name before independence.
Vanua'aku Pati: A political party that led the movement for independence in the New Hebrides. Its electoral victories made it the central force in the independence transition.
Coconut War: The 1980 rebellion on Espiritu Santo led by Jimmy Stevens and Nagriamel supporters. It exposed tensions over independence, land, and the authority of the new state.
Secession: The withdrawal of a territory from an existing political state to form or join another. Santo’s rebellion raised the possibility of separating from the emerging state.