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| Republic of Vanuatu Ripablik blong Vanuatu République de Vanuatu | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
.svg) | |
| Capital and largest city | Port Vila |
| Demonym(s) | Ni-Vanuatu |
| Dominant mode of production | Capitalism |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic under a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie |
• President | Nikenike Vurobaravu |
• Prime Minister | Jotham Napat |
| Area | |
• Total | 12,189 km² |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 335,908 |
| Currency | Vatu (VUV) |
| Calling code | +678 |
| ISO 3166 code | VU |
| Internet TLD | .vu |
Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is a country located in the Melanesia region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. The archipelego is situated northeast of New Caledonia, east of Papua New Guinea, southeast of the Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.
History[edit | edit source]
Vanuatu was first settled by Melanesian peoples around 3000 years ago. The islands were first discoverd by Europeans in 1606 with the arrival of Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandez de Quiros who named them Terra Austrialis del Espiritu Santo. Europeans would return in 1768 with French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville naming the islands Les Grandes Cyclades. Then in 1774 British explorer James Cook charted the islands and named them the New Hebrides.[1]
Throughout the 19th and 20th century much of the indigenous population would be kidnapped from the islands via blackbirding for slave labour in European colonies. In 1906 formal colonial rule was established in Vanuatu under joint Anglo-Franco rule. The New Hebrides achieved independence from colonial rule in 1980 and took the name Vanuatu.[1]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Vanuatu country profile" (2023-10-27). BBC. Archived from the original on 2026-03-03.