Editing Tuvalu (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Tuvalu}}
{{see also|Timeline of the history of Tuvalu|Outline of Tuvalu}}

===Prehistory===
The [[History of the Polynesian people|origins of the people of Tuvalu]] are addressed in the theories regarding the migration into the Pacific that began about 3,000 years ago. During pre-European-contact times, there was frequent canoe voyaging between the nearer islands including Samoa and [[Tonga]].<ref name=Howe>{{cite book |last=Howe |first=Kerry |title=The Quest for Origins |year=2003 |publisher=Penguin |location=New Zealand |isbn=0-14-301857-4 |pages=68, 70}}</ref> Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited. This explains the origin of the name, Tuvalu, which means 'eight standing together' in [[Tuvaluan language|Tuvaluan]] (compare to ''*walu'' meaning 'eight' in [[Proto-Austronesian language#Numerals|Proto-Austronesian]]). Possible evidence of human-made fires in the [[Caves of Nanumanga]] suggests humans may have occupied the islands for thousands of years.

An important [[Tuvaluan mythology|creation myth in the islands of Tuvalu]] is the story of ''te Pusi mo te Ali'' (the Eel and the Flounder), who are said to have created the [[islands of Tuvalu]]. ''Te Ali'' (the [[Bothidae|flounder]]) is believed to be the origin of the flat [[atoll]]s of Tuvalu and ''te Pusi'' (the [[Moray eel|eel]]) is the model for the [[coconut]] palms that are important in the lives of Tuvaluans. The stories of the ancestors of the Tuvaluans vary from island to island. On [[Niutao]],<ref name="PAS">{{cite book |author=Sogivalu, Pulekau A. |title=A Brief History of Niutao |year=1992 |publisher=Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific |isbn=982-02-0058-X}}</ref> Funafuti and [[Vaitupu]], the founding ancestor is described as being from Samoa,<ref name="Genesis 1983">O'Brien, Talakatoa in ''Tuvalu: A History'', Chapter 1, Genesis</ref><ref name="Kennedy">{{cite journal |author=Kennedy, Donald G. |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_38_1929/Field_notes_on_the_culture_of_Vaitupu%2C_Ellice_Islands%2C_by_Donald_Gilbert_Kennedy%2C_p_1-99/p1?action=null |title=Field Notes on the Culture of Vaitupu, Ellice Islands |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |volume=38 |year=1929 |pages=2–5 |access-date=23 January 2012 |archive-date=15 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015043119/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_38_1929/Field_notes_on_the_culture_of_Vaitupu%2C_Ellice_Islands%2C_by_Donald_Gilbert_Kennedy%2C_p_1-99/p1?action=null |url-status=dead}}</ref> whereas on [[Nanumea]], the founding ancestor is described as being from [[Tonga]].<ref name="Genesis 1983"/>

===Early contacts with other cultures===
[[File:Tuvalu costume.jpg|thumb|upright|A Tuvaluan man in traditional attire drawn by [[Alfred Agate]] in 1841, during the [[United States Exploring Expedition]]<ref name=Stanton>{{cite book |last1=Stanton |first1=William |title=The Great United States Exploring Expedition |date=1975 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=0520025571 |page=[https://archive.org/details/greatunitedstate00will/page/240 240] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/greatunitedstate00will/page/240}}</ref>]]

Tuvalu was first sighted by Europeans on 16 January 1568, during the voyage of [[Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira|Álvaro de Mendaña]] from Spain, who sailed past [[Nui (atoll)|Nui]] and charted it as ''Isla de Jesús'' (Spanish for "Island of Jesus") because the previous day was the feast of the [[Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus|Holy Name]]. Mendaña made contact with the islanders but was unable to land.<ref name="Estensen2006">{{cite book |last=Estensen |first=Miriam |title=Terra Australis Incognita; The Spanish Quest for the Mysterious Great South Land |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=Australia |date=2006 |isbn=1-74175-054-7}}</ref><ref name="HEMaude59">{{cite journal |first=H.E. |last=Maude |title=Spanish Discoveries in the Central Pacific: A Study in Identification |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_68_1959/Volume_68,_No._4/Spanish_discoveries_in_the_Pacific,_by_H._E._Maude,_p_285-326/p1 |year=1959 |volume=68 |issue=4 |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |pages=284–326 |access-date=4 May 2013 |archive-date=10 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210235215/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document//Volume_68_1959/Volume_68%2C_No._4/Spanish_discoveries_in_the_Pacific%2C_by_H._E._Maude%2C_p_285-326/p1 |url-status=dead}}</ref> During Mendaña's second voyage across the Pacific, he passed [[Niulakita]] on 29 August 1595, which he named ''La Solitaria''.<ref name="HEMaude59"/><ref name="KSDDM">{{cite journal |author1=Chambers, Keith S. |author2=Munro, Doug |name-list-style=amp |title=The Mystery of Gran Cocal: European Discovery and Mis-Discovery in Tuvalu |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_89_1980/Volume_89,_No._2/The_%26apos%3Bmystery%26apos%3B_of_Gran_Cocal%3A_European_discovery_and_mis-discovery_in_Tuvalu,_by_Doug_Munro,_p_167-198/p1 |year=1980 |volume=89 |issue=2 |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |pages=167–198 |access-date=10 March 2013 |archive-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215134048/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_89_1980/Volume_89%2C_No._2/The_%26apos%3Bmystery%26apos%3B_of_Gran_Cocal%3A_European_discovery_and_mis-discovery_in_Tuvalu%2C_by_Doug_Munro%2C_p_167-198/p1 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Captain [[John Byron]] passed through the islands of Tuvalu in 1764, during his circumnavigation of the globe as captain of the {{HMS|Dolphin|1751|3}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.solarnavigator.net/circumnavigation.htm |title=Circumnavigation: Notable global maritime circumnavigations |publisher=Solarnavigator.net |access-date=20 July 2009 |archive-date=27 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527004126/http://www.solarnavigator.net/circumnavigation.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> He charted the atolls as ''Lagoon Islands''. The first recorded sighting of [[Nanumea]] by Europeans was by Spanish naval officer [[Francisco Antonio Mourelle|Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa]] who sailed past it on 5 May 1781 as captain of the frigate ''La Princesa'', when attempting a southern crossing of the Pacific from the Philippines to [[New Spain]]. He charted Nanumea as ''San Augustin''.<ref name="chambersmunro">Keith S. Chambers & Doug Munro, ''The Mystery of Gran Cocal: European Discovery and Mis-Discovery in Tuvalu'', 89(2) (1980) ''[[The Journal of the Polynesian Society]]'', 167–198</ref><ref>Laumua Kofe, Palagi and Pastors, ''Tuvalu: A History'', Ch. 15, (USP / Tuvalu government)</ref> Keith S. Chambers and Doug Munro (1980) identified [[Niutao]] as the island that Mourelle also sailed past on 5 May 1781, thus solving what Europeans had called ''The Mystery of Gran Cocal''.<ref name="KSDDM"/><ref name="Laumua Kofe 1983">Kofe, Laumua; Palagi and Pastors in ''Tuvalu: A History'', Ch. 15</ref> Mourelle's map and journal named the island ''El Gran Cocal'' ('The Great Coconut Plantation'); however, the latitude and longitude was uncertain.<ref name="Laumua Kofe 1983"/> Longitude could be reckoned only crudely at the time, as accurate [[Marine chronometer|chronometers]] did not become available until the late 18th century.

In 1809, Captain Patterson in the brig ''Elizabeth'' sighted Nanumea while passing through the northern Tuvalu waters on a trading voyage from Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia to China.<ref name="chambersmunro" />
In May 1819, Arent Schuyler de Peyster, of New York, captain of the armed [[brigantine]] or [[privateer]] ''Rebecca'', sailing under British colours,<ref name="DeP1">{{Cite web |url=http://archive.org/details/cihm_04051 |title=Military (1776–'79) transactions of Major, afterwards Colonel, 8th or King's foot, Arent Schuyler de Peyster... [microform] |first1=J. Watts (John Watts) |last1=De Peyster |first2=Arent Schuyler |last2=De Peyster |date=6 December 1800 |publisher=S.l. : s.n. |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name="DeP2">[http://corbett-family-history.com/de-peyster The De Peysters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703170833/http://corbett-family-history.com/de-peyster |date=3 July 2017 }}. corbett-family-history.com</ref> passed through the southern Tuvaluan waters. De Peyster sighted [[Nukufetau]], and Funafuti which he named Ellice's Island after an English politician, [[Edward Ellice (merchant)|Edward Ellice]], the Member of Parliament for Coventry and the owner of the ''Rebecca''{{'}}s cargo.<ref name="Laumua Kofe 1983"/><ref name="HEMaude86">{{cite journal |first=H.E. |last=Maude |title=Post-Spanish Discoveries in the Central Pacific |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_70_1961/Volume_70,_No._1/Post-Spanish_discoveries_in_the_central_Pacific,_by_H._E._Maude,_p_67-111/p1 |date=November 1986 |volume=70 |issue=1 |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |pages=67–111 |access-date=4 May 2013 |archive-date=14 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314175411/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document//Volume_70_1961/Volume_70%2C_No._1/Post-Spanish_discoveries_in_the_central_Pacific%2C_by_H._E._Maude%2C_p_67-111/p1 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="PIM1964-11">{{cite web |last= |first= |work=35(11) Pacific Islands Monthly |title=What's In A Name? Ellice Islands Commemorate Long-Forgotten Politician |date=1 June 1966 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-325281389/view?sectionId=nla.obj-333938427&partId=nla.obj-325342876#page/n84/mode/1up |access-date=2 October 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411075300/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-325281389/view?sectionId=nla.obj-333938427&partId=nla.obj-325342876#page/n84/mode/1up |url-status=live}}</ref> The name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English [[hydrographer]] [[Alexander George Findlay]].<ref>''A Directory for the Navigation of the Pacific Ocean: With Description of Its Coasts, Islands, Etc. from the Strait of Magalhaens to the Arctic Sea'' (1851)</ref>

In 1820, the Russian explorer [[Mikhail Lazarev]] visited Nukufetau as commander of the ''[[Mirny (sloop-of-war)|Mirny]]''.<ref name="Laumua Kofe 1983"/> [[Louis-Isidore Duperrey]], captain of [[French ship Astrolabe (1811)|''La Coquille'']], sailed past [[Nanumanga]] in May 1824 during a circumnavigation of the Earth (1822–1825).<ref name="DDN">{{cite journal |first1=Doug |last1=Munro |first2=Keith S. |last2=Chambers |title=Duperrey and the Discovery of Nanumaga in 1824: an episode in Pacific exploration |journal=Great Circle |volume=11 |year=1989 |pages=37–43}}</ref> A Dutch expedition by the frigate ''Maria Reigersberg''<ref name="DW">{{cite web |title=Dutch warships available but not in active service in August 1834 |date=3 December 2011 |url=http://warshipsresearch.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/dutch-warships-avaible-but-not-in.html |access-date=22 March 2016}}</ref> under captain Koerzen, and the corvette ''Pollux'' under captain C. Eeg, found [[Nui (atoll)|Nui]] on the morning of 14 June 1825 and named the main island ([[Fenua Tapu (isle)|Fenua Tapu]]) as ''Nederlandsch Eiland''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/aanteekeningeng00troogoog#page/n13/mode/2up |title=Pieter Troost: ''Aanteekeningen gehouden op eene reis om de wereld: met het fregat de Maria Reigersberg en de ...'' |year=1829 |access-date=14 August 2017}}</ref>

[[Whaling|Whalers]] began roving the Pacific, although they visited Tuvalu only infrequently because of the difficulties of landing on the atolls. The American Captain George Barrett of the [[Nantucket]] whaler ''Independence II'' has been identified as the first whaler to hunt the waters around Tuvalu.<ref name="HEMaude86" /> He bartered coconuts from the people of [[Nukulaelae]] in November 1821, and also visited [[Niulakita]].<ref name="KSDDM"/> He established a shore camp on [[Sakalua]] islet of [[Nukufetau]], where coal was used to melt down the whale blubber.<ref name="TAH16">{{cite book |first1=Simati |last1=Faanin |editor-first1=Hugh |editor-last1=Laracy |title=Tuvalu: A History |year=1983 |publisher=Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific and Government of Tuvalu |page=122 |chapter=Chapter 16 – Travellers and Workers}}</ref>

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 before landing at Nukulaelae on 10 May 1861.<ref name="Laumua Kofe 1983"/><ref name="MGDM">{{cite book |author1=Goldsmith, Michael |author2=Munro, Doug |name-list-style=amp |title=The accidental missionary: tales of Elekana |year=2002 |publisher=Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury |isbn=1877175331}}</ref> Elekana began [[evangelism|preaching]] Christianity. He was trained at [[Malua]] Theological College, a [[London Missionary Society]] (LMS) school in Samoa, before beginning his work in establishing the [[Church of Tuvalu]].<ref name="Laumua Kofe 1983"/> In 1865, the Rev. Archibald Wright Murray of the LMS, a [[Protestant]] congregationalist missionary society, arrived as the first European missionary; he also evangelised among the inhabitants of Tuvalu. By 1878 Protestantism was considered well established, as there were preachers on each island.<ref name="Laumua Kofe 1983"/> In the later 19th and early 20th centuries, the ministers of what became the [[Church of Tuvalu]] (''Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu'') were predominantly Samoans,<ref name="Goldsmith">{{cite journal |author=Goldsmith, Michael |title=The Colonial and Postcolonial Roots of Ethnonationalism in Tuvalu |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |volume=121 |year=2012 |issue=2 |pages=129–150 |doi=10.15286/jps.121.2.129-150 |doi-access=free}}</ref> who influenced the development of the [[Tuvaluan language]] and the [[music of Tuvalu]].<ref name="MD">{{cite book |first=D. |last=Munro |chapter=Samoan Pastors in Tuvalu, 1865–1899 |year=1996 |publisher=Suva, Fiji, Pacific Theological College and the University of the South Pacific |pages=124–157 |title=The Covenant Makers: Islander Missionaries in the Pacific |editor=D. Munro & A. Thornley |isbn=9820201268}}</ref>

For less than a year between 1862 and 1863, Peruvian ships engaged in the so-called "[[blackbirding]]" trade, by which they recruited or impressed workers, combed the smaller islands of [[Polynesia]] from [[Easter Island]] in the eastern Pacific to Tuvalu and the southern atolls of the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati). They sought recruits to fill the extreme labour shortage in Peru.<ref>Maude, H.E. (1981) ''Slavers in Paradise'', Stanford University Press, {{ISBN|0804711062}}.</ref> On Funafuti and Nukulaelae, the resident traders facilitated the recruiting of the islanders by the "blackbirders".<ref name="Doug Munro 1987">Doug Munro, ''The Lives and Times of Resident Traders in Tuvalu: An Exercise in History from Below'', (1987) 10(2) Pacific Studies 73</ref> The Rev. Archibald Wright Murray,<ref>Murray A.W. (1876). ''Forty Years' Mission Work''. London: Nisbet</ref> the earliest European missionary in Tuvalu, reported that in 1863 about 170 people were taken from Funafuti and about 250 were taken from Nukulaelae,<ref name="Laumua Kofe 1983"/> as there were fewer than 100 of the 300 recorded in 1861 as living on Nukulaelae.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Newton, W.F. |title=The Early Population of the Ellice Islands |volume=76 |issue=2 |year=1967 |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |pages=197–204}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Bedford, Richard |author2=Macdonald, Barrie |author3=Munro, Doug |name-list-style=amp |title=Population Estimates for Kiribati and Tuvalu |year=1980 |volume=89 |issue=1 |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |page=199}}</ref>

The islands came into Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when each of the Ellice Islands was declared a [[British protectorate]] by Captain [[Herbert William Sumner Gibson|Herbert Gibson]] of {{HMS|Curacoa|1878|6}}, between 9 and 16 October 1892.<ref name="TAHNPT">{{cite book |first1=Noatia P. |last1=Teo |editor-first1=Hugh |editor-last1=Laracy |title=Tuvalu: A History |year=1983 |publisher=University of the South Pacific/Government of Tuvalu |pages=127–139 |chapter=Chapter 17, Colonial Rule}}</ref>

===Trading firms and traders===
[[File:Tuvalu - Location Map (2013) - TUV - UNOCHA.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|[[Islands of Tuvalu]]]]
Trading companies became active in Tuvalu in the mid-19th century; the trading companies engaged white ([[palagi]]) traders who lived on the islands. John (also known as Jack) O'Brien was the first European to settle in Tuvalu; he became a trader on Funafuti in the 1850s. He married Salai, the daughter of the paramount chief of Funafuti. [[George Lewis Becke|Louis Becke]], who later found success as a writer, was a trader on [[Nanumanga]] from April 1880 until the trading station was destroyed later that year in a [[cyclone]].<ref name="DAG">{{cite book |author=A. Grove Day |title=Louis Becke |year=1967 |publisher=Hill of Content |location=Melbourne |pages=30–34}}</ref> He then became a trader on [[Nukufetau]].<ref name="DAG1">{{cite book |author=A. Grove Day |title=Louis Becke |year=1967 |publisher=Hill of Content |location=Melbourne |page=35}}</ref><ref name="SON">{{cite book |first=Sally |last=O'Neill |title=Becke, George Lewis (Louis) (1855–1913) |chapter=George Lewis (Louis) Becke (1855–1913) |year=1980 |url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/becke-george-lewis-louis-5177/text8699 |publisher=Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |access-date=23 March 2013 |archive-date=11 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511212555/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/becke-george-lewis-louis-5177/text8699 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="M&D">{{cite book |author=Mitchener, James A. |title=Rascals in Paradise |year=1957 |publisher=Secker & Warburg |chapter=Louis Beck, Adventurer and Writer}}</ref>

In 1892, Captain [[Edward H. M. Davis|Edward Davis]] of {{HMS|Royalist|1883|6}} reported on trading activities and traders on each of the islands visited. Captain Davis identified the following traders in the Ellice Group: Edmund Duffy ([[Nanumea]]); [[Jack Buckland]] ([[Niutao]]); Harry Nitz ([[Vaitupu]]); Jack O'Brien (Funafuti); [[Alfred Restieaux]] and Emile Fenisot ([[Nukufetau]]); and [[Christian Martin Kleis|Martin Kleis]] ([[Nui (atoll)|Nui]]).<ref name="JRdd">{{cite book |title=The proceedings of H.M.S. "Royalist", Captain E.H.M. Davis, R.N., May–August, 1892, in the Gilbert, Ellice and Marshall Islands}}</ref><ref name="AM1909">{{cite book |last1=Mahaffy |first1=Arthur |title=Report by Mr. Arthur Mahaffy on a visit to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands |year=1910 |publisher=Great Britain, Colonial Office, High Commission for Western Pacific Islands (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office) |chapter=(CO 225/86/26804) |chapter-url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2367/ |access-date=10 June 2013 |archive-date=21 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321133610/https://www.wdl.org/en/item/2367/ |url-status=live}}</ref> During this time, the greatest number of palagi traders lived on the atolls, acting as agents for the trading companies. Some islands would have competing traders, while dryer islands might only have a single trader.<ref name="Doug Munro 1987"/>

In the 1890s, structural changes occurred in the operation of the Pacific trading companies; they moved from a practice of having traders resident on each island to instead becoming a business operation where the [[supercargo]] (the cargo manager of a trading ship) would deal directly with the islanders when a ship visited an island.<ref name="Doug Munro 1987"/> After the high point in the 1880s,<ref name="Doug Munro 1987"/> the numbers of palagi traders in Tuvalu declined; the last of them were [[Fred Whibley]] on Niutao, [[Alfred Restieaux]] on Nukufetau,<ref name="AR1">{{cite book |first=Alfred |last=Restieaux |title=Recollections of a South Seas Trader – Reminiscences of Alfred Restieaux |publisher=National Library of New Zealand, MS 7022-2}}</ref><ref name="AR2">{{cite book |first=Alfred |last=Restieaux |title=Reminiscences - Alfred Restieaux Part 2 (Pacific Islands) |publisher=National Library of New Zealand, MS-Papers-0061-079A}}</ref> and [[Christian Martin Kleis|Martin Kleis]] on Nui.<ref name="AM1909"/> By 1909 there were no more resident palagi traders representing the trading companies,<ref name="AM1909"/><ref name="Doug Munro 1987"/> although Whibley, Restieaux and Kleis<ref name="TPB12">{{cite web |title=Christian Martin Kleis |url=http://stampsoftuvalu.com/newsletter/2012-02.pdf |year=2012 |publisher=TPB 02/2012 Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau |access-date=19 November 2018 |archive-date=2 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102024506/https://stampsoftuvalu.com/newsletter/2012-02.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> remained in the islands until their deaths.

===Scientific expeditions and travellers===
[[File:Nukufetauman1831.jpg|thumb|left|A man from the [[Nukufetau]] atoll, drawn by [[Alfred Thomas Agate]] in 1841]]
The [[United States Exploring Expedition]] under [[Charles Wilkes]] visited [[Funafuti]], [[Nukufetau]], and [[Vaitupu]] in 1841.<ref>Tyler, David B. – 1968 ''The Wilkes Expedition. The First United States Exploring Expedition'' (1838–42). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society</ref> During this expedition, engraver and illustrator [[Alfred Thomas Agate]] recorded the dress and tattoo patterns of the men of Nukufetau.<ref name="smith">{{cite book |author=Wilkes, Charles |title=Ellice's and Kingsmill's Group |chapter-url=http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/usexex/ |publisher=The First United States Exploring Expedition (1838–42) [[Smithsonian Institution]] |volume=5 |chapter=2 |pages=35–75 |access-date=13 April 2011 |archive-date=20 September 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030920160451/http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/usexex/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1885 or 1886, the New Zealand photographer [[Thomas Andrew (photographer)|Thomas Andrew]] visited Funafuti<ref name="AT2">{{cite web |last=Andrew |first=Thomas |title=Washing Hole Funafuti. From the album: Views in the Pacific Islands |publisher=Collection of Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa) |year=1886 |url=http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?irn=1238498 |access-date=10 April 2014 |archive-date=11 April 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140411050242/http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?irn=1238498 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Nui (atoll)|Nui]].<ref name="AT3">{{cite web |last=Andrew |first=Thomas |title=Mission House Nui. From the album: Views in the Pacific Islands |publisher=Collection of Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa) |year=1886 |url=http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?irn=1238504 |access-date=10 April 2014 |archive-date=11 April 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140411050856/http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?irn=1238504 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AT4">{{cite web |last=Andrew |first=Thomas |title=Bread fruit tree Nui. From the album: Views in the Pacific Islands |publisher=Collection of Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa) |year=1886 |url=http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?irn=1238500 |access-date=10 April 2014 |archive-date=11 April 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140411050810/http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?irn=1238500 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1890, [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], his wife [[Fanny Van de Grift|Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson]] and her son [[Lloyd Osbourne]] sailed on the ''Janet Nicoll'', a trading steamer owned by [[Thomas Henderson (New Zealand politician)|Henderson and Macfarlane]] of Auckland, New Zealand, which operated between Sydney and Auckland and into the central Pacific.<ref name="Flude">[http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~tonyf/CSL/ ''The Circular Saw Shipping Line.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609213056/http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~tonyf/CSL/ |date=9 June 2011 }} Anthony G. Flude. 1993. (Chapter 7)</ref> The ''Janet Nicoll'' visited three of the Ellice Islands;<ref>''Janet Nicoll'' is the correct spelling of the trading steamer owned by Henderson and Macfarlane of Auckland, New Zealand, which operated between Sydney, Auckland and into the central Pacific. [[Fanny Van de Grift|Fanny Vandegrift Stevenson]] misnames the ship as the ''Janet Nicol'' in her account of the 1890 voyage</ref> while Fanny records that they made landfall at Funafuti, Niutao and [[Nanumea]], Jane Resture suggests that it was more likely they landed at Nukufetau rather than Funafuti,<ref name=RSL>{{cite web |title=The Tuvalu Visit of Robert Louis Stevenson |url=http://www.janeresture.com/index.htm |publisher=Jane Resture’s Oceania |access-date=20 December 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051215064230/http://www.janeresture.com/index.htm |archive-date=15 December 2005}}</ref> as Fanny describes meeting [[Alfred Restieaux]] and his wife Litia; however, they had been living on Nukufetau since the 1880s.<ref name="AR1"/><ref name="AR2"/> An account of this voyage was written by Fanny Stevenson and published under the title ''The Cruise of the Janet Nichol'',<ref>Stevenson, Fanny Van de Grift (1914) [https://archive.org/details/cruisejanetnich01stevgoog ''The Cruise of the Janet Nichol among the South Sea Islands''], republished in 2003, Roslyn Jolly (ed.), U. of Washington Press/U. of New South Wales Press, {{ISBN|0868406066}}</ref> together with photographs taken by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne.

In 1894, Count Rudolf [[Festetics family|Festetics]] de Tolna, his wife Eila (''née'' Haggin) and her daughter Blanche Haggin visited Funafuti aboard the yacht ''Le Tolna''.<ref>Festetics De Tolna, Comte Rodolphe (1903) ''Chez les cannibales: huit ans de croisière dans l'océan Pacifique à bord du'', Paris: Plon-Nourrit</ref> The Count spent several days photographing men and women on Funafuti.<ref name="QBFR">{{cite book |title="The Aristocrat and His Cannibals" Count Festetics von Tolna's travels in Oceania, 1893–1896 |publisher=musée du quai Branly |date=2007}}</ref><ref name="NMK">{{cite web |title=Néprajzi Múzeum Könyvtára |url=http://www.neprajz.hu/ |publisher=The library of the Ethnographic Museum of Hungary |access-date=20 September 2011 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721111935/http://www.neprajz.hu/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:H-C-Fassett-Ellice-Is-1900.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=1900, Woman on Funafuti, Tuvalu, then known as Ellice Islands|Woman on Funafuti (1900)<br />Photograph by [[Harry Clifford Fassett]]]]
The boreholes on Funafuti, at the site now called ''Darwin's Drill'',<ref name="PDN">{{cite book |last1=Lal |first1=Andrick |title=South Pacific Sea Level & Climate Monitoring Project – Funafuti atoll |url=http://www.pacificdisaster.net/oip/FinalReport/Annex/3_Survey%20LDP/Survey_Diagrams_JPACE-TV.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203011855/http://www.pacificdisaster.net/oip/FinalReport/Annex/3_Survey%20LDP/Survey_Diagrams_JPACE-TV.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 February 2014 |publisher=SPC Applied Geoscience and Technology Division (SOPAC Division of SPC) |pages=35 & 40}}</ref> are the result of drilling conducted by the [[Royal Society of London]] for the purpose of investigating the [[formation of coral reefs]] to determine whether traces of shallow water organisms could be found at depth in the [[coral]] of Pacific atolls. This investigation followed the work on ''[[The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs]]'' conducted by [[Charles Darwin]] in the Pacific. Drilling occurred in 1896, 1897 and 1898.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17092086 |title=TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=11 September 1934 |access-date=20 June 2012 |page=6 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Professor [[Edgeworth David]] of the [[University of Sydney]] was a member of the 1896 "Funafuti Coral Reef Boring Expedition of the Royal Society", under [[William Johnson Sollas|Professor William Sollas]] and led the expedition in 1897.<ref>David, Mrs Edgeworth, ''Funafuti or Three Months on a Coral Atoll: an unscientific account of a scientific expedition'', London: John Murray, 1899</ref> Photographers on these trips recorded people, communities, and scenes at Funafuti.<ref name="USydL">{{cite web |title=Photography Collection |url=https://sydney.edu.au/museums/collections/historic-photographs.shtml |publisher=University of Sydney Library |access-date=20 September 2011 |archive-date=15 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190615011130/http://sydney.edu.au/museums/collections/historic-photographs.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Charles Hedley]], a naturalist at the [[Australian Museum]], accompanied the 1896 expedition, and during his stay on Funafuti he collected [[invertebrate]] and [[ethnological]] objects. The descriptions of these were published in ''Memoir III of the Australian Museum Sydney'' between 1896 and 1900. Hedley also wrote the ''General Account of the Atoll of Funafuti'', ''The Ethnology of Funafuti'',<ref name="CH2">{{cite journal |last1=Hedley |first1=Charles |title=The ethnology of Funafuti |url=http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Journals/16696/497_complete.pdf |year=1897 |journal=Australian Museum Memoir |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=227–304 |doi=10.3853/j.0067-1967.3.1897.497 |access-date=28 September 2013 |archive-date=28 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128033925/http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Journals/16696/497_complete.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> and ''The Mollusca of Funafuti''.<ref>Fairfax, Denis (1983) [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090259b.htm "Hedley, Charles (1862–1926)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524131624/http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090259b.htm |date=24 May 2011 }}, pp. 252–253 in ''[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]'', Volume 9, Melbourne University Press. Retrieved 5 May 2013</ref><ref name="Serle">{{Dictionary of Australian Biography |First=Charles |Last=Hedley |shortlink=0-dict-biogHa-He.html#hedley1 |access-date=5 May 2013}}</ref> [[Edgar Ravenswood Waite|Edgar Waite]] was also part of the 1896 expedition and published ''The mammals, reptiles, and fishes of Funafuti''.<ref name="ERW">{{cite journal |last1=Waite |first1=Edgar R. |title=The mammals, reptiles, and fishes of Funafuti |url=http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Journals/16695/494_complete.pdf |year=1897 |journal=Australian Museum Memoir |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=165–202 |doi=10.3853/j.0067-1967.3.1897.494 |access-date=28 September 2013 |archive-date=9 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909015549/http://australianmuseum.net.au/uploads/journals/16695/494_complete.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[William Joseph Rainbow|William Rainbow]] described the spiders and insects collected at Funafuti in ''The insect fauna of Funafuti''.<ref name="WJR">{{cite journal |last1=Rainbow |first1=William J. |title=The insect fauna of Funafuti |url=http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Journals/16690/490_complete.pdf |year=1897 |journal=Australian Museum Memoir |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=89–104 |doi=10.3853/j.0067-1967.3.1897.490 |access-date=28 September 2013 |archive-date=9 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909015505/http://australianmuseum.net.au/uploads/journals/16690/490_complete.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Harry Clifford Fassett]], captain's clerk and photographer, recorded people, communities and scenes at Funafuti in 1900 during a visit of [[USS Albatross (1882)|USFC ''Albatross'']] when the [[United States Fish Commission]] was investigating the formation of coral reefs on Pacific atolls.<ref name="NARA">{{cite web |title=National Archives & Records Administration |url=https://www.archives.gov/ |publisher=Records of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. |access-date=20 September 2011 |archive-date=25 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070725204231/http://www.archives.gov/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Colonial administration===
{{main|British Western Pacific Territories|Gilbert and Ellice Islands|Governor of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands}}
[[File:1939 & 1956 stamps of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.jpg|thumb|Stamps of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands with portraits of King [[George VI]] and Queen [[Elizabeth II]]]]
The Ellice Islands were administered as a [[British protectorates|British Protectorate]] from 1892 to 1916, as part of the [[British Western Pacific Territories]] (BWPT), by a [[Resident Commissioner]] based in the Gilbert Islands. The administration of the BWPT ended in 1916, and the [[Gilbert and Ellice Islands]] Colony was established, which existed until October 1975.

===Second World War===
During the [[Pacific War|Second World War]], as a [[Crown colony|British colony]] the Ellice Islands were aligned with the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] of the war. Early in the war, the [[Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands|Japanese invaded and occupied]] [[Butaritari|Makin]], [[Tarawa]] and other islands in what is now [[Kiribati]]. The [[United States Marine Corps]] landed on Funafuti on 2 October 1942,<ref name="pacificwrecks1">{{cite web |title=Tuvalu (Ellice Islands) |url=http://www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/tuvalu.html |access-date=1 June 2012 |archive-date=6 March 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020306212834/http://www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/tuvalu.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and on Nanumea and Nukufetau in August 1943. Funafuti was used as a base to prepare for the subsequent seaborne attacks on the Gilbert Islands ([[Kiribati]]) that were occupied by Japanese forces.<ref name="PMcQ">{{cite book |last1=McQuarrie |first1=Peter |title=Strategic atolls: Tuvalu and the Second World War |year=1994 |publisher=Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury/ Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific |isbn=0958330050}}</ref>

The islanders assisted the American forces to build airfields on Funafuti, Nanumea and Nukufetau and to unload supplies from ships.<ref name="LNKFK2">{{cite book |last1=Lifuka |first1=Neli |editor-last1=Koch |editor-first1=Klaus-Friedrich |title=Logs in the current of the sea: Neli Lifuka's story of Kioa and the Vaitupu colonists |year=1978 |publisher=Australian National University Press/Press of the Langdon Associates |isbn=0708103626 |chapter=War Years in Funafuti |chapter-url=http://307bg.net/memoirs/WWII_in_Tuvalu.pdf |access-date=27 April 2015 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807033725/https://www.307bg.net/memoirs/WWII_in_Tuvalu.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> On Funafuti, the islanders shifted to the smaller islets so as to allow the American forces to build the airfield and [[Naval Base Funafuti]] on [[Fongafale]].<ref name="TAHMT">{{cite book |first1=Melei |last1=Telavi |editor-first1=Hugh |editor-last1=Laracy |title=Tuvalu: A History |year=1983 |publisher=University of the South Pacific/Government of Tuvalu |pages=140–144 |chapter=Chapter 18, War}}</ref> A Naval Construction Battalion ([[Seabees]]) built a seaplane ramp on the lagoon side of Fongafale islet, for seaplane operations by both short- and long-range seaplanes, and a compacted coral runway was also constructed on Fongafale,<ref name="pacificwrecks2">{{cite web |title=Tuvalu (Ellice Islands) Airfields & Seaplane Anchorages |url=http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/tuvalu/index.html |access-date=1 June 2012 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730060314/https://pacificwrecks.com/airfields/tuvalu/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> with runways also constructed to create [[Nanumea Airfield]]<ref name="pacificwrecks3">{{cite web |title=Nanumea Airfield |url=http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/tuvalu/nanumea/index.html |access-date=1 June 2012 |archive-date=16 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316060851/http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/tuvalu/nanumea/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Nukufetau Airfield]].<ref name="pacificwrecks4">{{cite web |title=Motulalo Airfield (Nukufetau Airfield) |url=http://www.pacificwrecks.com/airfields/tuvalu/motulalo/index.html |access-date=1 June 2012 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730060003/https://pacificwrecks.com/airfields/tuvalu/motulalo/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> USN [[PT Boat|Patrol Torpedo Boats]] (PTs) and [[seaplane]]s were based at [[Naval Base Funafuti]] from 2 November 1942 to 11 May 1944.<ref name="HLB">{{cite book |last1=Barbin |first1=Harold L. |title=Beachheads Secured Volume II, The History of Patrol Torpedo (PT) Boats, Their Bases, and Tenders of World War II, June 1939 – 31 August 1945 |year=2010 |pages=549–550}}</ref>

The atolls of Tuvalu acted as staging posts during the preparation for the [[Battle of Tarawa]] and the [[Battle of Makin]] that commenced on 20 November 1943, which were part of the implementation of "Operation Galvanic".<ref>{{cite web |title=Battle of Tarawa |url=http://www.worldwar2facts.org/battle-of-tarawa.html |work=World War 2 Facts |access-date=3 February 2014 |archive-date=10 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610035946/http://www.worldwar2facts.org/battle-of-tarawa.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="galvanic">{{cite web |title=To the Central Pacific and Tarawa, August 1943—Background to GALVANIC (Ch 16, p. 622) |year=1969 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ACTC/actc-16.html |access-date=3 September 2010 |archive-date=9 June 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010609031616/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ACTC/actc-16.html |url-status=live}}</ref> After the war, the military airfield on Funafuti was developed into [[Funafuti International Airport]].

===Post-World War II – transition to independence===
The formation of the United Nations after World War II resulted in the [[United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization]] committing to a process of decolonisation; as a consequence, the British colonies in the Pacific started on a path to [[self-determination]].<ref name="TAHES">{{cite book |first1=Enele |last1=Sapoaga |editor-first1=Hugh |editor-last1=Laracy |title=Tuvalu: A History |year=1983 |publisher=University of the South Pacific/Government of Tuvalu |pages=146–152 |chapter=Chapter 19, Post-War Development}}</ref><ref name="MG2">{{cite journal |last1=Goldsmith |first1=Michael |title=The Colonial and Postcolonial Roots of Ethnonationalism in Tuvalu |jstor=41705922 |year=2012 |journal=The Journal of the Polynesian Society |volume=121 |issue=2 |pages=129–150 |doi=10.15286/jps.121.2.129-150 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 1974, the ministerial government was introduced to the [[Gilbert and Ellice Islands]] Colony through a change to the Constitution. In that year a general election was held,<ref name="E1974">{{cite book |title=General election, 1974: report / Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony |year=1974 |publisher=Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. Tarawa: Central Government Office}}</ref> and a [[1974 Ellice Islands self-determination referendum|referendum was held in 1974]] to determine whether the Gilbert Islands and Ellice Islands should each have their own administration.<ref name=N>Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p831 {{ISBN|0-19-924959-8}}</ref> As a consequence of the referendum, separation occurred in two stages. The Tuvaluan Order 1975, which took effect on 1 October 1975, recognised Tuvalu as a separate [[Crown Colony]] with its own government.<ref name="PIM175-5">{{cite web |last= |first= |work=46(5) Pacific Islands Monthly |title=Ellice goes it alone on October 1 |date=1 May 1975 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-334718231/view?sectionId=nla.obj-338653913&partId=nla.obj-334743035#page/n88/mode/1up |access-date=2 October 2021 |archive-date=2 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002100604/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-334718231/view?sectionId=nla.obj-338653913&partId=nla.obj-334743035#page/n88/mode/1up |url-status=live}}</ref> The second stage occurred on 1 January 1976, when separate administrations were created out of the civil service of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.<ref name="TAHTito">{{cite book |first1=Tito |last1=Isala |editor-first1=Hugh |editor-last1=Laracy |title=Tuvalu: A History |year=1983 |publisher=University of the South Pacific/Government of Tuvalu |chapter=Chapter 20, Secession and Independence}}</ref>{{rp|169}}<ref name="TPBN">{{cite journal |first=W. David |last=McIntyre |title=The Partition of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands |url=http://www.islandstudies.ca/sites/islandstudies.ca/files/ISJ-7-1-2012-McIntyre.pdf |year=2012 |volume=7 |issue=1 |journal=Island Studies Journal |pages=135–146 |doi=10.24043/isj.266 |s2cid=130336446 |access-date=16 December 2012 |archive-date=2 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202095641/https://www.islandstudies.ca/sites/islandstudies.ca/files/ISJ-7-1-2012-McIntyre.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1976, Tuvalu adopted the [[Tuvaluan dollar]], whose currency circulates alongside the [[Australian dollar]],<ref name="DP">{{cite journal |author=Bowman, Chakriya |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/156690629.pdf |title=Pacific island countries and dollarisation |journal=Pacific Economic Bulletin |volume=19 |year=2004 |issue=3 |pages=115–132 |access-date=21 March 2024 |archive-date=31 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331023006/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/156690629.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=ECR>{{cite web |first= |last= |title=Exchange Control Regulations - 2008 Revised Edition CAP. 38.15.1 |work=Government of Tuvalu |date=2008 |url=http://tuvalu.tradeportal.org/media//ExchangeControlRegulations_1.pdf |access-date=2 March 2024 |archive-date=1 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301234136/http://tuvalu.tradeportal.org/media//ExchangeControlRegulations_1.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> which was previously adopted in 1966.

Elections to the House of Assembly of the British Colony of Tuvalu were held on 27 August 1977, with [[Toaripi Lauti]] being appointed chief minister in the House of Assembly of the Colony of Tuvalu on 1 October 1977. The House of Assembly was dissolved in July 1978, with the government of Toaripi Lauti continuing as a [[caretaker government]] until the 1981 elections were held.<ref name="IPU81">{{cite web |work=Inter-Parliamentary Union |title=Palamene o Tuvalu (Parliament of Tuvalu) |year=1981 |url=http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/TUVALU_1981_E.PDF |access-date=7 March 2013 |archive-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825142051/http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/TUVALU_1981_E.PDF |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Independence===
[[Toaripi Lauti]] became the first [[Prime Minister of Tuvalu|prime minister]] on 1 October 1978, when Tuvalu became an independent state.<ref name="TAHES"/><ref name="TAHTito"/>{{rp|153–177}} That date is also celebrated as the country's [[List of national independence days|Independence Day]] and is a public holiday.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2023 |title=Tuvalu Independence Day |url=https://nationaltoday.com/tuvalu-independence-day/#:~:text=Tuvalu%20Independence%20Day%20is%20remembered,Polynesian%20region%20of%20the%20oceans |access-date=6 August 2023 |website=Nationaltoday.com |archive-date=5 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805230222/https://nationaltoday.com/tuvalu-independence-day/#:~:text=Tuvalu%20Independence%20Day%20is%20remembered,Polynesian%20region%20of%20the%20oceans |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 26 October 1982, [[Queen Elizabeth II]] made a special royal tour to Tuvalu.

On 5 September 2000, Tuvalu became the [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1290|189th member of the United Nations]].<ref>{{cite news |title=BBC News {{!}} ASIA-PACIFIC {{!}} Tiny Tuvalu joins UN |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/913240.stm |work=news.bbc.co.uk |access-date=8 February 2022 |archive-date=8 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208122129/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/913240.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 15 November 2022, amidst sea level rises, Tuvalu announced plans as the first country in the world to build a self-digital replica in the [[metaverse]] in order to preserve its cultural heritage.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacificbeat/tuvalua-metaverse-climat-change/101658730 |title=Tuvalu to create a digital replica of country as it faces impacts of climate change |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=16 November 2022 |first=Prianka |last=Srinivasan |access-date=27 December 2022 |archive-date=27 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227055709/https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacificbeat/tuvalua-metaverse-climat-change/101658730 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 10 November 2023, Tuvalu signed the [[Australia–Tuvalu relations#Australia–Tuvalu Falepili Union|Falepili Union]] treaty with Australia.<ref name="FalepiliTreaty1">{{cite web |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/tuvalu/australia-tuvalu-falepili-union-treaty |title=Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty |publisher=Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |access-date=12 November 2023 |archive-date=12 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112015202/https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/tuvalu/australia-tuvalu-falepili-union-treaty |url-status=live}}</ref> In the Tuvaluan language, ''Falepili'' describes the traditional values of good neighbourliness, care and mutual respect.<ref name="AUTFU1">{{cite web |last= |first= |title=Joint Statement on the Falepili Union between Tuvalu and Australia |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |page= |date=10 November 2023 |url=https://www.pm.gov.au/media/joint-statement-falepili-union-between-tuvalu-and-australia |access-date=13 November 2023 |archive-date=13 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113013709/https://www.pm.gov.au/media/joint-statement-falepili-union-between-tuvalu-and-australia |url-status=live}}</ref> The Treaty addresses climate change and security,<ref name="AUTFU1"/> with security threats encompassing major natural disasters, health pandemics and traditional security threats.<ref name="AUTFU1"/> The implementation of the Treaty will involve Australia increasing its contribution to the [[Tuvalu Trust Fund]] and the [[Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project]].<ref name="AUTFU1"/> Australia will also provide a pathway for 280 citizens of Tuvalu to migrate to Australia each year, to enable [[Climate migration|climate-related mobility]] for Tuvaluans.<ref name="AUTFU1"/><ref name=AustraliaTuvaluResidency>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/10/australia-to-offer-residency-to-tuvalu-residents-displaced-by-climate-change |title=Australia to offer residency to Tuvalu citizens displaced by climate change |publisher=The Guardian Australia |author=Daniel Hurst and Josh Butler |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=10 November 2023 |access-date=12 November 2023 |archive-date=14 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114152349/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/10/australia-to-offer-residency-to-tuvalu-residents-displaced-by-climate-change |url-status=live}}</ref>