Editing Tuvalu (section)

===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>