TUVALU, FLAG OF

national flag consisting of a light blue field (background) with nine yellow stars in the fly half and, in the canton, the Union Jack. The width-to-length ratio of the flag is 1 to 2. The British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands was divided in 1975 because the Melanesians dominating the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati) and the Polynesians on the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu) preferred to have separate states. The new Tuvalu government was granted a coat of arms by British authorities on December 3, 1976. This was used on the Union Jack as a state flag and on the British Blue Ensign as a state ensign. On the third anniversary of separation from the GilbertsOctober 1, 1978Tuvalu became independent under a new national flag. Designed by Vione Natano, the flag was similar to that of nearby Fiji. The light blue background contained nine yellow stars representing the atolls and islands of the country. The Union Jack canton was symbolic of Tuvalu's links with Britain and other Commonwealth members. Flag of Tuvalu (199597). In 1995 advocates of a republican form of government were successful in introducing a new national flag from which the Union Jack was omitted. Hoisted on October 1, 1995, it had eight white stars spread across horizontal red-white-blue-white-red stripes. The national coat of arms appeared on a white triangle near the hoist. Those opposed to a republic were successful in forcing a reversion to the original independence flag on April 11, 1997. They were supported by many who felt that the change in the flag had been disrespectful toward Queen Elizabeth II. Whitney Smith History The first settlers were from Samoa and probably arrived in the 14th century AD. Smaller numbers subsequently arrived from Tonga, the northern Cook Islands, Rotuma, and the Gilbert Islands. Niulakita, the smallest and southernmost island, was uninhabited before European contact; the other islands were settled by the 18th century, giving rise to the name Tuvalu, or Cluster of Eight. Europeans first discovered the islands in the 16th century through the voyages of lvaro de Mendaa de Neira, but it was only from the 1820s, with visits by whalers and traders, that they were reliably placed on European charts. In 1863 labour recruiters from Peru kidnapped some 400 people, mostly from Nukulaelae and Funafuti, reducing the population of the group to less than 2,500. A few were later recruited for plantations in Queensland, Australia, as well as in Fiji, Samoa, and Hawaii. Concern over labour recruiting and a desire for protection helps to explain the enthusiastic response to Samoan pastors of the London Missionary Society who arrived in the 1860s. By 1900, Protestant Christianity was firmly established. With imperial expansion the group, then known as the Ellice Islands, became a British protectorate in 1892 and part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony in 1916. There was a gradual expansion of government services, but most administration was through island governments supervised by a single district officer based in Funafuti. Ellice Islanders sought education and employment at the colonial capital in the Gilbert group or in the phosphate industry at Banaba or Nauru. During World War II, U.S. forces were based on Nanumea, Nukufetau, and Funafuti, but hostilities did not reach the group. From the 1960s, racial tension and rivalries over employment emerged between Gilbertese and Ellice Islanders. Ellice Islanders' demands for secession resulted in a referendum in 1974, transition to separate colonial status between October 1975 and January 1976, and independence as Tuvalu in 1978. After independence the main priorities were to establish the infrastructure for a separate, if small, nation, and to seek foreign assistance to match political independence with economic viability. Barrie K. Macdonald