Wallis and Futuna
Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands, is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast, Samoa to the east, and Tokelau to the northeast.
Mata Utu is its capital and largest city. Wallis and Futuna is associated with the European Union as an overseas country and territory. The territory's land area is. It had a population of 11,151 at the July 2023 census. The territory is made up of three main volcanic tropical islands and a number of tiny islets. It is divided into two island groups that lie about apart: the Wallis Islands in the northeast; and the Hoorn Islands in the southwest, including Futuna Island proper and the mostly uninhabited Alofi Island.
Since 28 March 2003, Wallis and Futuna has been a French overseas collectivity. Between 1961 and 2003, it had the status of a French overseas territory. Its official name did not change with the change in its status.
History
Early humans
The earliest signs of human habitation on these islands are artifacts characteristic of the Lapita culture, dating roughly to between 850 and 800 BCE. The islands served as natural stopover points for boat traffic, mostly between Fiji and Samoa. During Tongan invasions in the 15th and 16th centuries, the islands defended themselves with varying levels of resistance, but also accepted varying degrees of assimilation. Futuna retained more of its pre-Tongan cultural features, while Wallis underwent greater fundamental changes in its society, language, and culture. The original inhabitants built forts and other identifiable structures on the islands, some of which are still partially intact. Oral history and archaeological evidence suggests that the Tongan invaders re-occupied and modified some of these structures. The oral history also preserves a cultural memory of relationships between Samoa and Futuna that are so longstanding that they are described in the islanders' origin stories.European settlements
Futuna was first put on European maps by Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire, during their circumnavigation of the globe, in 1616. They named the islands of Futuna "Hoornse Eylanden", after the Dutch town of Hoorn where they hailed from. This was later translated into French, as "Isles de Horne". The Wallis Islands are named after the British explorer Samuel Wallis, who sailed past them in 1767, after being the first European to visit Tahiti. The French were the first Europeans to settle in the territory, with the arrival of French missionaries in 1837, who converted the population to Roman Catholicism. Pierre Chanel, canonized in 1954, is a major patron saint of the island of Futuna and of the region.On 5 April 1842, the missionaries asked for the protection of France, after the uprising of part of the local population. On 5 April 1887, the queen of Uvea signed a treaty, officially establishing a French protectorate. The kings of Sigave and Alo also signed a treaty establishing a French protectorate, on 16 February 1888. From that moment, the islands were officially under the authority of the French colony of New Caledonia.
In 1917, the three traditional kingdoms of Uvea, Sigave, and Alo were annexed by France, integrated into the colony of Wallis and Futuna, and remained under the authority of the colony of New Caledonia.
French protectorate and World War II
A few merchants and shipwreck survivors settled in Wallis and Futuna, but European presence only became significant in the 19th century with the arrival of Catholic missionaries in 1837. The two islands were converted to Catholicism by the Marist fathers Pierre Chanel in Futuna and Pierre Bataillon in Wallis. Futuna experienced several conflicts between its two kingdoms, each wanting to dominate the other. This led to the Vai War, which caused around sixty deaths in total. In the 21st century, the population is predominantly Catholic.Queen Amelia Tokagahahau of Wallis signed a protectorate treaty, ratified by France on 5 April 1887. A year later, the kings of Futuna—Anise Tamole of Sigave and Setefano Tuikalepa of Alo—also requested attachment to France. The kings of Futuna and Wallis retained full customary authority over their subjects. There was no true colonization in Wallis and Futuna, as the authority of the French resident was limited to external affairs. This situation continued in Futuna until 1961, as the administration only established itself on the island in 1959. The inhabitants continued to live as they had before. In 1913, a proposal for annexation by France was presented by Resident Brochard, but it did not succeed. In 1922, annexation was considered too costly by France and was abandoned.
The Second World War brought significant upheaval to Wallis. The island was first isolated for 17 months due to the loyalty of Bishop Alexandre Poncet and Resident Léon Vrignaud to the Vichy regime. To counter the Japanese Empire during the Pacific War, the Free French and then the Americans landed at Wallis at the end of May 1942. Units of the US Marine Corps later landed on Wallis, on 29 May 1942. The U.S. Army built a base and constructed numerous infrastructures. This introduction of consumer society and contact with Western lifestyles weakened customary, religious, and administrative authorities. Futuna, however, was not occupied by the Americans.
After the departure of the GIs in 1944, returning to subsistence agriculture was difficult, and Wallis went through an economic and social crisis. This period also marked the beginning of migration toward the New Hebrides and New Caledonia, where a large Wallisian and Futunian community eventually settled.
Overseas territory
In 1959, the inhabitants of the islands voted to become a separate French overseas territory, effective since 29 July 1961, thus ending their subordination to New Caledonia.In 2005, the 50th king of Uvea, Tomasi Kulimoetoke II, faced being deposed after giving sanctuary to his grandson who was convicted of manslaughter. The king claimed his grandson should be judged by tribal law rather than by the French penal system. As a result, there were riots in the streets involving the king's supporters, who were victorious over attempts to replace the king. Two years later, Tomasi Kulimoetoke died on 7 May 2007. There was a six-month period of mourning, during which mentioning a successor was forbidden. On 25 July 2008, Kapeliele Faupala was installed as king despite protests from some of the royal clans. He was deposed in 2014. A new king, Patalione Kanimoa, was eventually installed in Uvea in 2016; Lino Leleivai in Alo on Futuna succeeded after Filipo Katoa abdicated, and Eufenio Takala succeeded Polikalepo Kolivai in Sigave. The French president at the time, François Hollande, attended the installation ceremony.
Governance and law
The territory is divided into three traditional kingdoms : Uvea, on the island of Wallis, Sigave, on the western part of the island of Futuna, and Alo, on the eastern part of the island of Futuna and on the uninhabited island of Alofi :The capital of the collectivity is Mata Utu on the island of Uvéa, the most populous of the Wallis Islands. As an overseas collectivity of France, it is governed under the French constitution of 28 September 1958, and has universal suffrage for those over 18 years of age. The French president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; the high administrator is appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior and heads the Territory Government; the president of the Territorial Assembly is elected by the members of the assembly. The most recent election was held on 20 March 2022.
As of 2023, the head of state is President Emmanuel Macron of France, as represented by Administrator-Superior Hervé Jonathan. The president of the Territorial Assembly has been Munipoese Muliʻakaʻaka since March 2022. The Council of the Territory consists of three kings and three members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the Territorial Assembly.
The legislative branch consists of the unicameral 20-member Territorial Assembly or Assemblée territoriale. Its members are elected by popular vote, and serve five-year terms. Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the French Senate and one deputy to the French National Assembly.
Criminal justice is generally governed by French law and administered by a tribunal of first resort in Mata Utu; appeals from that tribunal are decided by the Court of Appeal in Nouméa, New Caledonia. However, in non-criminal cases, the three traditional kingdoms administer justice according to customary law.
The territory participates in the Franc Zone, and is both a permanent member of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and an observer at the Pacific Islands Forum.
Geography and climate
Wallis and Futuna is located at, west of Samoa and northeast of Fiji — about one-third of the way northeast from New Zealand towards Hawaii.The territory includes the island of Uvéa, which is the most populous; the island of Futuna; the virtually uninhabited island of Alofi; and 20 uninhabited islets. The total area of the territory is, with of coastline. The highest point in the territory is Mont Puke, on the island of Futuna, at.
The islands have a hot, rainy season from November to April, when tropical cyclones passing over them cause storms. Then they have a cool, dry season from May to October, caused by the southeast trade winds that predominate during those months. The average annual rainfall is between, and rain is likely on at least 260 days per year. The average humidity is 80%. The average annual temperature is, rarely falling below ; during the rainy season, it ranges between.
Only 5% of the islands' land area consists of arable land; permanent crops cover another 20%. Deforestation is a serious problem: Only small portions of the original forests remain, largely because the inhabitants use wood as their main fuel source, and, as a result, the mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly susceptible to erosion. The island of Alofi lacks natural freshwater resources, so it has no permanent settlements.
Volcanic activity during the mid-Pleistocene created numerous volcanic crater lakes on Uvea. The names of some of them are: Lalolalo, Lano, Lanutavake, Lanutuli, Lanumaha, Kikila, and Alofivai.
Wallis and Futuna is part of the Fiji tropical moist forests terrestrial ecoregion.