Editing Flag of Tuvalu (section)

==Features==
Like many former and current [[United Kingdom|British]] dependencies, the [[Tuvalu]]an flag is a [[blue ensign]] based on the [[Union Flag]], which is shown in the canton of the flag; but has a sky blue field rather than the conventional navy blue. The previous flag ([[Gilbert and Ellice Islands|with the Gilberts]]) was also based on the Union Flag but with the coat of arms created by Sir [[Arthur Grimble]] in 1932, the resident commissioner of the British colony.

The stars represent the nine islands which compose Tuvalu; the arrangement is geographically correct, with the east towards the top (i.e. north to the left).

The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesian people. The islands came within the [[British Empire]]'s sphere of influence in the late 19th century. The Ellice Islands were administered by Britain as part of a [[protectorate]] from 1892 to 1916 and as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony from 1916 to 1974. In 1974 the Ellice Islanders voted for separate British dependency status as Tuvalu, separating from the Gilbert Islands which became Kiribati upon independence. Tuvalu became a fully independent [[Commonwealth realm]] in 1978.

[[File:Flag of Tuvalu-(star interpretation).svg|thumb|250px|right|Each star in the flag represents one island in the country]]