Editing Vanuatu (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Vanuatu}}

===Prehistory===
The history of Vanuatu before European colonisation is mostly obscure because of the lack of written sources up to that point, and because only limited archaeological work has been conducted; Vanuatu's volatile geology and climate is also likely to have destroyed or hidden many prehistoric sites.<ref name="Archaeology">{{cite journal |last1=Spriggs |last2=Bedford |first1=Matthew |first2=Stuart |title=The Archaeology of Vanuatu: 3,000 Years of History across Islands of Ash and Coral |url=https://www.academia.edu/24751281 |website=Oxford Handbooks Online |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=22 August 2020 |archive-date=6 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206010724/https://www.academia.edu/24751281 |url-status=live }}</ref> Archaeological evidence gathered since the 1980s supports the theory that the Vanuatuan islands were first settled about 3,000 years ago, in the period roughly between 1100 [[Common Era|BCE]] and 700 BCE.<ref name="Archaeology"/>{{sfn|Bedford|Spriggs|2008}} These were almost certainly people of the [[Lapita culture]]. The formerly widespread idea that Vanuatu might have been only marginally affected by this culture was rendered obsolete by the evidence uncovered in recent decades at numerous sites on most of the islands in the archipelago, ranging from the [[Banks Islands]] in the north to [[Aneityum]] in the south.<ref name="Archaeology"/>

Notable Lapita sites include [[Teouma]] on [[Éfaté]], [[Uripiv]], and [[Vao Island|Vao]] off the coast of [[Malakula]], and Makue on [[Aore]]. Several ancient burial sites have been excavated, most notably Teouma on Éfaté, which has a large ancient cemetery containing the remains of 94 individuals.<ref name="Archaeology" /> There are also sites – on Éfaté and on the adjacent islands of [[Lelepa Island|Lelepa]] and [[Eretoka]] – associated with the 16th–17th century chief or chiefs called [[Roy Mata]]. (This may be a title held by different men over several generations.) Roy Mata is said to have united local clans and instituted and presided over an era of peace.<ref name="Beginning"/><ref name="Challenges">{{cite book |title=Chief Roi Mata's Domain – Challenges facing a World Heritage-nominated property in Vanuatu |publisher=ICOMOS |s2cid=55627858 }}</ref>

The stories about Roy Mata come from local oral tradition and are consistent with centuries-old evidence uncovered at archaeological sites.<ref name="Challenges"/> The Lapita sites became Vanuatu's first [[World Heritage Site|UNESCO World Heritage Site]] in 2008.<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1280/ "Chief Roi Mata's Domain"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126050727/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1280/ |date=26 November 2021 }}, UNESCO</ref><ref name="RNZI_40819">{{cite news |url=http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=40819 |title=World Heritage Status set to ensure protection of Vanuatu's Roi Mata domain |date=9 July 2008 |work=[[Radio New Zealand International]] |access-date=6 November 2011 |archive-date=7 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307214428/http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=40819 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Fels Cave Drawings 1.jpg|thumb|left|Cave drawings, [[Lelepa Island]], associated with the [[Roy Mata]] World Heritage Site]]
The immediate origins of the Lapita lie to the northwest, in the [[Solomon Islands (archipelago)|Solomon Islands archipelago]] and the [[Bismarck Archipelago]] of [[Papua New Guinea]],<ref name="Archaeology"/> though DNA studies of a 3,000-year-old skeleton found near [[Port Vila]] in 2016 indicates that some may have arrived directly from the [[Philippines]] and/or [[Taiwan]], pausing only briefly en route.<ref>{{cite web |title=Origins of Vanuatu and Tonga's first people revealed |date=4 October 2016 |url=https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/origins-of-vanuatu-and-tongas-first-people-revealed |publisher=Australian National University |access-date=22 August 2020 |archive-date=6 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206012822/https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/origins-of-vanuatu-and-tongas-first-people-revealed |url-status=live }}</ref> They brought with them crops such as [[yam (vegetable)|yam]], [[taro]], and banana, as well as domesticated animals such as pigs and chickens.<ref name="Archaeology"/> Their arrival is coincident with the extinction of several species, such as the [[Mekosuchus|land crocodile]] (''Mekosuchus kalpokasi''), [[Meiolania|land tortoise]] (''Meiolania damelipi'') and various flightless bird species.<ref name="Archaeology"/> Lapita settlements reached as far east as [[Tonga]] and [[Samoa]] at their greatest extent.<ref name="Archaeology"/>

Over time, the Lapita culture lost much of its early unity; as such, it became increasingly fragmented, the precise reasons for which are unclear. Over the centuries, pottery, settlement and burial practices in Vanuatu all evolved in a more localised direction, with long-distance trade and migration patterns contracting.<ref name="Archaeology"/> Nevertheless, some limited long-distance trade did continue, with similar cultural practices and late-period items also being found in [[Fiji]], [[New Caledonia]], the Bismarcks and the Solomons.<ref name="Archaeology"/> Finds in central and southern Vanuatu, such as distinctive adzes, also indicate some trade connections with, and possibly population movements of, Polynesian peoples to the east.<ref name="Archaeology"/><ref name="Beginning"/>

Over time, it is thought that the Lapita either mixed with, or acted as pioneers for, migrants coming from the Bismarks and elsewhere in Melanesia, ultimately producing the darker-skinned physiognomy that is typical of modern Ni-Vanuatu.<ref>{{cite web|title=Study of ancient skulls from Vanuatu cemetery sheds light on Polynesian migration, scientists say|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-29/vanuatu-skulls-shed-light-on-origin-of-polynesian-people/7058120|website=ABC Radio Canberra|date=29 December 2015|access-date=23 August 2020|archive-date=6 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206085916/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-29/vanuatu-skulls-shed-light-on-origin-of-polynesian-people/7058120|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Scientists Reveal the Genetic Timeline of Ancient Vanuatu People|url=https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-reveal-the-genetic-timeline-of-ancient-vanuatu-people/|website=SciTech Daily|date=9 March 2018|access-date=23 August 2020|archive-date=6 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206042630/https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-reveal-the-genetic-timeline-of-ancient-vanuatu-people/|url-status=live}}</ref> Linguistically, the Lapita peoples' Austronesian languages were maintained, with all of the numerous 100+ autochthonous [[languages of Vanuatu]] being classified as belonging to the [[Oceanic languages|Oceanic]] branch of the [[Austronesian language family]].<ref name=eth>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130421035933/http://www.ethnologue.com/country/VU/languages "Languages of Vanuatu"] – 2013 archive from [[Ethnologue]].</ref>

This linguistic hyperdiversity resulted from a number of factors: continuing waves of migration, the existence of numerous decentralised and generally self-sufficient communities, hostilities between people groups, with none able to dominate any of the others, and the difficult geography of Vanuatu that impeded inter- and intra-island travel and communication.<ref>{{cite web|title=The exceptional linguistic diversity of Vanuatu|url=http://www.sorosoro.org/en/2015/09/the-exceptional-linguistic-diversity-of-vanuatu/|website=Sorosoro|date=9 June 2011|access-date=23 August 2020|archive-date=6 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206042745/https://www.sorosoro.org/en/2015/09/the-exceptional-linguistic-diversity-of-vanuatu/|url-status=live}}</ref> The geological record also shows that a huge volcanic eruption occurred on [[Ambrym]] in {{Circa|200}} CE, which would have devastated local populations and likely resulted in further population movements.<ref name="Archaeology"/><ref name="Beginning">{{cite web |last1=Flexner |first1=James |last2=Spriggs |first2=Matthew |last3=Bedford |first3=Stuart |title=Beginning Historical Archaeology in Vanuatu: Recent Projects on the Archaeology of Spanish, French, and Anglophone Colonialism |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301294502 |website=Research Gate |publisher=Springer |access-date=22 August 2020}}</ref><ref name=kuwae2006 >{{Cite journal |first1=Chaochao |last1=Gao |first2=Alan |last2=Robock |first3=Stephen |last3=Self |first4=Jeffrey B. |last4=Witter |author5=J. P. Steffenson |author6=Henrik Brink Clausen |author7=Marie-Louise Siggaard-Andersen |author8=Sigfus Johnsen |author9=Paul A. Mayewski |author10=Caspar Ammann |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=111 |issue=D12107 |page=11 |year=2006 |doi=10.1029/2005JD006710 |title=The 1452 or 1453 A.D. Kuwae eruption signal derived from multiple ice core records: Greatest volcanic sulfate event of the past 700 years |url=http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/Kuwae27.pdf |bibcode=2006JGRD..11112107G |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-date=28 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928005112/http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/Kuwae27.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Human cannibalism]] was widespread in some parts of Vanuatu.<ref>{{cite book | first= Bruce M. | last= Knauft | title= From Primitive to Postcolonial in Melanesia and Anthropology | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YM18gG16Z7YC&pg=PA103 | year= 1999 | publisher= [[University of Michigan Press]] | isbn= 978-0-472-06687-2 | page= 103 | via= Google Books | access-date= 18 October 2015 | archive-date= 1 January 2016 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160101095349/https://books.google.com/books?id=YM18gG16Z7YC&pg=PA103 | url-status= live }}</ref>

===Arrival of Europeans (1606–1906)===
[[File:Pedro Fernández de Quirós.JPG|thumb|upright|Portuguese explorer [[Pedro Fernandes de Queirós]] was the first European to arrive in Vanuatu, in 1606. He named [[Espiritu Santo]], the largest island in Vanuatu.]]

The Vanuatu islands first had contact with Europeans in April 1606, when the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] explorer [[Pedro Fernandes de Queirós]], sailing for the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish Crown]], departed [[Callao|El Callao]],<ref>{{cite web |first1=Elizabeth |last1=Rogers Kotlowski |title=Southland of the Holy Spirit |url=http://www.chr.org.au/books/southloand-of-holy-spirit/page5.html |publisher=CHR |access-date=10 August 2021 |quote=In 1605 [...] Quiros sailed west from Callao, Peru |archive-date=24 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224084941/http://www.chr.org.au/books/southloand-of-holy-spirit/page5.html }}</ref> sailed by the [[Banks Islands]], landing briefly on [[Gaua]] (which he called Santa María).<ref name="Beginning"/><ref name="Jolly">{{cite CiteSeerX |last1=Jolly |first1=Margaret |title=The Sediment of Voyages: Re-membering Quirós, Bougainville and Cook in Vanuatu |citeseerx=10.1.1.533.9909 }}</ref> Continuing further south, Queirós arrived at the largest island, naming it {{lang|es|La Austrialia del [[Espíritu Santo]]}} or "The Southern Land of the Holy Spirit", believing he had arrived in [[Terra Australis]] (Australia).<ref name="Archaeology"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Vanuatu and New Caledonia |url=https://archive.org/details/vanuatunewcaledo00joce |url-access=registration |year=2009 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-74104-792-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/vanuatunewcaledo00joce/page/29 29] |access-date=15 December 2017 }}</ref> The Spanish established a short-lived settlement named ''Nueva Jerusalem'' at Big Bay on the north side of the island.<ref name="Beginning"/><ref name="Jolly"/>

Despite Queirós's intention, relations with the Ni-Vanuatu turned violent within days. The Spanish subsequent attempts to make contact were met with the islanders fleeing or leading the explorers into an ambush.<ref name="Beginning"/> Many of the crew, including Queirós, were also suffering from ill health, with Queirós's mental state also deteriorating.<ref name="Beginning"/><ref name="Jolly"/> The settlement was abandoned after a month, with Queirós continuing his search for the southern continent.<ref name="Beginning"/>

Europeans did not return until 1768, when the French explorer [[Louis Antoine de Bougainville]] sailed by the islands on 22 May, naming them the Great [[Cyclades]].<ref name="Anne">{{cite book |last1=Salmond |first1=Anne |title=Aphrodite's Island |date=2010 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=978-0-520-26114-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/aphroditesisland00salm/page/113 113] |url=https://archive.org/details/aphroditesisland00salm/page/113 }}</ref><ref name="Archaeology"/> Of the various French toponyms Bougainville devised, only [[Pentecost Island]] has stuck.<ref name="Jolly"/>

The French landed on [[Ambae]], trading with the native people in a peaceful manner, though Bougainville stated that they were later attacked, necessitating him to fire warning shots with his muskets, before his crew left and continued their voyage.<ref name="Jolly"/> In July–September 1774 the islands were explored extensively by British explorer [[Captain James Cook]], who named them the New Hebrides, after the [[Hebrides]] off the west coast of [[Scotland]], a name that lasted until independence in 1980.<ref name=cp>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2815.htm |title=Background Note: Vanuatu |publisher=[[US Department of State]] |access-date=22 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604193751/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2815.htm |archive-date=4 June 2019 |url-status=live }}<br /></ref><ref name="Archaeology"/><ref name="Jolly"/> Cook managed to maintain generally cordial relations with the Ni-Vanuatu by giving them presents and refraining from violence.<ref name="Beginning"/><ref name="Jolly"/>

In 1789, [[William Bligh]] and the remainder of his crew sailed through the Banks Islands on their return voyage to [[Timor]] following the [[Mutiny on the Bounty|mutiny on the ''Bounty'']]; Bligh later returned to the islands, naming them after his benefactor [[Joseph Banks]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wahlroos |first1=Sven |title=Mutiny and Romance in the South Seas: A Companion to the Bounty Adventure |url=https://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/bounty/encyclopedia.shtml |publisher=Pitcairn Islands Study Centre |access-date=23 August 2020 |archive-date=1 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001151537/https://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/bounty/encyclopedia.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

Whaleships were among the first regular visitors to this group of islands. The first recorded visit was by the ''Rose'' in February 1804, and the last known visit by the New Bedford ship ''John and Winthrop'' in 1887.<ref>{{cite book |last=Langdon |first=Robert |date=1984 |title=Where the whalers went; an index to the Pacific ports and islands visited by American whalers (and some other ships) in the 19th century |location=Canberra |publisher=Pacific Manuscripts Bureau |pages=190–191 |isbn=0-86784-471-X}}</ref> In 1825, the trader [[Peter Dillon]]'s discovery of [[sandalwood]] on the island of [[Erromango]], highly valued as an incense in China where it could be traded for tea, resulted in rush of incomers that ended in 1830 after a clash between immigrant Polynesian workers and indigenous Ni-Vanuatu.<ref name="Archaeology"/><ref name="Sandalwood">{{cite web |last1=Bule |first1=Leonard |last2=Daruhi |first2=Godfrey |title=Status of Sandalwood Resources in Vanuatu |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr122/psw_gtr122_bule.pdf |publisher=US Forest Service |access-date=23 August 2020 |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320052919/https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr122/psw_gtr122_bule.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Van Trease|1987|p=12-14}}<ref name="JM">{{cite web |last1=MacClancy |first1=Jeremy |title=To Kill a Bird with Two Stones – A Short History of Vanuatu |url=https://www.academia.edu/3279401 |via=Academia.edu |date=January 1981 |publisher=Vanuatu Cultural Centre |access-date=25 August 2020 |archive-date=24 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224084936/https://www.academia.edu/3279401 |url-status=live }}</ref> Further sandalwood trees were found on Efate, Espiritu Santo, and Aneityum, prompting a series of boom and busts, though supplies were essentially exhausted by the mid-1860s, and the trade largely ceased.<ref name="Sandalwood"/><ref name="JM"/>

During the 1860s, [[plantations|planters]] in Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, and the Samoan islands, in need of labourers, encouraged a long-term [[indentured labour]] trade called "[[blackbirding]]".<ref name="JM"/> At the height of the labour trade, more than one-half the adult male population of several of the islands worked abroad. Because of this, and the poor conditions and abuse often faced by workers, as well the introduction of common diseases to which native Ni-Vanuatu had no immunity, the population of Vanuatu declined severely, with the current population being greatly reduced compared to pre-contact times.<ref name=cp/><ref name="Archaeology"/><ref name="JM"/> Greater oversight of the trade saw it gradually wind down, with Australia barring any further 'blackbird' labourers in 1906, followed by Fiji and Samoa in 1910 and 1913 respectively.<ref name="JM"/>

[[File:The Landing at Tana one of the New Hebrides, by William Hodges.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.35|[[James Cook]] landing at [[Tanna (island)|Tanna island]], {{Circa|1774}}]]
From 1839 onwards, [[missionary|missionaries]], both [[Roman Catholic]] and [[Protestant]], arrived on the islands.<ref name="Beginning"/><ref name="JM"/> At first, they faced hostility, most notably with the killings of [[John Williams (missionary)|John Williams]] and James Harris of the [[London Missionary Society]] on Erromango in 1839.<ref name="Beginning"/>{{sfn|Van Trease|1987|p=15}} Despite this, they pressed on, resulting in many conversions. To the consternation of the Europeans, Ni-Vanuatu [[syncretism|syncretised]] Christianity with traditional ''[[kastom]]'' beliefs.<ref name="JM"/> The Anglican [[Melanesian Mission]] also took young converts for further training in New Zealand and [[Norfolk Island]].<ref name="Beginning"/> Presbyterian missionaries were particularly successful on Aneityum, though less so on Tanna, with missionaries being repeatedly chased off the island by locals throughout the 1840s–60s.<ref name="Beginning"/>  The waves of illnesses and deaths the missionaries brought with them may have been partly to blame for the hostile response.<ref name="Beginning"/><ref name="JM"/>

Other European settlers also came, looking for land for [[cotton plantation]]s, the first of these being Henry Ross Lewin on Tanna in 1865 (which he later abandoned).{{sfn|Van Trease|1987|p=19}} When international cotton prices collapsed after the ending of the [[American Civil War]], they switched to coffee, [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]], bananas, and, most successfully, [[coconut]]s. Initially British subjects from Australia made up the majority of settlers, but with little support from the British government they frequently struggled to make a success of their settlements.<ref name="JM"/>

French planters also began arriving, beginning with Ferdinand Chevillard on Efate in 1880, and later in larger numbers following the creation of the ''Compagnie Caledonienne des Nouvelles-Hébrides'' (CCNH) I. 1882 by John Higginson (a fiercely pro-French Irishman), which soon tipped the balance in favour of French subjects.<ref name="UsaUSA2009">{{cite book |title=Vanuatu Country Study Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wjuxcXTEJ_sC&pg=PA26 |date=30 March 2009 |publisher=International Business Publications |isbn=978-1-4387-5649-3 |page=26 |access-date=15 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729084223/https://books.google.com/books?id=wjuxcXTEJ_sC&pg=PA26 |archive-date=29 July 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Van Trease|1987|p=26-7}} The French government took over the CCNH in 1894 and actively encouraged French settlement.<ref name="JM"/> By 1906, French settlers (at 401) outnumbered the British (228), almost two to one.<ref name=cp/><ref name="JM"/>

===Colonial era (1906–1980)===
{{Main|New Hebrides}}

====Early period (1906–1945)====
[[File:Native men of Tanna, New Hebrides.jpg|thumb|left|Tanna men on a boat, {{Circa|1905}}]]

The jumbling of French and British interests in the islands and the near lawlessness prevalent there brought petitions for one or both of the two powers to annex the territory.<ref name="JM"/> The Convention of 16 October 1887 established a [[Anglo-French Joint Naval Commission|joint naval commission]] for the sole purpose of protecting French and British citizens, with no claim to jurisdiction over internal native affairs.<ref name="Beginning"/><ref name="BresnihanWoodward2002">{{cite book |last1=Bresnihan |first1=Brian J. |last2=Woodward |first2=Keith |title=Tufala Gavman: Reminiscences from the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhNmCiYYxucC&pg=PA423 |year=2002 |publisher=editorips@usp.ac.fj |isbn=978-982-02-0342-6 |page=423 |access-date=15 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522152146/https://books.google.com/books?id=nhNmCiYYxucC&pg=PA423 |archive-date=22 May 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hostilities between settlers and Ni-Vanuatu were commonplace, often centring on disputes over land which had been purchased in dubious circumstances.<ref name="JM"/> There was pressure from French settlers in New Caledonia to annex the islands, though Britain was unwilling to relinquish their influence completely.<ref name="Beginning"/>

As a result, in 1906, France and the United Kingdom agreed to administer the islands jointly; called the Anglo-French [[Condominium (international law)|Condominium]], it was a unique form of government with two separate governmental, legal, judicial and financial systems that came together only in a Joint Court.<ref name="JM"/><ref name="Museum">{{cite web |title=A Short History Of Vanuatu |url=https://southpacificwwiimuseum.com/history/ |publisher=[[South Pacific WWII Museum]] |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225091226/https://southpacificwwiimuseum.com/history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Land expropriation and exploitation of Ni-Vanuatu workers on plantations continued apace.<ref name="JM"/> In an effort to curb the worst of the abuses, and with the support of the missionaries, the Condominium's authority was extended via the Anglo-French Protocol of 1914, although this was not formally ratified until 1922.<ref name="JM"/> While this resulted in some improvements, labour abuses continued, and Ni-Vanuatu were barred from acquiring the [[citizenship]] of either power, being officially stateless.<ref name=cp/><ref name="JM"/> The underfunded Condominium government proved dysfunctional, with the duplication of administrations making effective governance difficult and time-consuming.<ref name="JM"/> Education, healthcare and other such services were left in the hands of the missionaries.<ref name="JM"/>

During the 1920s–1930s, indentured workers from [[Vietnam]] (then part of [[French Indochina]]) came to work in the plantations in the New Hebrides.<ref name="Calnitsky">{{cite journal |last1=Calnitsky |first1=Naomi Alisa |title=The Tonkinese Labour Traffic to the Colonial New Hebrides: The Role of French Inter-Colonial Webs |url=https://www.academia.edu/20370598 |website=Academia.edu |publisher=Indian Ocean World Centre, McGill University |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225091230/https://www.academia.edu/20370598 |url-status=live }}</ref> By 1929, there were some 6,000 Vietnamese people in the New Hebrides.<ref name="JM"/><ref name="Calnitsky"/> There was some social and political unrest among them in the 1940s due to the poor working conditions and the social effects of Allied troops, who were generally more sympathetic to their plight than the planters.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Charles |last=Robequain |url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/geo_0003-4010_1950_num_59_317_13156 |title=Les Nouvelles-Hébrides et l'immigration annamite |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209114403/http://www.persee.fr/doc/geo_0003-4010_1950_num_59_317_13156 |archive-date=9 December 2018  |journal=[[Annales de Géographie]] |language=fr |volume=59 |number=317 |date=1950 |pages=391–392}}</ref> Most Vietnamese were repatriated in 1946 and 1963, though a small Vietnamese community remains in Vanuatu today.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Buckley |first1=Joe |title=In My Words Vietnamese surprises in Vanuatu |url=https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel-life/in-my-words/vietnamese-surprises-in-vanuatu-3651856.html |website=VN Express |date=8 October 2017 |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225091227/https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel-life/in-my-words/vietnamese-surprises-in-vanuatu-3651856.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:F6F-3 Hellcats of VF-40 at Espiritu Santo 1944.jpg|thumb|left|US Navy [[Grumman F6F Hellcat|Hellcats]] on [[Espiritu Santo]] island in February 1944]]
The [[Second World War]] brought immense change to the archipelago. The [[fall of France]] to [[Nazi Germany]] in 1940 allowed Britain to gain a greater level of authority on the islands.<ref name="Museum"/> The Australian military stationed a 2,000-strong force on Malakula in a bid to protect Australia from a possible Japanese invasion.<ref name="Museum"/> Following the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on 7 December 1941, the United States joined the war on the Allied side; Japan soon advanced rapidly throughout Melanesia and was in possession of much of what is now Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands by April 1942, leaving the New Hebrides on the frontline of any further advance.<ref name="Museum"/> To forestall this, from May 1942 US troops were stationed on the islands, where they built airstrips, roads, military bases and an array of other supporting infrastructure on Efate and Espiritu Santo.<ref name="LL">{{cite web |last1=Lindstrom |first1=Lamont |title=The Vanuatu Labor Corps Experience |url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/15553/1/OP36-47-57.pdf |website=Scholar Space |publisher=University of Hawaii |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225091239/https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/15553/1/OP36-47-57.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the peak of the deployment, some 50,000 Americans were stationed on the two military bases, outnumbering the native population of roughly 40,000, with thousands more Allied troops passing through the islands at some point.<ref name="LL"/> A small Ni-Vanuatu force of some 200 men (the New Hebrides Defence Force) was established to support the Americans, and thousands more were engaged in the construction and maintenance work as part of the [[Vanuatu Labor Corps]].<ref name="LL"/> The American presence effectively sidelined the Anglo-French authorities for the duration of their stay, with the Americans' more tolerant and friendly attitude to the Ni-Vanuatu, informal habits, relative wealth, and the presence of African American troops serving with a degree of equality (albeit in a [[Racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces|segregated force]]) seriously undermining the underlying ethos of colonial superiority.<ref name="LL"/>

Wartime Vanuatu was the setting for [[James A. Michener|James Michener]]'s novel ''[[Tales of the South Pacific]]''.

With the successful [[Solomon Islands campaign|reoccupation of the Solomons]] in 1943 the New Hebrides lost their strategic importance, and the Americans withdrew in 1945, selling much of their equipment at bargain prices and dumping the rest in the sea, at a place now called [[Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo#Million dollar point|Million Dollar Point]] on [[Espiritu Santo]].<ref name="JM"/> The rapid American deployment and withdrawal led to growth in '[[cargo cult]]s', most notably that of [[John Frum]], whereby Ni-Vanuatu hoped that by returning to traditional values whilst mimicking aspects of the American presence that 'cargo' (i.e. large quantities of American goods) would be delivered to them.<ref name= Guiart>{{cite journal |url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_5/b_fdi_16-17/22920.pdf |last=Guiart |first=Jean |date=March 1952 |title=John Frum Movement in Tanna |journal=Oceania |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=165–177 |doi=10.1002/j.1834-4461.1952.tb00558.x |access-date=7 March 2020 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216084316/https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_5/b_fdi_16-17/22920.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=westoc>{{cite web |url=http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/westoc/jonfrum.html |title=Western Oceanian Religions: Jon Frum Movement |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031016150752/http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/westoc/jonfrum.html |archive-date=16 October 2003 |publisher=University of Cumbria}}</ref> Meanwhile, the Condominium government returned, though understaffed and underfunded, it struggled to reassert its authority.<ref name="JM"/>

====Lead-up to independence (1945–1980)====
[[File:Flag of New Hebrides.svg|thumb|1966 flag of the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides]]

Decolonisation began sweeping the European empires after the war, and from the 1950s the Condominium government began a somewhat belated campaign of modernisation and economic development.<ref name="JM"/> Hospitals were built, doctors trained and immunisation campaigns carried out.<ref name="JM"/> The inadequate mission-run school system was taken over and improved, with primary enrollment greatly increasing to be near-universal by 1970.<ref name="JM"/> There was greater oversight of the plantations, with worker exploitation being clamped down on and Ni-Vanuatu paid higher wages.<ref name="JM"/>

New industries, such as [[cattle ranching]], commercial fishing and [[manganese]] mining were established.<ref name="JM"/> Ni-Vanuatu began gradually to take over more positions of power and influence within the economy and the church.<ref name="JM"/> Despite this, the British and French still dominated the politics of the colony, with an Advisory Council set up in 1957 containing some Ni-Vanuatu representation having little power.<ref name="JM"/>

The economic development had unintended consequences. In the 1960s, many planters began fencing off and clearing large areas of bushland for cattle ranching, which were often deemed to be communally-held ''kastom'' lands by Ni-Vanuatu.<ref name="JM"/> On Espiritu Santo, the [[Nagriamel]] movement was founded in 1966 by Chief Buluk and [[Jimmy Stevens (politician)|Jimmy Stevens]] on a platform of opposing any further land clearances and gradual, Ni-Vanuatu-led, economic development.<ref name="JM"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-330239351/view?partId=nla.obj-330246081#page/n24/mode/1up |title="Chief President Moses": Man with a message for 10,000 New Hebrideans |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023094413/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-330239351/view?partId=nla.obj-330246081#page/n24/mode/1up |archive-date=23 October 2020 |work=Pacific Islands Monthly |date=July 1969 |pages=23–25}}</ref> The movement gained a large following, prompting a crackdown by the authorities, with Buluk and Stevens being arrested in 1967.<ref name="JM"/> Upon their release, they began to press for complete independence.<ref name="JM"/> In 1971, Father [[Walter Lini]] established another party: the New Hebrides Cultural Association, later renamed the [[New Hebrides National Party]] (NHNP), which also focused on achieving independence and opposition to land expropriation.<ref name="JM"/> The NNDP first came to prominence in 1971, when the Condominium government was forced to intervene after a rash of land speculation by foreign nationals.<ref name="JM"/>

Meanwhile, French settlers, and Francophone and mixed-race Ni-Vanuatu, established two separate parties on a platform of more gradual political development – the ''Mouvement Autonomiste des Nouvelles-Hébrides'' (MANH), based on Espiritu Santo, and the ''Union des Communautés des Nouvelles-Hébrides'' (UCNH) on Efate.<ref name="JM"/> The parties aligned on linguistic and religious lines: the NHNP was seen as the party of Anglophone Protestants, and were backed by the British who wished to exit the colony altogether, whereas the MANH, UCNH, Nagriamel and others (collectively known as the 'Moderates') represented Catholic Francophone interests, and a more gradual path to independence.<ref name="JM"/> France backed these groups as they were keen to maintain their influence in the region, most especially in their mineral-rich colony of New Caledonia where they were attempting to suppress an independence movement.<ref name="JM"/><ref name=PIM2>{{cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-332653576/view?partId=nla.obj-332655109#page/n9/mode/1up |title=Bombs, bribery and ballots in New Hebrides |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023094115/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-332653576/view?partId=nla.obj-332655109#page/n9/mode/1up |archive-date=23 October 2020 |work=Pacific Islands Monthly |date=January 1976 |page=8}}</ref>

Meanwhile, economic development continued, with numerous banks and financial centres opening up in the early 1970s to take advantage of the territory's [[tax haven]] status.<ref name="JM"/> A mini-building boom took off in Port Vila and, following the building of a deep-sea wharf, cruise ship tourism grew rapidly, with annual arrivals reaching 40,000 by 1977.<ref name="JM"/> The boom encouraged increasing urbanisation and the populations of Port Vila and [[Luganville]] grew rapidly.<ref name="JM"/>

In November 1974, the British and French met and agreed to create [[New Hebrides Representative Assembly]] in the colony, based partly on universal suffrage and partly on appointed persons representing various interest groups.<ref name="JM"/> The first [[1975 New Hebridean general election|election]] took place in November 1975, resulting in an overall victory for the NHNP.<ref name="JM"/> The Moderates disputed the results, with Jimmy Stevens threatening to secede and declare independence.<ref name="JM"/> The Condominium's Resident Commissioners decided to postpone the opening of the Assembly, though the two sides proved unable to agree on a solution, prompting protests and counter-protests, some of which turned violent.<ref name="JM"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-332555206/view?partId=nla.obj-332575365#page/n9/mode/1up |title=The Ghost Assembly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023093732/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-332555206/view?partId=nla.obj-332575365#page/n9/mode/1up |archive-date=23 October 2020 |work=Pacific Islands Monthly |date=June 1976 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-332540656/view?partId=nla.obj-332564592#page/n10/mode/1up |title=Splinters flying in N. Hebrides |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023094544/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-332540656/view?partId=nla.obj-332564592#page/n10/mode/1up |archive-date=23 October 2020 |work=Pacific Islands Monthly |date=May 1976 |page=11}}</ref> After discussions and some fresh elections in disputed areas, the Assembly finally convened in November 1976.<ref name="JM"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-332576374/view?partId=nla.obj-332598350#page/n17/mode/1up |title=New Hebrides Assembly meets |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023100540/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-332576374/view?partId=nla.obj-332598350#page/n17/mode/1up |archive-date=23 October 2020 |work=Pacific Islands Monthly |date=August 1976 |page=18}}</ref><ref name=PIM5>{{cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-334870300/view?partId=nla.obj-334911874#page/n16/mode/1up |title=New Hebrides Assembly meets – but what's new? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023101204/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-334870300/view?partId=nla.obj-334911874#page/n16/mode/1up |archive-date=23 October 2020 |work=Pacific Islands Monthly |date=February 1977 |pages=17–18}}</ref> The NHNP renamed itself the [[Vanua'aku Pati]] (VP) in 1977, and now supported immediate independence under a strong central government and an [[Anglicisation]] of the islands. The Moderates meanwhile supported a more gradual transition to independence and a federal system, plus the maintenance of French as an official language.<ref name="JM"/>

In March 1977, a joint Anglo-French and Ni-Vanuatu conference was held in London, at which it was agreed to hold fresh Assembly elections and later an independence referendum in 1980; the VP boycotted the conference and the subsequent [[1977 New Hebridean general election|election]] in November.<ref name="JM"/><ref name=PIM>{{cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-335671199/view?partId=nla.obj-335697448#page/n27/mode/1up |title=New Hebrides' new era |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023092840/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-335671199/view?partId=nla.obj-335697448#page/n27/mode/1up |archive-date=23 October 2020 |work=Pacific Islands Monthly |date=March 1978 |page=28}}</ref> They set up a parallel 'People's Provisional Government' which had de facto control of many areas, prompting violent confrontations with Moderates and the Condominium government.<ref name="JM"/><ref name=VT>{{cite journal|last1=Van Trease|first1=Howard|title=The Operation of the single non-transferable vote system in Vanuatu|journal=Commonwealth & Comparative Politics|date=9 August 2006|volume=43|issue=3|pages=296–332|doi=10.1080/14662040500304833|s2cid=153565206}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-335670856/view?partId=nla.obj-335672343#page/n4/mode/1up |title=Turmoil in New Hebrides |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023084750/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-335670856/view?partId=nla.obj-335672343#page/n4/mode/1up |archive-date=23 October 2020 |work=Pacific Islands Monthly |date=January 1978 |page=5}}</ref>

A compromise was eventually brokered, a Government of National Unity formed under a new constitution, and fresh [[1979 New Hebridean general election|elections]] held in November 1979, which the VP won with a comfortable majority. Independence was now scheduled for 30 July 1980.<ref name="JM"/> Performing less well than expected, the Moderates disputed the results.<ref name="JM"/><ref name=PIM3>{{cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-339025052/view?partId=nla.obj-339027831#page/n12/mode/1up |title=New Hebrides: High hopes haunted by high danger |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023095111/https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-339025052/view?partId=nla.obj-339027831#page/n12/mode/1up |archive-date=23 October 2020 |work=Pacific Islands Monthly |date=January 1980 |pages=13–14}}</ref>

[[File:Flag of Vemerana.svg|thumb|right|Flag of the short-lived Republic of Vemarana]]

Tensions continued throughout 1980. Violent confrontations occurred between VP and Moderate supporters on several islands.<ref name="JM"/> On Espiritu Santo Nagriamel and Moderate activists under Jimmy Stevens, funded by the American [[libertarian]] organisation [[Phoenix Foundation]], took over the island's government in January and declared the independent Republic of Vemarana, prompting VP supporters to flee and the central government to institute a blockade.<ref name="JM"/><ref>{{cite web | title = Phoenix: ashes to ashes | first = Mike |last=Parsons | work = [[New Internationalist]] | date = July 1981 | url = http://www.newint.org/issue101/phoenix.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100511054249/http://www.newint.org/issue101/phoenix.htm | archive-date = 11 May 2010}}</ref> In May, an abortive Moderate rebellion broke out on Tanna, in the course of which one of their leaders was shot and killed.<ref name="JM"/> The British and French sent in troops in July in a bid to forestall the Vemarana secessionists. Still ambivalent about independence, the French effectively neutered the force, prompting a collapse of law and order on Espiritu Santo resulting in large scale looting.<ref name="JM"/>

===Independence (1980–present)===
The New Hebrides, now renamed Vanuatu, achieved independence as planned on 30 July 1980 under Prime Minister [[Walter Lini]], with a ceremonial [[President of Vanuatu|President]] replacing the Resident Commissioners.<ref name="JM"/>{{sfn|Shears|1980}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Independence |publisher=Vanuatu.travel&nbsp;– Vanuatu Islands |date=17 September 2009 |url=http://vanuatu.travel/vanuatu/history/independence.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110418162231/http://vanuatu.travel/vanuatu/history/independence.html |archive-date=18 April 2011 |access-date=17 September 2009}}</ref> The Anglo-French forces withdrew in August, and Lini called in troops from [[Papua New Guinea]], sparking the brief '[[Coconut War]]' against [[Jimmy Stevens (politician)|Jimmy Stevens]]' Vemarana separatists.<ref name="JM"/><ref name="UCA">{{cite web |title=Vanuatu (1980–present) |url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/vanuatu-1980-present/ |publisher=University of Central Arkansas |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225190742/https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/vanuatu-1980-present/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The PNG forces quickly quelled the Vemarana revolt and Stevens surrendered on 1 September; he was later jailed.<ref name="JM"/><ref>{{cite news| title = New Hebrides Rebel Urges Peace; Willing to Fight British and French One British Officer Injured| work = The New York Times| date = 9 June 1980| url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30F14FA3B5C12728DDDA00894DE405B8084F1D3| access-date = 18 September 2009| archive-date = 31 May 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130531113622/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30F14FA3B5C12728DDDA00894DE405B8084F1D3| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bain |first1=Kenneth |title=Obituary: Jimmy Stevens |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jimmy-stevens-1426905.html |work=The Independent |date=4 March 1994 |access-date=26 August 2020 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116140043/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-jimmy-stevens-1426905.html }}</ref> Lini remained in office until 1991, running an Anglophone-dominated government and winning both the 1983 and 1987 elections.<ref>{{cite book |last=Miles |first=William F. S. |title=Bridging Mental Boundaries in a Postcolonial Microcosm: Identity and Development in Vanuatu |location=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |date=1998 |isbn=0-8248-2048-7 |page=24}}</ref><ref name="Steeves">{{cite journal |last1=Steeves |first1=Jeffrey |last2=Premdas |first2=Ralph |title=Politics in Vanuatu: the 1991 Elections |journal=Journal de la Société des Océanistes |year=1995 |volume=100 |issue=1 |pages=221–234 |doi=10.3406/jso.1995.1965 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/jso_0300-953x_1995_num_100_1_1965 |access-date=27 August 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225190742/https://www.persee.fr/doc/jso_0300-953x_1995_num_100_1_1965 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In foreign affairs, Lini joined the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], opposed [[Apartheid]] in South Africa and all forms of colonialism, established links with [[Libya–Vanuatu relations|Libya]] and [[Cuba–Vanuatu relations|Cuba]], and opposed the French presence in New Caledonia and their nuclear testing in [[French Polynesia]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zinn |first1=Christopher |title=Walter Lini obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/feb/25/guardianobituaries2 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=25 February 1999 |access-date=26 August 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225190742/https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/feb/25/guardianobituaries2 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HUFFER, Elise 1993, pp. 272–282">{{cite book |last=Huffer |first=Elise |title=Grands hommes et petites îles: La politique extérieure de Fidji, de Tonga et du Vanuatu |location=Paris |publisher=Orstom |date=1993 |isbn=2-7099-1125-6 |pages=272–282}}</ref> Opposition to Lini's tight grip on power grew and in 1987, after he had suffered a stroke whilst on a visit to the United States, a section of the [[Vanua'aku Pati]] (VP) under [[Barak Sopé]] broke off to form a new party (the [[Melanesian Progressive Party]], MPP), and an attempt was made by President [[Ati George Sokomanu]] to unseat Lini.<ref name="UCA"/> This failed, and Lini became increasingly distrustful of his VP colleagues, firing anyone he deemed to be disloyal.<ref name="Steeves"/>

One such person, [[Donald Kalpokas]], subsequently declared himself to be VP leader, splitting the party in two.<ref name="Steeves"/> On 6 September 1991 a vote of no confidence removed Lini from power;<ref name="Steeves"/> Kalpokas became prime minister, and Lini formed a new party, the [[National United Party (Vanuatu)|National United Party]] (NUP).<ref name="Steeves"/><ref name="UCA"/> Meanwhile, the economy had entered a downturn, with foreign investors and foreign aid put off by Lini's flirtation with Communist states and tourist numbers down due to the political turmoil, compounded by a crash in the price of [[copra]], Vanuatu's main export.<ref name="Steeves"/> As a result, the Francophone [[Union of Moderate Parties]] (UMP) won the [[1991 Vanuatuan general election|1991 election]], but not with enough seats to form a majority. A coalition was thus formed with Lini's NUP, with the UMP's [[Maxime Carlot Korman]] becoming prime minister.<ref name="Steeves"/>

Since the 1991 general election, Vanuatuan politics have been unstable with a series of fractious coalition governments and the use of [[Motion of no confidence|no confidence votes]] resulting in frequent changes of prime ministers. The democratic system as a whole has been maintained and Vanuatu remains a peaceful and reasonably prosperous state. Throughout most of the 1990s the UMP were in power, the prime ministership switching between UMP rivals Korman and [[Serge Vohor]], and the UMP instituting a more free market approach to the economy, cutting the public sector, improving opportunities for Francophone Ni-Vanuatu and renewing ties with France.<ref name="Steeves"/><ref>{{cite book |first=William F. S. |last=Miles |title=Bridging Mental Boundaries in a Postcolonial Microcosm: Identity and Development in Vanuatu |location=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |date=1998 |isbn=0-8248-2048-7 |pages=25–7}}</ref> The government struggled with splits in their NUP coalition partner and a series of strikes within the Civil Service in 1993–1994, the latter dealt with by a wave of firings.<ref name="Steeves"/> Financial scandals dogged both Korman and Vohor, with the latter implicated in a scheme to sell [[Vanuatu passport]]s to foreigners.<ref name="lasvegas">{{citation|last=Hill|first=Edward R.|url=http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/library/Online/ombudsman/Vanuatu/Digest/digest_97-15.html|title=Public Report on Resort Las Vegas and granting of illegal passports|date=3 December 1997|periodical=Digested Reports of the Vanuatu Office of the Ombudsman|volume=97|number=15|archive-date=31 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110331030518/http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/library/Online/ombudsman/Vanuatu/Digest/digest_97-15.html|access-date=May 23, 2022}}</ref><ref name="FH">{{cite web |title=Freedom in the World 1999 – Vanuatu |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/5278c6c31a.html |publisher=Freedom House |access-date=27 August 2020}}</ref>

In 1996, Vohor and President [[Jean-Marie Léyé]] were briefly abducted by the [[Vanuatu Mobile Force]] over a pay dispute and later released unharmed.<ref>{{cite book |first=William F. S. |last=Miles |title=Bridging Mental Boundaries in a Postcolonial Microcosm: Identity and Development in Vanuatu |location=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |date=1998 |isbn=0-8248-2048-7 |page=26}}</ref><ref name="UCA"/> A riot occurred in Port Vila in 1998 when savers attempted to withdraw funds from the [[Vanuatu National Provident Fund]] following allegations of financial impropriety, prompting the government to declare a brief state of emergency.<ref name="UCA"/><ref name="FH"/> A Comprehensive Reform Program was enacted in the 1998 with the aim of improving economic performance and cracking down on government corruption.<ref name="FH"/> At the [[1998 Vanuatuan general election]] the UMP were unseated by the VP under Donald Kalpokas.<ref name="UCA"/><ref name=M>{{cite book |last=Miles |first=William F. S. |title=Bridging Mental Boundaries in a Postcolonial Microcosm: Identity and Development in Vanuatu |location=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |date=1998 |isbn=0-8248-2048-7 |page=27}}</ref><ref name=N>{{cite book |last1=Nohlen |first1=Dieter |author-link1=Dieter Nohlen |first2=Florian |last2=Grotz |first3=Christof |last3=Hartmann |date=2001 |title=Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II |page=843 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=0-19-924959-8}}</ref> He lasted only a year, resigning when threatened with a no confidence vote, replaced by Barak Sopé of the MPP in 1999, himself unseated in a no confidence vote in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 5th Prime Minister |url=https://dailypost.vu/independence/the-5th-prime-minister/article_c2ee4f24-d799-11ea-bda5-373df9dd4ec0.html |work=The Daily Post |date=30 July 2020 |access-date=27 August 2020 |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331013504/https://www.dailypost.vu/independence/the-5th-prime-minister/article_c2ee4f24-d799-11ea-bda5-373df9dd4ec0.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="FH"/> Despite the political uncertainty Vanuatu's economy continued to grow in this period, fuelled by high demand for Vanuatu beef, tourism, remittances from foreign workers, and large aid packages from the [[Asian Development Bank]] (in 1997) and the US [[Millennium Challenge Corporation|Millennium Challenge]] fund (in 2005).<ref name="LP">{{cite web |title=History in Vanuatu |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/vanuatu/background/history/a/nar/59af944c-e46f-47af-bdba-0be954fb7cd2/362974 |publisher=Lonely Planet |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225200753/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/vanuatu/background/history/a/nar/59af944c-e46f-47af-bdba-0be954fb7cd2/362974 |url-status=live }}</ref> Vanuatu was removed from the [[OECD]] list of 'uncooperative tax havens' in 2003 and joined the [[World Trade Organization]] in 2011.<ref name="LP"/><ref name="BBC">{{cite news |title=Vanuatu – timeline |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16426561 |publisher=BBC |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225190751/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16426561 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Devastation after Cyclone Pam 14 March 2015.jpg|thumb|left|Devastation caused by [[Cyclone Pam]] in 2015]]
[[Edward Natapei]] of the VP became prime minister in 2001 and went on to win the [[2002 Vanuatuan general election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2345_02.htm |title=Vanuatu: Elections held in 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610212958/http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2345_02.htm |archive-date=10 June 2011 |publisher=Inter-Parliamentary Union}}</ref> The [[2004 Vanuatuan general election]] saw Vohor and the UMP return to power. He lost much support over a secret deal to recognise [[Taiwan]] in the [[Political status of Taiwan|China-Taiwan dispute]] and was unseated in a confidence vote less than five months after taking office, being replaced by [[Ham Lini]].<ref name=Appeal>{{cite web |url=http://www.news.vu/en/news/diplomacy/041208-Vanuatu-court-rules-in-favor-of-Parliament.shtml |title=Vanuatu court rules in favor of Parliament; Vohor appeals |work=Taiwan News (news.vu) |date=8 December 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927142928/http://www.news.vu/en/news/diplomacy/041208-Vanuatu-court-rules-in-favor-of-Parliament.shtml |archive-date=27 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=13726 |title=Vanuatu tosses out the Vohor Government |date=10 December 2004 |work=[[Radio New Zealand International]] |access-date=9 November 2011 |archive-date=2 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002094555/http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=13726 |url-status=live }}</ref> Lini switched back recognition to the People's Republic of China, and the PRC remains a major aid donor to the Vanuatu government.<ref name="smh">{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/china-eyes-vanuatu-military-base-in-plan-with-global-ramifications-20180409-p4z8j9.html |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |first=David |last=Wroe |date=9 April 2018 |title=China eyes Vanuatu military base in plan with global ramifications |access-date=11 April 2018 |archive-date=11 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411085614/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/china-eyes-vanuatu-military-base-in-plan-with-global-ramifications-20180409-p4z8j9.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=iht>{{cite news|title=Vanuatu lawmakers elect Natapei as prime minister|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/22/asia/AS-Vanuatu-Politics.php|agency=[[Associated Press]]|work=[[International Herald Tribune]]|date=22 September 2008|access-date=22 September 2008|archive-date=26 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926134054/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/22/asia/AS-Vanuatu-Politics.php|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2007, violent clashes broke out in Port Vila between migrants from Tanna and Ambrym, in which two people died.<ref name=rnzi>{{cite news |title=State of emergency declared in Vanuatu's capital after two deaths |url=http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=30541 |work=[[Radio New Zealand International]] |date=4 March 2007 |access-date=22 September 2008 |archive-date=22 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322100759/http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=30541 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC"/> Lini lost the [[2008 Vanuatuan general election]], with Natapei returning to power as Vanuatu politics entered a period of turmoil. There were frequent attempts by the opposition to unseat Natapei via the use of no confidence votes – though unsuccessful, he was briefly removed on a procedural technicality in November 2009, an action that was then overturned by the Chief Justice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailypost.vu/ArticleArchives/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/6461/Govt-numbers-remain-intact.aspx |title=Govt numbers remain intact |work=Vanuatu Daily Post |date=1 June 2010}}{{dead link|date=September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailypost.vu/ArticleArchives/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/5421/PM-Natapei-defeats-motion-with-36-MPs.aspx |title=PM Natapei defeats motion with 36 MPs |work=Vanuatu Daily Post |date=11 December 2009}}{{dead link|date=September 2013}}</ref> [[Sato Kilman]] of the [[People's Progressive Party (Vanuatu)|People's Progressive Party]] (PPP) ousted Natapei in another no confidence vote in December 2010. He was removed in the same manner by Vohor's UMP in April 2011. This was invalidated on a technical point and he returned as PM. The Chief Justice then overturned his victory. Natapei returned to power for ten days, until Parliament voted in Kilman again.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=61412 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119230037/http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=61412 |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 January 2012 |title=Kilman elected Vanuatu PM – ten days after ouster by court |work=Radio New Zealand International |date=26 June 2011}}</ref> Kilman managed to remain in office for two years, before being ousted in March 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=74783 |title=Vanuatu Prime Minister, facing no confidence vote, resigns |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221223060902/https://www.rnz.co.nz/international |archive-date=23 December 2022 |work=Radio New Zealand International |date=21 March 2013}}</ref>

The new government was the first time the [[Green Confederation]] was in power, and the new prime minister, [[Moana Carcasses Kalosil]], was the first non-Ni-Vanuatu to hold the position (Kalosil is of mixed French-Tahitian ancestry and a naturalised Vanuatu citizen). Kalosil took steps to institute a review of diplomatic passport sales in his country. He also expressed his support for the West Papuan independence movement. Support for this move was also expressed by former Prime Ministers Kilman and Carlot Korman.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.governmentofvanuatu.gov.vu/news.html |title=Vanuatu's Parliament Pass Bill in Support for West Papua |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724142105/http://www.governmentofvanuatu.gov.vu/news.html |archive-date=24 July 2010 |publisher=Government of Vanuatu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pacific.scoop.co.nz/2010/06/vanuatu-to-seek-observer-status-for-west-papua-at-msg-and-pif-leaders-summits/ |title=Vanuatu to seek observer status for West Papua at MSG and PIF leaders summits |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603160232/http://pacific.scoop.co.nz/2010/06/vanuatu-to-seek-observer-status-for-west-papua-at-msg-and-pif-leaders-summits/ |archive-date=3 June 2019 |work=Pacific Scoop |date=22 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailypost.vu/content/prime-minister-carcasses%E2%80%99-dilemma-helm |title=Prime Minister Carcasses' dilemma at the helm |work=Vanuatu Daily Post |date=28 March 2013 |access-date=24 January 2021 |archive-date=22 April 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130422012140/http://www.dailypost.vu/content/prime-minister-carcasses%E2%80%99-dilemma-helm }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=76726 |title=Watchdog applauds clean-out of Vanuatu's diplomatic sector |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928235401/http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=76726 |archive-date=28 September 2013 |work=Radio New Zealand International |date=13 June 2013}}</ref> Kalosil was ousted in another confidence vote in 2014, with the VP returning under [[Joe Natuman]], who himself was ousted the following year in a confidence vote led by Kilman. Meanwhile, the country was devastated by [[Cyclone Pam]] in 2015, which resulted in 16 deaths and enormous destruction.<ref name="16Deaths">{{cite web|title=Tropical Cyclone Pam: Vanuatu death toll rises to 16 as relief effort continues|date=21 March 2015|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-21/un-raises-vanuatu-cyclone-death-toll/6337816|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=22 March 2015|archive-date=10 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210003055/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-21/un-raises-vanuatu-cyclone-death-toll/6337816|url-status=live}}</ref>

A corruption investigation in 2015 resulted in the conviction of numerous MPs in Kilman's government for bribery, including former PM Moana Carcasses Kalosil.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/287771/calls-for-vanuatu-pm-to-step-down-in-wake-of-mps%27-jailing|title=Calls for Vanuatu PM to step down in wake of MPs' jailing|date=22 October 2015|work=[[Radio New Zealand]] |access-date=25 February 2016|archive-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120134221/https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/287771/calls-for-vanuatu-pm-to-step-down-in-wake-of-mps%27-jailing|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/286931/vanuatu-opposition-ready-to-assist-president|title=Vanuatu Opposition ready to assist President|date=13 October 2015|work=[[Radio New Zealand]] |access-date=25 February 2016|archive-date=17 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117034237/https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/286931/vanuatu-opposition-ready-to-assist-president|url-status=live}}</ref> His authority was severely weakened, and Kilman lost the [[2016 Vanuatuan general election]] to [[Charlot Salwai]]'s [[Reunification Movement for Change]] (RMC). Salwai in turn lost the [[2020 Vanuatuan general election]] amidst allegations of perjury, bringing back in the VP under [[Bob Loughman]] as the country dealt with the aftermath of [[Cyclone Harold]] and the global [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="2020Guardian">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/20/vanuatu-elects-new-prime-minister-as-country-reels-from-devastating-cyclone |title=Vanuatu elects new prime minister as country reels from devastating cyclone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211073718/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/20/vanuatu-elects-new-prime-minister-as-country-reels-from-devastating-cyclone |archive-date=11 December 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wasuka |first1=Evan |title=Supreme Court to hear 'abuse of process' application in PM's alleged bribery case |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radio-australia/programs/pacificbeat/supereme-court-to-decide-on-salwais-bribery-and-perjury-case/12065830 |work=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=18 March 2020 |access-date=27 August 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225190748/https://www.abc.net.au/radio-australia/programs/pacificbeat/supereme-court-to-decide-on-salwais-bribery-and-perjury-case/12065830 |url-status=live }}</ref> Vanuatu was one of the last places on Earth to suffer a coronavirus outbreak, recording its first case of COVID-19 in November 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-asia-new-zealand-asia-pacific-united-states-b1c3c7eaf51a6d514b186483def57f69 |title=Asia Today: Hong Kong, Singapore OK quarantine-free travel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111235807/https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-asia-new-zealand-asia-pacific-united-states-b1c3c7eaf51a6d514b186483def57f69 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |work=AP News |agency=Associated Press |date=11 November 2020}}</ref> In October 2023, Vanuatu aimed itself at being the first Pacific country to eliminate [[cervical cancer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kirby.unsw.edu.au/news/vanuatu-becomes-first-pacific-set-path-towards-cervical-cancer-elimination|title=Vanuatu becomes first in the Pacific to set a path towards cervical cancer elimination|publisher=Kirby Institute|date=4 October 2023|first=Luci|last=Bamford|access-date=24 December 2023|archive-date=24 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224011805/https://www.kirby.unsw.edu.au/news/vanuatu-becomes-first-pacific-set-path-towards-cervical-cancer-elimination|url-status=live}}</ref>

In December 2024, [[2024 Port Vila earthquake|a magnitude 7.3 earthquake]] reportedly damaged almost every single house in [[Efate]], where the capital, [[Port Vila]], is located, resulting in 19 fatalities.<ref>{{Cite news|date=18 December 2024|title=Live: Rescue efforts continue in Vanuatu, international assistance begins to arrive|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/537080/live-rescue-efforts-continue-in-vanuatu-international-assistance-begins-to-arrive|access-date=18 December 2024|work=[[Radio New Zealand]]}}</ref> The [[United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] estimated that 116,000 people had been directly affected by the earthquake,<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 December 2024 |title=Buildings 'pancaked' in Vanuatu as 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocks Pacific nation |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3291135/buildings-pancaked-vanuatu-74-magnitude-earthquake-rocks-pacific-nation |access-date=17 December 2024 |work=South China Morning Post}}</ref> equivalent to a third of Vanuatu's population.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 December 2024 |title=Vanuatu earthquake death toll rises to 14 as rescuers search for survivors |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/18/vanuatu-earthquake-death-toll-rises-to-fourteen-as-rescuers-scramble-for-survivors |access-date=18 December 2024 |work=Al Jazeera}}</ref>