Editing History of Vanuatu (section)

==Decolonisation==
Perhaps the final political impetus towards independence was the central issue of land ownership which arose during the 1960s. The ancient customs of the ''Ni-Vanuatu'' meant that land was held in trust for future generations by the current custodians; [[European ethnic groups|Europeans]] viewed it more as a commodity and owned about 30% of the land area. This European-held land had been mostly cleared for [[coconut]] production, but when they began clearing more land for coconut production, protests began in both [[Espiritu Santo|Santo]] and [[Malekula]] led by [[Jimmy Stevens (politician)|Jimmy Stevens]] and his ''[[kastom]]'' movement called "[[Nagriamel]]".

In the 1960s France opposed Britain's desire to de-colonize the [[New Hebrides]], fearing that the independence sentiment would be contagious in their [[Nickel|mineral]]-rich colonial possessions in [[New Caledonia|French New Caledonia]].<ref name="Palgrave">{{cite book |last=Fischer |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Roger Fischer |title=A History of the Pacific Islands |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofpacific00fisc |url-access=registration |year=2002 |publisher=Palgrave |location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS |isbn=0-333-94975-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofpacific00fisc/page/249 249–250] |chapter=Reinventing Pacific Islands }}</ref>

The first political party was established in the early 1970s and originally was called the [[New Hebrides National Party]]. One of the founders was [[Walter Lini]], an [[Anglican#Priesthood(Presbyterate)|Anglican Priest]], who later became [[prime minister]]. Renamed the [[Vanua'aku Party]] in 1974, the party pushed for independence. [[New Hebrides Representative Assembly]] was created in 1975 but dissolved in 1977 after demands for the elimination of government-appointees and immediate independence. In 1979 foreign owners were dispossessed and received compensation from their own governments and a date was set for full independence.
France was unhappy. Significant rebellions occurred on [[Tanna (island)|Tanna]] and Espiritu Santo and paperwork revealed the direct culpability of France in its desire to see Espiritu Santo become a separate French colony. Philippe Allonneau, the French representative, even succeeded in being recognized as King of Espiritu Santo by the island's tribal chiefs.