Today is Independence Day in Vanuatu. This is the National Day of Vanuatu and marks the end of colonial rule by Britain and France on this day in 1980.
Vanuatu is an archipelago of 82 islands (65 are inhabited) and is located about 1,750 kilometres (1,000 miles) east of Australia. Despite their remote location, the islands were permanently inhabited as early as 500BC and were part of the Tongan Empire in the 14th century.
European colonial contact began in 1606 when the islands were visited and claimed by Spain which established a short-lived settlement before they were forgotten again. The islands were rediscovered in 1768 and were given the name ‘New Hebrides’ by Captain James Cook on his visit in 1774.
The French established the first permanent settlements in the 1850s, with the British claiming parts of the archipelago. In 1906, the two European powers agreed on a unique framework arrangement called a condominium to share the rule of the New Hebrides. To this day, the three official languages of Vanuatu are Bislama, English and French.
The archipelago gained independence on July 30th 1980 as the Republic of Vanuatu (the name comes from two local words meaning ‘home’ and ‘stand’) and joined the Commonwealth. The Vanuatu national anthem is “Yumi, yumi, yumi,” (We, we, we).
Today is the birthday, in 1947, of Karl Green, guitarist with English beat rock band, Herman’s Hermits who scored the 1964 UK No.1 single ‘I’m Into Something Good’ (cover of Earl-Jean’s) and the 1965 US No.1 single ‘Mrs Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1MV-Jy_Bog
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