Prehistory The history of Vanuatu before European colonisation is mostly obscure because of the lack of written sources which predate European contact and because only limited archaeological work has been conducted; Vanuatu's volatile geology and climate are also likely to have destroyed or hidden many prehistoric sites. 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
BCE and 700 BCE. The stories about Roy Mata come from local oral tradition and are consistent with centuries-old evidence uncovered at archaeological sites. , associated with the
Roy Mata World Heritage Site The immediate origins of the Lapita lie to the northwest, in the
Solomon Islands archipelago and the
Bismarck Archipelago of
Papua New Guinea, They brought with them crops such as
yam,
taro, and
banana, as well as domesticated animals such as pigs and chickens. 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 branch of the
Austronesian language family. 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. The geological record also shows that a huge volcanic eruption occurred on
Ambrym in CE, which would have devastated local populations and likely resulted in further population movements.
Human cannibalism, at least for some parts of Vanuatu, is often mentioned, both by indigenous sources (myths, oral history, popular culture) and by foreign observers. However, its existence and exact prevalence remain to be confirmed with empirical evidence.
Arrival of Europeans (1606–1906) 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 explorer
Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, sailing for the
Spanish Crown, departed
El Callao, sailed by the
Banks Islands, landing briefly on
Gaua (which he called Santa María). Continuing further south, Queirós arrived at the largest island, naming it or "The Southern Land of the Holy Spirit", believing he had arrived in
Terra Australis (Australia). The Spanish established a settlement named
Nueva Jerusalén at Big Bay on the north side of the island, but it was a short-lived endeavor. 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. 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. 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. The
French government took over the CCNH in 1894 and actively encouraged French settlement. For a short period in 1889 to 1890,
Franceville, an area around present-day Port Vila, declared itself an independent commune under the leadership of elected
mayor/
president Ferdinand Chevillard. Hostilities between settlers and Ni-Vanuatu were commonplace, often centring on disputes over land which had been purchased in dubious circumstances. Land expropriation and exploitation of Ni-Vanuatu workers on plantations continued apace. By 1929, there were some 6,000 Vietnamese people in the New Hebrides. Most Vietnamese were repatriated in 1946 and 1963, though a small Vietnamese community remains in Vanuatu today. 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. 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. Meanwhile, the Condominium government returned, though understaffed and underfunded, it struggled to reassert its authority. The movement gained a large following, prompting a crackdown by the authorities, with Buluk and Stevens being arrested in 1967. 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. After discussions and some fresh elections in disputed areas, the Assembly finally convened in November 1976. 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. 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. A compromise was eventually brokered, a Government of National Unity formed under a new constitution, and fresh
elections held in November 1979, which the VP won with a comfortable majority. Independence was now scheduled for 30 July 1980. Tensions continued throughout 1980. Violent confrontations occurred between VP and Moderate supporters on several islands. In May, an abortive Moderate rebellion broke out on Tanna, in the course of which one of their leaders was shot and killed. The Anglo-French forces withdrew in August, and Lini called in troops from
Papua New Guinea, sparking the brief '
Coconut War' against
Jimmy Stevens' Vemarana separatists. The PNG forces quickly quelled the Vemarana revolt and Stevens surrendered on 1 September; he was later jailed. Lini remained in office until 1991, running an Anglophone-dominated government and winning both the 1983 and 1987 elections. In foreign affairs, Lini joined the
Non-Aligned Movement, opposed
Apartheid in South Africa and all forms of colonialism, established links with
Libya and
Cuba, and opposed the French presence in
New Caledonia and their nuclear testing in
French Polynesia. 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. 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. In 1996, Vohor and President
Jean-Marie Léyé were briefly abducted by the
Vanuatu Mobile Force over a pay dispute and later released unharmed. 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. Vanuatu was removed from the
OECD list of 'uncooperative tax havens' in 2003 and joined the
World Trade Organization in 2011. in 2015
Edward Natapei of the VP became prime minister in 2001 and went on to win the
2002 Vanuatuan general election. 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
China-Taiwan dispute and was unseated in a confidence vote less than five months after taking office, being replaced by
Ham Lini. Lini switched back recognition to the People's Republic of China, and the PRC remains a major aid donor to the Vanuatu government. In 2007, violent clashes broke out in Port Vila between migrants from Tanna and Ambrym, in which two people died.
Sato Kilman of the
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. Kilman managed to remain in office for two years, before being ousted in March 2013. 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. 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. A corruption investigation in 2015 resulted in the conviction of numerous MPs in Kilman's government for bribery, including former PM Moana Carcasses Kalosil. 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. Vanuatu was one of the last places on Earth to suffer a coronavirus outbreak, recording its first case of COVID-19 in November 2020. In October 2023, Vanuatu aimed itself at being the first Pacific country to eliminate
cervical cancer. In December 2024,
a magnitude 7.3 earthquake reportedly damaged almost every single house in
Efate, where the capital,
Port Vila, is located, resulting in 19 fatalities. The
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that 116,000 people had been directly affected by the earthquake, equivalent to a third of Vanuatu's population. Vanuatu enacted the Vanuatu Oceans Act in November 2025, marking a significant shift toward community-based management and formalising protection for the nation's marine resources. ==Geography==