Tuvalu is a cluster of low-lying atolls and islands in the South Pacific that results in the formation of the fourth smallest country in the world. This is the least-visited country in the entire world. Tuvalu, made up of 9 small islands, only saw 2,000 visitors last year.
Located in the South Pacific, this beautiful destination may seem like an ideal getaway.
It has breathtaking beaches and expansive natural beauty. But, it won’t be around forever.
Due to climate change, sea levels have been rising sharply making it one of the islands most likely to disappear in the 21st century
So, if you want to visit this remote paradise, you’ll have to go soon.
It is generally considered that the erstwhile ancestors mostly came from Samoa, probably from the Tokelau way, while others arrived from Uvea (Wallis Island) and Tonga. These habitats were all Polynesians, having an exception of Nui, where a number of people are heirs of Micronesians belonging to Kiribati. There are three different linguistic regions in Tuvalu.
The first region is all about islands of Nanumaga, Nanumea, and Niutao. The island of Nui is the second region where the natives speak the language which basically originated from I-Kiribati. The linguistic group third in queue, features the islands of Funafuti, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, and Vaitupu. Currently, English and Tuvaluan, both languages are spoken all over the island.
Alvaro de Mendana y Neyra was the first explorer who was a Spanish man, to make contact with Tuvalu. In 1567-78, the Spanish explorer sailed across Pacific Ocean in west direction to explore, discover, and name an important part of the eastern half of the Solomon Islands.
The first European explorer to contact Tuvalu was a Spanish explorer, Alvaro de Mendana y. Neera. He went west in the Pacific region in 1567-8 to discover, locate and name an important part of the eastern part of the Solomon Islands. On January 16, 1568, Mendana, accompanying his ship Capitana, saw his first island, which was known to be Nui and was named – the Isle of Jesus.
The archipelagos became an important part of the British colony of Ellice and Gilbert Islands. Although, cultural differences inside the colony caused Ellice Islands’ Polynesians to vote for partition from the Gilbert Islands’ Micronesians. In 1978, the Ellice Islands developed into a separate British colony of Tuvalu and then independence was given.
Tuvalu discussed a contract in 2000, renting out its Internet domain name- “.tv” for $50 million in supremacy over the next couple of years.