Tuvalu Island

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Course

29 July 2008

The Nation of Tuvalu

For those living in the Western hemisphere they are familiar with the idea of the land-hungry European . There are people who love to acquire acres of land through purchase or through warfare . If they ever get to come to the Pacific Ocean they will be surprised to know that there are tiny nations where its inhabitants are contented to live in atolls These are not simply islands but relatively small islands some of which have a call it their

home . They live and die in this small piece of real estate . One of these small groups of land is a tiny nation called Tuvalu

Background

Tuvalu , pronounced too-VAH-loo ' is a tiny nation that can be found in the Southwest Pacific Ocean . It is an independent constitutional monarchy that is composed of nine coral atolls , one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia (CIA , 1 . Tuvalu was formerly known as the Ellice Islands a part of the British Colony . But In 1974 ethnic differences within colony forced the Polynesians to vote for separation , a referendum in 1975 allowed them to achieve independence from Great Britain on October 1 , 1978

In 2008 it was estimated that there are only about 12 , 177 people living in all of the nine atolls comprising Tuvalu . In a that is only about 10 square miles or 26 square kilometres (CIA , 1 This means that in terms of land area Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world . It is surrounded by water but very little body of water inland such as lakes etc . The terrain is very low-lying and narrow coral atolls with its highest point at only 5 meters . This provides an idea of how small the nation is . But if this does not help to visualize the size of Tuvalu this one might do the trick , it is 0 .1 times the size of Washington , D .C (CIA , 1

Tuvalu can be roughly translated as cluster of eight (Stanley 572 . This refers to the eight traditional islands of Tuvalu but officially there are nine islands situated from north to south and these are listed as follows

Nanumea

It is situated in the nothwesternmost part of Tuvalua and its lagoon is considered by many to be the most beautiful in the whole nation . There are two islands which are situated 5 kilometers apart

Niutao

The people were converted by Protestant missionaries in the 1870s and in 1991 they completed building a new church . It is also well known for its decorative pandanus floor mats

Nanumaga or Nanumanga

It is a single island with a narrow reef . The main village is divided into the Tokelau and the Tonga . The Nanumaga people are conservative but they will warmly welcome visitors . The only thing to remember is that fishing is prohibited on Tuesday and Wednesday and if one decides to visit he or she must pay a courtesy call to island chief (Stanley , 586

Nui

It is...