Funafuti

Funafuti is an atoll, comprising numerous islets, that is a capital of Tuvalu. As of the 2017 census, it has a population of 6,320 people. More people live in Funafuti than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with it containing approximately 60% of the nation's population. The main islet, Fongafale, hosts Vaiaku, the administrative center of the nation.

Funafuti was first sighted by Europeans in 1819 by Arent Schuyler de Peyster, an American sea captain, who named it Ellice's Island. Between 1850 and 1875. In 1892, each of the Ellice Islands was declared a British protectorate by Captain Herbert Gibson of HMS Curacoa. In 1909, the first resident magistrate was appointed to Funafuti; in 1915, Funafuti, along with the rest of the Ellice Islands, were incorporated into the Gilbert and Ellice Islands as a crown colony. In October 1942, during World War II, Funafuti was occupied by American forces to serve as a strategic staging ground for the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign. Over the course of the war, the Americans dredged Funafuti's lagoon harbor and established the atoll's airfield, now known as Funafuti International Airport. In October 1972, Cyclone Bebe struck Funafuti, causing extensive damage; despite this Funafuti was chosen as the administrative capital of the newly founded nation of Tuvalu in 1978. As the capital of Tuvalu, Funafuti is by far the most urbanized atoll in the country, and is the hub of governmental, administrative, and economic activities.

The atoll consists of a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres (66 and 1,312 feet) wide, encircling a large lagoon (Te Namo) 18 km (11 miles) long and 14 km (9 miles) wide. The average depth of the Funafuti lagoon is about 20 fathoms (120 ft; 37 m). With a surface area of 275 square kilometres (106.2 sq mi), it is by far the largest lagoon in Tuvalu. The land area of the 33 islets around the atoll of Funafuti totals 2.4 square kilometres (0.9 sq mi); taken together, they constitute less than one percent of the total area of the atoll.

Much of Funafuti is less than one meter above sea level, making it highly susceptible to flooding. Projections indicate that by 2050, around half of the land area of Funafuti could be submerged during high tides as a result of rising sea levels, and by 2100, as much as 95% of the land may be flooded regularly.

The capital of Tuvalu is sometimes said to be Fongafale or Vaiaku, but, officially, the entire atoll of Funafuti is its capital, since it has a single government that is responsible for the whole atoll.

History

The oral history of Funafuti maintains that its founding ancestor came from the Samoan Islands. The name Funafati is derived from the word "Funa", which means "chief" in Samoan. Furthermore, the name of one of the islets, Funafala, means "the pandanus of Funa."

Arent Schuyler de Peyster, captain of the armed brigantine privateer vessel Rebecca, was one of the first recorded non-Polynesian visitors to Funafuti. His vessel sailed under British colors, and in May 1819, de Peyster passed through the southern waters of Tuvalu and sighted Funafuti. He named it Ellice Island, after Edward Ellice, an English politician and member of parliament for Coventry.

In 1841, the United States Exploring Expedition, led by Charles Wilkes, visited Funafuti. The United States claimed Funafuti, along with based on the 1856 Guano Islands Act, and maintained this claim until 1983, when a treaty of friendship, concluded in 1979, went into effect.

In the 1850s, John (Jack) O'Brien became the first European to settle in Tuvalu. He became a trader on Funafuti and married Salai, the daughter of Funafuti's paramount chief; with his family name continuing on Funafuti. Alfred Restieaux, a native of England, lived and worked as a trader on Funafuti from July 1881 until about 1888 or 1889.

In 1882, members of the US Fish Commission visited Funafuti on the USFC Albatross to investigate the formation of coral reefs on Pacific atolls. During that visit, Harry Clifford Fassett, the captain's clerk and a photographer, took pictures of people, communities, and scenery in Funafuti.

George Westbrook, a trader based in Funafuti, recorded a tropical cyclone that struck Funafuti on 23–24 December 1883. At the time the cyclone struck, he was the lone inhabitant of Fongafale, Funafuti's largest islet, because Tema, a Samoan missionary, had taken everyone else to Funafala to work on erecting a church. The cyclone destroyed the buildings in Fongafale, including the church and the trading stores belonging to George Westbrook and Alfred Restieaux. Despite this, rebuilding work instantly began at Fongafale.

In 1892, Captain Edward Davis of HMS Royalist provided a report describing the traders and trading activities he observed on each of the islands he visited. Davis identified Jack O'Brien as a trader on Funafuti, and O’Brien was also reported to be living on the atoll in 1896.

In 1894 Count Rudolph Festetics de Tolna, his wife Eila (née Haggin), and her daughter Blanche Haggin visited Funafuti aboard the yacht Le Tolna. The Count spent several days photographing the men and woman of Funafuti.

The population of Funafuti during the years 1860 to 1900 is estimated to have been between 280 and 300 people. The Funafuti Post Office opened around 1911.

During the Pacific War (World War II) the Ellice Islands were used as a base to prepare for the subsequent seaborn attacks on the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) that were occupied by Japanese forces. The United States Marine Corps 5th Defense Battalion landed on Funafuti on 2 October 1942; the operation was kept secret until the Japanese discovered it for themselves on 27 March 1943. On Funafuti, the islanders were shifted to the smaller islets to allow the American forces to build an airfield (now Funafuti International Airport), along with a 76-bed hospital and the Naval Base Funafuti port facilities on Fongafale islet.

In 1972, Funafuti lay in the path of Cyclone Bebe during the 1972–73 South Pacific cyclone season. Bebe was a pre-season tropical cyclone that hit the Gilbert, Ellice, and Fiji island groups. The cyclone system was first spotted on 20 October. It intensified and grew in size through 22 October. At about 4 p.m. on Saturday the 21st, sea water bubbled through the coral on the airfield and rose to a height of about 5 feet (1.5 m). Cyclone Bebe continued to ravage the area through Sunday 22 October. The Ellice Islands Colony's ship Moanaraoi, which was in the lagoon, survived. However, three tuna boats were wrecked. As waves broke over the atoll, five people died: two adults and a 3-month-old child were swept away by waves, and two sailors who had been in the wrecked tuna boats drowned. The cyclone knocked down 90% of the island's houses and trees. The storm surge created a wall of coral rubble along the ocean side of Fongafale and Funafala that was about 10 miles (16 km) long, and about 10 to 20 feet (3.0 to 6.1 m) thick at the bottom. The storm surge also destroyed or contaminated the area's sources of fresh drinking water.

In June 1996, the Funafuti Conservation Area was established along the western rim of the reef, encompassing six islets. It has an area of 33 square kilometres (13 sq mi), containing 20 per cent of the reef area of Funafuti. The land area of the six islets in the conservation area is 8 ha (20 acres). Below is a list of the islets in the conservation area, in order from north to south, with their estimated areas in hectares:

• Tepuka Vilivili, 3
• Fualopa, 2
• Fuafatu, 0.2
• Vasafua, 0.5
• Fuakea, 1.5
• Tefala, 1

21st century

Funafuti stands as both a political and environmental symbol of the challenges faced by small island developing states (SIDS) in the modern era. Since the turn of the 21st century, Funafuti has been at the forefront of regional and international discourse surrounding climate change, sustainable development, and geopolitical cooperation. This period in its history is shaped by mounting environmental pressures, efforts at socio-political resilience, and increasingly vital international partnerships.

Darwin's Drill

The Darwin's Drill project, conducted by the Royal Society of London in 1896, 1897, and 1898, involved drilling boreholes on Funafuti to test Charles Darwin's theory of coral atoll formation. The expeditions sought evidence of shallow-water organisms deep within the coral structure. Professor Sollas led the 1896 expedition and later published a report on the atoll study. Professor Edgeworth David of the University of Sydney participated in the 1896 expedition and led the 1897 effort. Photographers on the expeditions recorded people, communities and scenes at Funafuti.

The geological significance of Funafuti in testing Darwin's theory was recognised in October 2022, when the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) included the atoll in its list of 100 'geological heritage sites' worldwide.

Funafuti, the capital atoll of Tuvalu, has become a focal point for global discussions on climate change and its impacts on low-lying island nations. With an average elevation of just two metres above sea level, Funafuti faces existential threats from rising sea levels, making it a critical site for understanding the intersection of environmental vulnerability, adaptation efforts, and international cooperation.