Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, northeast of Vanuatu, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna, and north of Fiji.
A Tuvaluan man in traditional attire drawn by Alfred Agate in 1841, during the United States Exploring Expedition
Woman on Funafuti (1900) Photography by Harry Clifford Fassett
Stamps of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands with portraits of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II
A beach at Funafuti atoll
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in common, including language relatedness, cultural practices, and traditional beliefs. In centuries past, they had a strong shared tradition of sailing and using stars to navigate at night.
Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia
Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii
Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui
Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa
