The Protectorate of Wallis and Futuna was a French protectorate from March 5, 1888, to July 29, 1961, over the islands of Wallis, Futuna, and Alofi, in the Pacific Ocean. It was established at the request of the customary kings, under the influence of Catholic Marist missionaries who had converted the population in 1840–42 and sought French protection against the advance of Protestants in the region. In April 1887, the protectorate over Wallis was signed. It was extended to Futuna the following year, although these islands were administratively attached to New Caledonia until 1909. Given the islands' low strategic interest and remoteness, there was no real colonization.
The protectorate is headed by a resident sent by France. Residing in Wallis, he is responsible for maintaining law and order, managing the budget and collecting taxes, building infrastructure, and also has the power to validate the appointment of customary kings. Nevertheless, the French administration has to contend with the customary powers (Lavelua in Wallis, kings in Futuna, and their chiefdoms), which have authority over the Wallisians and Futunians, with the powerful Catholic Church, which oversees the population and manages education as well as morality control, and with the merchants, some of whom get involved in politics. Nevertheless, some residents tried to increase their power, such as Jean-Joseph David, who sought to develop Wallisian infrastructure and exports at breakneck speed in the 1930s. Futuna, on the other hand, is difficult to reach, and the French administration is represented by a missionary. Futuna's trajectory therefore differs markedly from that of Wallis.
Inhabitants relied on subsistence farming and fishing to meet their needs, and these Polynesian societies, organized around give-and-take, were unaware of the market economy. The only commercial activity, encouraged by France, was the export of copra, but this collapsed in the 1930s.
World War II represented a major turning point: by remaining loyal to the Vichy regime, the islands were cut off from the world for 17 months, before being recaptured by the Free French and Wallis taken over by the American army. The construction of infrastructures, the arrival of strong purchasing power, and the discovery of the Western model of society upset the socio-economic and political balance. A large-scale emigration to New Caledonia and the New Hebrides began, reinforced by the dilapidated economic situation following the departure of the Americans in 1944. The protectorate became "archaic". The population voted overwhelmingly in favor of a change of status in the 1959 referendum, and on July 26, 1961, the protectorate came to an end: Wallis and Futuna became an overseas territory.
Context
Geographical location
The protectorate covers the Wallis Islands (a central island surrounded by a lagoon with several islets) and the Horn Islands (Futuna and Alofi). Located in the Pacific Ocean, they belong to the cultural and historical area of Polynesia.
The nearest islands are Tonga to the south (British protectorate from 1900 to 1970), Fiji (British colony from 1874 to 1970) to the south-west, and the Ellice Islands and Gilbert Islands (British protectorates from 1892 to the 1970s, now Tuvalu and Kiribati) to the north, Tokelau (British protectorate, included in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1916) to the northeast, and Samoa to the east, divided between German Samoa (1900–1914), which came under New Zealand sovereignty in 1920, and American Samoa (1899–present). The French protectorate was thus surrounded by British and American possessions.
The closest French possessions are the New Hebrides (a Franco-British condominium from 1907 to 1980) and New Caledonia, a colony conquered in 1853 and made an overseas territory in 1944. The French establishments in Oceania (now French Polynesia), a colony from 1880 to 1946, are even further away.
Demographics In 1842, the population of Wallis was estimated at 2,500, and that of Futuna at 900. In the 20th century, the population of Wallis and Futuna grew steadily. From 1942 onwards, installing an American base in Wallis brought great prosperity, which encouraged the birth rate. This "golden age" ended in 1946, but led to a sharp drop in mortality. As a result, Wallis experienced "demographic exuberance:” between 1935 and 1953, the population grew by 45%. The vast majority of the inhabitants were Polynesians; the Western presence was minimal, limited to a dozen missionaries, a dozen merchants, and a resident of France. There were also several hundred Polynesians from the surrounding islands, who in 1900 accounted for 10% of Uvea's population and were well integrated into Wallisian society.
Social and political organization
The Wallis and Futuna islands are structured around village chiefdoms headed by a customary "king" (hau in Wallisian, sau in Futunian), chosen from among the noble families ('aliki). Custom plays a very important role in the life of the islanders. When Westerners arrived in the 19th century, Futuna was divided into two kingdoms: Alo and Sigave, while the kingdom of Uvea encompassed the whole island of Wallis. The customary kings had authority over land ownership: no foreigner could buy land, and only a right of use could be granted.
In 1837, French Marist missionaries arrived on both islands and, within a few years, converted the population to Catholicism. They grouped the settlements on the coast and provided a framework for the royal power. In Wallis, the rules established by the missionaries changed the social order by freezing customary organization, weakening the aristocracy through mixed marriages,Mixed marriages between commoners (tu'a) and nobles ('aliki). and creating a local clergy to establish their spiritual and temporal authority. The mission thus succeeded in taking a place in the traditional customary organization, preserving or adapting Wallisian customs.
As historian Frédéric Angleviel notes, "at the time of the arrival of the Westerners, the Wallis and Futuna entity could be considered non-existent, the two archipelagos being entirely independent of each other." Traditional links existed between these islands and the other Polynesian archipelagos, but travel (tāvaka) was forbidden by missionaries to protect Wallis and Futuna from outside influences.
Timeline
Origins
As soon as the Marist Fathers arrived in Wallis and Futuna in 1837, the missionaries understood the importance of official French protection for the islands, which they had converted to Catholicism. Indeed, at the end of the 19th century, rivalries between Catholics and Protestants were strong. As Jean-Claude Roux sums up, "behind the missionary screen, a delicate game between sailors, consuls, colonists, and merchants was going to be played for a long time, for the control of the South Pacific archipelagos." The aim was to counter the influence of the Tongans, who had recently converted to Methodism and were making several attempts to extend their religion to Wallis.
Under the influence of the Marist Fathers, the Wallisian sovereign (Lavelua) made an initial request to France for a protectorate in February 1842, then again in October of the same year, by addressing the various ship captains who docked at Wallis. According to Jean-Claude Roux, "the need to protect the Marist missionaries meant that the French Navy de facto took over Wallis and Futuna's affairs." At the time, the French Navy was seeking to increase the number of ports where its ships could call.
However, France initially refused this request for a protectorate, as a diplomatic crisis had erupted with the United Kingdom, known as the "Pritchard Affair," over the protectorate established in Tahiti: French annexations in the Pacific were then halted for a time to appease the British.
Beginnings of the protectorate (1887–1905)
In the 1880s, the diplomatic and strategic situation changed. Following the British annexation of Fiji in 1874, which shattered the precarious balance between the two nations, the French also wanted to assert their position in distant Oceania. Wallis and Futuna enjoyed renewed interest from the Ministry of the Colonies, and Tongan designs on 'Uvea increasingly worried the Wallisians. Missionaries also feared annexation by the British in Fiji. In 1881 and 1884, the queen of Wallis, Amelia Tokagahahau (daughter of Lavelua Soane Patita Vaimu'a), repeated her request for a protectorate to French officers visiting Wallis. It wasn't until 1886 that the request for a protectorate from France was finally granted, fifty years after the installation of the Marist Fathers.
Queen Amelia Tokagahau signed a protectorate treaty ratified by France on April 5, 1887, by decree. On November 29 of the same year, the kings Anise Tamole for Sigave and Malia Soane Musulamu for Alo also applied to join France. On March 5, 1888, a protectorate unifying Wallis and Futuna was signed. The beginnings of the protectorate were imprecise: the decree of April 5, 1887, only concerned Wallis, and the island was attached administratively and financially to New Caledonia by a second decree on November 27, 1887 – although the precise terms were not specified. Futuna was finally included in the protectorate on February 16, 1888. It was not until 1909 (decree of June 10, 1909) that Wallis and Futuna were officially detached from New Caledonia and brought together as a single separate entity.
The sovereigns of Futuna and Wallis retain full customary authority over their subjects, so this is not strictly speaking a conquest or colonization. The first French resident arrived in Wallis in 1888. However, for Jean-Claude Roux, by 1900 "Wallis and Futuna were no longer of any strategic value." It wasn't until the late 1890s that the two islands began to show some economic interest, in the production of copra. For Filihau Asi Talatini, "without the Catholic mission, France would not be present in the archipelago." Frédéric Angleviel speaks of a “symbolic” protectorate: “These statutes preserve the interests of the mission and the great chieftaincy while avoiding disproportionate expenditure by the Ministry of the Colonies about the small size of these archipelagos at the end of the world.”
The medical residents (1906–1942) Pierre Élie Viala arrived in 1905, followed by Jean-Victor Brochard (son of Victor Brochard), who strongly opposed the Catholic mission. After arriving in August 1909, Brochard had to leave Wallis in April 1910, but thanks to support in Nouméa, he was able to return to the island in 1912.
Annexation plans (1913)
A new protectorate treaty was signed with France on May 19, 1910. The text, valid until 1961, limited the powers of the King of Wallis, who was placed under subjection to the resident, and those of the missionaries. This new 1910 treaty was supposed to pave the way for annexation, officially requested by the King in 1913, under the influence of Resident Brochard. On June 22, 1913, the cruiser Kersaint docked at Wallis and organized a ceremony where the French flag was raised in front of the royal palace. This was a source of concern for neighboring English-speaking countries. In France, annexation became a bill in 1917, passed by the Chamber of Deputies in 1920, but finally rejected by the Senate in 1924.
After several "disastrous initiatives", Resident Brochard left Wallis and Futuna for good in 1914. Between 1914 and 1926, there was no resident physician.
Alain Gerbault on Wallis (1926)