Wallis and Futuna Territory Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna Territory Day is celebrated annually on July 29 in the Wallis and Futuna Islands Territory. The day commemorates the day in 1961 when the islands became a French Overseas Territory. Wallis and Futuna is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific. Tuvalu is to the northwest, and Fiji is to the southwest. In addition, Tokelau, Tonga, and Samoa are located to its northeast, southeast, and east, respectively. Since the late 19th century, these islands have been a protectorate of France. This is one of the most important public festivities in Wallis and Futuna, French Pacific Islands.

The background of Wallis and Futuna Territory Day

In 1961, the Wallis and Futuna Islands became a French Overseas Territory, which is commemorated on Territory Day. This occasion is annually observed in the Wallis and Futuna Islands Territory. Fiji and Samoa, the two island groups in the South Pacific, were originally inhabited by Polynesians, and Europeans did not make contact with them for quite some time. Europeans first encountered these islands in 1616, when Dutch circumnavigators sailed by during their circumnavigation of the globe. In 1767, Samuel Wallis, a British explorer, sailed through the Wallis Islands and gave them their name.

At the conclusion of the 19th century, the islands became a French protectorate. In 1917, France annexed the territory. It remained a French colony under New Caledonia’s authority until the early 1960s. The inhabitants of the island voted in 1959 to become a French overseas territory. They merged on July 29, 1961, and Territory Day has been celebrated ever since.

France and the Territory have close ties and mutually support one another. In 1998, a typhoon (tropical cyclone) wiped out the majority of cultivated commodities on the island of Uvea, including the banana plantations, and a grant from France aided in the recovery. Moreover, in 2003 the two governments concluded a bilateral agreement that redefined their relations under the Nouméa Accord, including provisions for regular discussions of issues affecting expatriates.

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5 FACTS ABOUT WALLIS AND FUTUNA

Uvea, one of the Islands, is a volcanic island surrounded by 20 uninhabited islets and a barrier reef.

In the islands, coconuts, breadfruit, bananas, taro, cassava, yams, mangoes, and pineapples are the most important subsistence commodities.

The native inhabitants of Uvea and Futuna are Polynesians, but their languages and populations are distinct.

On the islands, villages are dispersed, primarily along the coast, and there are no genuine urban areas.

Revenues are derived from French government subsidies, import duties, licencing of fishing rights to Japanese and South Korean firms, and remittances from New Caledonian expatriates.

WALLIS AND FUTUNA TERRITORY DAY DATES

Year	Date	Day
2023	July 29	Saturday
2024	July 29	Monday
2025	July 29	Tuesday
2026	July 29	Wednesday
2027	July 29	Thursday