Vaitupu

The nation of Tuvalu's biggest atoll is Vaitupu. It's at 7.48 degrees south and 178.83 degrees east. There are 1,061 inhabitants (2017 Census) residing on 5.6 square kilometers (2.2 square miles), with Asau serving as the principal settlement. The island's 5.6 square kilometers (2 square miles) comprise wetlands, mangroves, a bordering coral reef, and a big lagoon.

It is uncertain when Vaitupu's initial settlement occurred. According to oral tradition, the Vaitupuan village was founded by Telematua, a Samoan who arrived in the 16th or 17th century. Tongans may have arrived to the atoll for the first time in the mid-13th century. Throughout its history, Vaitupu has maintained ties with Tonga, both amicable (alliances through marriage) and hostile (visits by Tongan slave-seekers). Vaitupu was also visited by I-Kiribati, therefore it was not isolated. Vaitupu translates as "water fountain."

According to Vaitupuan legend, fate favored their efforts when a ship dispatched to collect the last payment sunk, as did the second ship, the trade schooner Vaitupulemele. The majority of the money had been gathered by the time a third ship arrived. The trading schooner Vaitupulemele, on the other hand, appears to play a different part in Vaitupu's history. The debt that was owed to Ruge & Co went beyond the purchase of items on credit to include the Vaitupulemele purchase price by the Vaitupu Company. T.M. Williams was the Ruge agent at the time, but he later founded the Vaitupu Company with the Vaitupuan community and bought the Vaitupulemele from Ruge & Co. However, the schooner was destroyed on a trip from Samoa, and Williams died shortly after, leaving no accounting for copra transported from Vaitupu. In any case, the Vaitupuans paid the whole amount sought by Ruge & Co, despite the fact that that firm shortly went bankrupt.

Location: Hihifo District