{{Short description|1906–1980 Anglo-French condominium in the South Pacific}} {{Use British English|date=July 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox country | native_name = {{native name|fr|Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides}} | conventional_long_name = New Hebrides Condominium | common_name = New Hebrides | era = | status = Special territory | government_type = Condominium of the United Kingdom and France | legislature = Representative Assembly (1975–1980)| | event_start = | year_start = 1906 | date_start = 20 October | event_end = Independence | year_end = 1980 | date_end = 30 July | p1 = Anglo-French Joint Naval Commission | flag_p1 = Flag of Franceville.svg | s1 = Vanuatu | flag_s1 = Flag of Vanuatu.svg | image_flag = Flag of the British New Hebrides (1952–1980).svg | image_flag2 = Flag of France.svg | flag = Flag of Vanuatu#Historical flags of the New Hebrides | image_coat = Coat of arms of New Hebrides.svg | symbol_type = Emblem (1969) | coa_size = 110px | symbol = Coat of arms of Vanuatu | national_anthem = "God Save the King"<br />{{center|File:United_States_Navy_Band_-_God_Save_the_Queen.ogg}}"La Marseillaise"<br />{{center|File:La Marseillaise.ogg}} | image_map = Vanuatu on the globe (Polynesia centered).svg | image_map_caption = | iso3166code = NH | capital = Port Vila<!-- |latd=17|latm=45|latNS=S|longd=168|longm=18|longEW=E --> | common_languages = {{ubl|English|French|Bislama}} | currency = New Hebrides franc, Australian dollar | title_leader = Monarch of Britain | leader1 = Edward VII | year_leader1 = 1906–1910 | leader2 = Elizabeth II | year_leader2 = 1952–1980 | title_representative = President of France | representative1 = Armand Fallières | year_representative1 = 1906–1913 | representative2 = Valéry Giscard d'Estaing | year_representative2 = 1974–1980 | title_deputy = Resident Commissioners | deputy1 = Ernest Goldfinch Rason (British Zone) | year_deputy1 = 1906–1907 | deputy2 = Andrew Christopher Stuart (British Zone) | year_deputy2 = 1978–1980 | deputy3 = Charles Bord (French Zone) | year_deputy3 = 1906–1908 | deputy4 = Jean-Jacques Robert (French Zone) | year_deputy4 = 1978–1980 }} thumb|Map of the New Hebrides, 1905 thumb|The Joint Court in 1914
'''New Hebrides''', named after the Hebrides in Scotland by Captain James Cook in 1774, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. The '''New Hebrides Condominium''' ({{langx|fr|link=yes|Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides}}), which followed the governance of the islands under the Anglo-French Joint Naval Commission (1887–1889 and 1890–1906), lasted from 1906 until 1980, when New Hebrides gained its independence as the Republic of Vanuatu.
==History== {{also|History of Vanuatu#Condominium}} The northern islands of the archipelago had been settled by 1300 BCE by people of the Lapita culture, from Melanesian islands to the west. People of Polynesian origin followed, around 3,000 years before the first Europeans arrived in 1606, in a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós. French navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville followed in 1768, and the islands were named by Captain James Cook in 1774.<ref name=eb>{{cite web | last1=Adams | first1=Ron | last2=Foster | first2=Sophie | title=Melanesian, Colonization, Independence | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=1 August 2025 | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Vanuatu/History | access-date=2 August 2025}}</ref><ref name=farran2009>{{cite web | title= New Hebrides (Vanuatu)| first=Sue| last=Farran| website=Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law | url=https://opil.ouplaw.com/display/10.1093/law:epil/9780199231690/law-9780199231690-e1324?rskey=IrJEQW&result=61&prd=MPIL&print| date=August 2009 | access-date=2 August 2025}}</ref>
During the 19th century, British, French, Australian, and German settlers settled in the territory of the New Hebrides.<ref name=bresnihan>{{cite book | last1=Bresnihan | first1=Brian J. | last2=Woodward | first2=Keith | title=Tufala Gavman: Reminiscences from the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides | publisher=editorips@usp.ac.fj | date=2002 | isbn=978-982-02-0342-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhNmCiYYxucC&pg=PA422 | access-date=31 July 2025 | page=422}}</ref> In 1878, the United Kingdom and France declared all of the New Hebrides to be neutral territory.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/library/Online/Texts/Pacific_archive/New%20Hebrides/1.Agrrement%20between%20Britain%20and%20France%20respecting%20the%20independence%20of%20the%20New%20Hebrides,%20January-FEbruary%201878.PDF|title = Arrangement between Great Britain and France, respecting the Independence of the New Hebrides Group|date = Jan–Feb 1878|access-date = 2010-01-22|archive-date = 2012-02-29|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120229220044/http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/library/Online/Texts/Pacific_archive/New%20Hebrides/1.Agrrement%20between%20Britain%20and%20France%20respecting%20the%20independence%20of%20the%20New%20Hebrides,%20January-FEbruary%201878.PDF|url-status = dead}}</ref> In 1887, the Anglo-French Joint Naval Commission took charge of the territory. On 9 August 1889, Franceville, an area around present-day Port Vila, declared itself an independent commune under the leadership of elected mayor/president Ferdinand-Albert Chevillard,<ref>{{cite book |last=Pelatan |first=Louis |year=1889 |title=Lettres calédoniennes |publisher=Impr. du Colon |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_2_AVAAAAIAAJ/page/n82 73] |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_2_AVAAAAIAAJ }}</ref><ref>''Sydney Morning Herald'', Aug 26, 1889</ref><ref>"The 'Commune' of Franceville," ''North Otago Times'' (New Zealand), Sep 5, 1889</ref> and with its own red, white and blue flag with five stars.<ref>{{cite book |last = Imhaus|first = E.N.|year = 1890|title = Les Nouvelles-Hébrides: avec une carte et sept gravures|pages = 154–160|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=t-gVAAAAIAAJ}}</ref><ref>Simpson, Colin (1955), ''Islands of Men: A Six-part Book about Life in Melanesia'', p 133</ref> It became one of the first self-governing nations in recorded history to practice universal suffrage without distinction of sex or race.<ref>"Wee, Small Republics: A Few Examples of Popular Government," ''Hawaiian Gazette'', Nov 1, 1895, p 1</ref> However, the new government was soon suppressed, and by June 1890, Franceville as a commune was reported to have been "practically broken up", with the Naval Commission resuming control.<ref>"Latest Cable News: Australian News," ''The West Coast Times'' (New Zealand), June 28, 1890, p 2</ref> The two countries eventually signed an agreement making the islands an Anglo-French condominium ({{langx|fr|link=yes|Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides}}) that provided for joint sovereignty over the archipelago with two parallel administrations, one British, one French,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Blais|first=Hélène|chapter=Sharing Colonial Sovereignty? The Anglo-French Experience of the New Hebrides Condominium, 1880s–1930s|date=2019|pages=225–247|editor-last=Fichter|editor-first=James R.|series=Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Series|publisher=Springer International Publishing|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-97964-9_10|isbn=9783319979649|title=British and French Colonialism in Africa, Asia and the Middle East|s2cid=201397581 }}</ref><ref name=eb/> under the "Protocol of 1906", which became effective in 1907.<ref name=farran2009/>
In 1903, Australian geologist Douglas Mawson was appointed geologist to an expedition to the New Hebrides.<ref name=encyc>{{cite web |last1=McCarthy| first1= G.J. |first2=Helen |last2=Cohn | title= Mawson, Douglas (1882–1958)|website=Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation | publisher=Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation | date= 6 February 2024 | url=https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000631b.htm | access-date=27 June 2025| quote=Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 February 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250624081627/https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000631b.htm| archive-date= 24 June 2025| url-status=live}}</ref> His report, "The Geology of the New Hebrides", published in the ''Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales'' in 1905,<ref>{{cite journal | last=Mawson | first=D | title=The geology of the New Hebrides | journal=Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales | via=Smithsonian Institution | volume=30 | year=1905 | issn=0370-047X | doi=10.5962/bhl.part.12911 | doi-access=free | pages=400–485 | bibcode=1905PLSNS..30..400M | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/partpdf/12911 | access-date=27 June 2025}}</ref> was one of the first major geological works of Melanesia.<ref name=samsynopsis>{{cite web | title=A synopsis of Mawson's life| publisher= South Australian Museum | website=Douglas Mawson | url=http://www.douglasmawson.com.au/synopsis.html | access-date=3 July 2025}}</ref>
During the Second World War, approximately 10,000 Ni-Vanuatu men served in the Vanuatu Labor Corps, a labour battalion of the United States Armed Forces. They provided logistical support to the Allied war effort during the Guadalcanal campaign. The mass participation of Ni-Vanuatu men in the Labor Corps had a significant effect on the John Frum movement, giving it the characteristics of a cargo cult.{{sfn|Lindstrom|1991|pp=49–53}}
The Anglo-French New Hebrides Condominium lasted until 1980, when New Hebrides gained its independence as the Republic of Vanuatu.<ref name=eb/><ref name=farran2009/>
== Politics and economy == The New Hebrides was a rare form of colonial territory in which sovereignty was shared by two powers, Britain and France, instead of being exercised by just one. Under the condominium there were three separate governments – one French, one British, and one joint administration that was partially elected after 1975, when elections to the New Hebrides Condominium Representative Assembly took place.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vanuatu - a brief history from 12 - Vanuatu |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/collections/nff-vanuatu/about-vanuatu |website=RNZ |language=en-nz}}</ref> [[File:Ambrym woodcarver.jpg|thumb|Melanesian woodcarver on Ambryn, {{circa|1920}}.]] The French and British governments were called residencies, each headed by a resident appointed by the metropolitan government. The residency structure greatly emphasised dualism, with both consisting of an equal number of French and British representatives, bureaucrats and administrators. Every member of one residency always had an exact mirror opposite number on the other side whom they could consult. The symmetry between the two residencies was almost exact. thumb|British native police, 1944 The joint government consisted of both local and European officials. It had jurisdiction over the postal service, public radio station, public works, infrastructure, and censuses, among other things. The two main towns of Luganville and Port Vila also had town councils, but these did not have a great deal of authority.{{clarify|date=June 2013}}
While initial settlers were predominantly British living in Australia, the late 19th century saw an influx of French. Within a few decades, there were twice as many French on the islands as there were British, prompting a multitude of petitions to cede power to either the French or the British. Despite this, the two nations came together to form a condominium, a specialised form of government where both nations would have all of their own administrations and jointly rule the islands. The only place they came together was in the Joint Court. As Mander describes, "The Joint Court was the key to the situation and much was to depend upon it….Three judges–one British, one French, and the third nominated by the King of Spain–were to comprise the court."<ref>{{Harvnb|Mander|1944|p=152}}</ref> This meant convictions in court were chosen based on either British or French law, depending on the circumstances.
Other than the Joint Court, everything existed in pairs. "Cynics called the Condominium 'the Pandemonium', as the dual administration produced amazing duplication. There were two police forces with their own laws, including road laws, two health services, two education systems, two currencies, and two prison systems."<ref name="Harewood-etal">{{Harvnb|Harewood|Chinula|Talbot|Carillet|2006}}</ref> Additionally, there were separate British and French governments, which meant two immigration policies, two courts (apart from the Joint Court), and two corporation laws. Inhabitants of the islands were given the choice of which government they wanted to be ruled by. As Miles put it, "The result was an inevitable clash of foreign policy and colonial mentality."<ref>{{Harvnb|Miles|1994|p=201}}</ref>
Local people could choose whether to be tried under the English common law or the French civil law. Visitors could choose which immigration rules to enter under. Nationals of one country could set up corporations under the laws of the other. In addition to these two legal systems, a third Native Court existed to handle cases involving Melanesian customary law. There was also a Joint Court, composed of British and French judges. The President of the Joint Court was appointed by the King of Spain until 1939 when the post was abolished after the retirement of the last President, partly due to the abolition of the Spanish monarchy in 1931.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Woodward|first1=Keith|title=A Political Memoir of the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides|year=2014 |url=http://press.anu.edu.au/apps/bookworm/view/A+Political+Memoir+of+the+Anglo-French+Condominium+of+the+New+Hebrides/11211/text.xhtml|publisher=Australian National University|doi=10.22459/PMAFCNH.10.2014 |isbn=9781925022209 |access-date=15 March 2015 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
There were two prison systems to complement the two court systems. The police force was technically unified but consisted of two chiefs and two equal groups of officers wearing two different uniforms. Each group alternated duties and assignments.
Language was a serious barrier to the operation of the naturally inefficient system, as all documents had to be translated once to be understood by one side, then the response translated again to be understood by the other, though Bislama creole represented an informal bridge between the British and the French camps.
The condominium was not beneficial for Ni-Vanuatu, as they were "...officially stateless. [For instance,] To travel abroad, they needed an identifying document signed by both the British and the French resident commissioners."<ref name="Harewood-etal" /> Inevitably, that led to discontent across the islands, with a multitude of revolutionary groups forming in an attempt to create agency and self-government for themselves.
== Self-government == New Hebrides became internally self-governing in January 1978.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jupp |first1=James |last2=Sawer |first2=Marian |title=New Hebrides 1978-79: Self-Government by Whom and for Whom? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25168391 |journal=The Journal of Pacific History |pages=208–220 |date=1979|volume=14 |issue=4 |doi=10.1080/00223347908572377 |jstor=25168391 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Chief ministers of the New Hebrides Condominium *{{Interlanguage link|George Kalsakau|fr|George Kalsakau}}, November 1977 – December 1978 *{{Interlanguage link|Gérard Leymang|fr|Gérard Leymang}}, December 1978 – November 1979 *Walter Lini, November 1979 – July 1980
==See also== * British Empire ** Territorial evolution of the British Empire * French colonial empire ** List of French possessions and colonies * List of resident commissioners of the New Hebrides * Coconut War * Postage stamps and postal history of Vanuatu * History of Vanuatu * Efate, the most populous island * Naval Advance Base Espiritu Santo
==References== ; Notes {{Reflist}}
; Sources {{Refbegin}} * {{Cite book | last1 = Harewood | first1 = J. | last2 = Chinula | first2 = T. | last3 = Talbot | first3 = V. | last4 = Carillet | first4 = J.-B. | last5 = Sorokin | first5 = M. | title = Vanuatu and New Caledonia | year = 2006 | edition = 1st | publisher = Lonely Planet | location = Singapore }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Harewood|Chinula|Talbot|Carillet|2006}} --> * {{cite journal|last=Lindstrom|first=Lamont|title=Remembering the Pacific War|journal=Occasional Papers of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies |date=1991|publisher=Center for Pacific Studies|pages=47–59|issn=0897-8905}} * {{Cite journal | last = Mander | first = L. A. | title = The New Hebrides Condominium | year = 1944 | journal = Pacific Historical Review | volume = 13 | issue = 2 | pages = 151–167 | jstor = 3634610 | doi = 10.2307/3634610 }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Mander|1944}} --> * {{Cite journal | last = Miles | first = W. F. | title = Anachronistic Antagonisms: France Versus Britain in the New Hebrides, 1966–1977 | year = 1994 | journal = Proceedings of the Meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society | volume = 19 | pages = 200–215 | publisher = Michigan State University Press | jstor = 43007776 }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Miles|1994}} --> * {{Cite journal | last1 = Peck | first1 = John G. | last2 = Gregory | first2 = Robert J. | title = A Brief Overview of the Old New Hebrides | year = 2005 | journal = The Anthropologist |volume=7 |issue=4 | pages = 269–282 | doi = 10.1080/09720073.2005.11890921 | s2cid = 56413455 | url = http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/T-Anth/Anth-07-0-000-000-2005-Web/Anth-07-4-237-304-2005-Abst-PDF/Anth-07-4-269-282-2005-283-Peck-J-G/Anth-07-4-269-282-2005-283-Peck-J-G-Abstract.pdf | access-date = 5 February 2008}} {{Refend}}
==External links== {{commons category|History of Vanuatu}} {{NSRW Poster}} * [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19730510&id=ipRPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fCQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7296,1081999 Pandemonium Reigns in New Hebrides], ''The Times-News'' – 10 May 1973 * [http://press.anu.edu.au/apps/bookworm/view/A+Political+Memoir+of+the+Anglo-French+Condominium+of+the+New+Hebrides/11211/text.xhtml A Political Memoir of the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides]
{{Vanuatu topics}} {{British overseas territories}} {{Former French colonies}} {{Authority control}} {{coord|16|38|S|168|01|E|region:VU_type:isle_source:kolossus-ruwiki|display=title}}
Category:New Hebrides Category:Former colonies in Oceania Category:Former British colonies and protectorates in Oceania Category:Former French colonies Category:French colonisation in Oceania Category:British Western Pacific Territories Category:Condominia (international law) Category:European colonisation in Oceania Category:States and territories established in 1906 Category:States and territories disestablished in 1980 Category:1906 establishments in Oceania Category:1906 establishments in the British Empire Category:1906 establishments in the French colonial empire Category:1980s disestablishments in France Category:1980 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Category:1980 disestablishments in Oceania Category:France–United Kingdom relations Category:France–Vanuatu relations Category:United Kingdom–Vanuatu relations Category:20th century in Vanuatu Category:Vanuatu and the Commonwealth of Nations Category:20th-century disestablishments in the French colonial empire Category:International archipelagoes