Espiritu Santo

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For other uses, see Espiritu Santo (disambiguation).
Espiritu Santo
Nickname: Santo
Vanuatu - Espiritu Santo.PNG
Location Sanma Province, Vanuatu
Coordinates 15°15′S 166°50′E﻿ / ﻿15.250°S 166.833°E﻿ / -15.250; 166.833Coordinates: 15°15′S 166°50′E﻿ / ﻿15.250°S 166.833°E﻿ / -15.250; 166.833
Archipelago New Hebrides
Area 3,955.5 km2 (1,527.2 sq mi)
Highest elevation 1,879 m (6,165 ft)
Highest point Mount Tabwemasana
Province Sanma
Largest settlement Luganville (pop. 10,738)
Population 39,606 (as of 2009)
Ethnic groups Ni-Vanuatu

Espiritu Santo[1] is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of 3,955.5 km2 (1,527.2 sq mi) and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census.[2]



In 1998, Santo hosted the Melanesia Cup.


Champagne Beach, North Santo
Local children

The Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, working for Spain, established a settlement in 1606 at Big Bay on the north side of the island. Espiritu Santo takes its name from Queirós, who named the entire island group La Austrialia [sic][3] del Espíritu Santo in acknowledgment of the Spanish king's descent from the royal House of Austria, and believing he had arrived in the Great Southern Continent, Terra Australis. During the time of the British–French Condominium, Hog Harbour, on the northeast coast, was the site of the British district administration, while Segond, near Luganville was the French district administration.[4]

ID check at the entrance to the base during WWII

During World War II, particularly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the island was used by Allied forces as a military supply and support base, naval harbor, and airfield. In highly fictionalized form, it is the locale of James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific and the subsequent Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, South Pacific. The presence of the Allies later contributed to the island's diving tourism, as the United States dumped most of their equipment and refuse at what is now known as 'Million Dollar Point'.[5] Another wreck off Espiritu Santo, the SS President Coolidge, is also a popular diving spot. The SS President Coolidge was a converted luxury liner that hit a mine during the war.

Between May and August 1980 the island was the site of a rebellion during the transfer of power over the colonial New Hebrides from the condominium to independent Vanuatu. Jimmy Stevens' Nagriamel movement, in alliance with private French interests and backed by the Phoenix Foundation and American libertarians hoping to establish a tax-free haven, declared the island of Espiritu Santo independent of the new government. A Republic of Vemerana was proclaimed on May 28. France recognized the independence on June 3. On June 5 the tribal chiefs of Santo named the French Ambassador Philippe Allonneau "King of Vemerana", Jimmy Stevens became Prime Minister. Luganville is renamed Allonneaupolis. But negotiations with Port-Vila failed and from July 27 to August 18, British Royal Marines and a unit of the French Garde Mobile were deployed to the Vanuatu's capital island but did not invade Espiritu Santo as the soon-to-be government had hoped. The troops were recalled shortly before independence. Following independence, Vanuatu, now governed by Father Walter Lini, requested assistance from Papua New Guinea, whose forces invaded and conquered Espiritu Santo.


Best Point, South Santo


The local people make their living by supporting the tourist trade, by cash-crop farming, mostly copra but some cacao and kava as well as peanuts, or by subsistence farming and fishing.


For almost all Santo's people custom plays a large part in their lives, regardless of their religion. The chief system continues strongly in most areas.

The people of Santo face some health problems, especially malaria, and tuberculosis . Although there is a hospital, most locals consult either their own witch doctor or medical clinics set up by western missionaries. Kava is the popular drug of the island, although alcohol is becoming more prevalent. With the rising number of adults using alcohol, there is a rising crime rate, especially involving violence toward women, and tribal warfare.

Economy and Infrastructure[edit]

These villages are mostly self-sufficient with their own vegetable gardens, chickens and pigs. The airport is about five km from town. From Luganville, three ‘main’ roads emerged. One road runs along the south coast for about 40 km to end at the village of Tasiriki. Luganville is the only town on the island, the rest of the island is dotted with small villages.


Besides beef, tin fish and rice, bought in town, Santo has many foods that locals take for granted and that tourists enjoy as delicacies. Among these are sweet pineapples, mangoes, island cabbage, flying fox and coconut crab, as well as local nuts such as natapoa and the sweet fleshy-fruit nouse. There is a market in Luganville where local food such as manioc, taro, yam, cabbage and other freshly grown island staples are being sold. For groceries and many packaged goods,several small supermarkets(such as LCM, Unity Shell and Au bon Marche) exists where one can do his/her shopping.



The island of Espiritu Santo is home to all of Vanuatu's endemic birds, including the Santo Mountain Starling, a species restricted entirely to Santo. Two protected areas have been established to safeguard the island's biodiversity; the Loru Conservation Area on the east coast and the Vatthe Conservation area near Big Bay in the north.



  1. ^ From the Spanish: Espíritu Santo, "Holy Spirit", usually called just Santo.
  2. ^ 2009 Census Summary release final - Government of Vanuatu
  3. ^ Estensen, M. (2006) Terra Australia Incognita; The Spanish Quest for the Great South Land. Allen & Unwin, Australia ISBN 978-1-74175-054-6
  4. ^ "Luganville". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
  5. ^ "Diving Santos". Vanuatu Online. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
  6. ^

External links[edit]