There used to be two school systems, police forces, codes of law, pay scales for government workers- among other things, as the the French and British wrestled for control of "New Hebrides" (as Vanuatu was referred to). This was a very jumbled and confused method to govern a nation. During this time, rural villages were famously exploited as foreigners came and acquired land for next to nothing. The rights of local Ni-Vanuatu were second to those of the British and French.
Racism was rampant here and the color of one's skin decided where one fell among the pay scale. Lighter-skinned locals who were bi-racial made a significant amount of extra income over their darker counterparts.
A movement arose among the people and famous Ni-Vanuatu leaders began to demand independence. The British and French both imported a large military presence just in case the struggle for independence turned violent.
Eventually, the British began to recognize that the native peoples had a right to a sovereign nation, but the French government resisted all along the way. The French supplied weapons such as hand grenades and machine guns among local French supporters and attempted to incite civil unrest. Luckily, these weapons were not used to their full potential and rather just caused a panic as unruly mobs fired them into the night air.
On the island of Santo, steel drums were placed on the airport landing strip so military planes could not land with troops and challenge the independence movement.
Anyhow, the majority of the struggle for independence was non-violent and the local population eventually prevailed over the British and French in 1980. British and French citizens were allowed to leave the country with all of their possessions and money, but all of the land titles that they held were reclaimed in the name of local peoples.
New Hebrides was re-named Vanuatu, which means "Our Land." The people are referred to as Ni-Vanuatu, which means "Belonging to Our Land."
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