Tuvalu (i/tuvlu/ too-VAH-loo or /tuvlu/ TOO-v-loo), formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. It comprises three reef islands and six true atolls spread out between the latitude of 5 to 10 south and longitude of 176 to 180, west of the International Date Line. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. Tuvalu has a population of 10,640 (2012 census). The total land area of the islands of Tuvalu is 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi).

In 1568, Spanish navigator Alvaro de Mendana was the first European to sail through the archipelago, sighting the island of Nui during his expedition in search of Terra Australis. In 1819 the island of Funafuti was named Ellice's Island; the name Ellice was applied to all nine islands after the work of English hydrographer Alexander George Findlay. The islands came under Britain's sphere of influence in the late 19th century, when each of the Ellice Islands was declared a British Protectorate by Captain Gibson of HMS Curacoa between 9 and 16 October 1892. The Ellice Islands were administered as British protectorate by a Resident Commissioner from 1892 to 1916 as part of the British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT), and then as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony from 1916 to 1974.

Answer the following questions:
1. who was the first European to sail through the archipelago?
2. what is Tuvalu's population?
3. what are the Ellice islands now called?
4. what is Tuvalu's land area?
5. How many neighbors are named?
6. Where is Tuvalu located?
7. Name one of its neighbors
8. what island was named Ellice's island?
9. what were they apart of from 1916-1974?
10. when did they come fall under Britain's influence?
11. who declared them a british protectorate?
1. Alvaro de Mendana
2. 10,640
3. Tuvalu
4. 26 square kilometres
5. Four
6. in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia
7. Kiribati
8. Funafuti
9. Britain's sphere of influence
10. 19th century
11. Captain Gibson of HMS Curacoa