VANUATU

VANUATU.

Espiritu Santo island.
Third stamp in a set of 15, issued on 30.07.1980 (issue in French language).
Face value: 15 New Hebrides francs.
Printing: Offset lithography.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 576.
- Scott No. 282a.
- StampWorld No. 16.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 289F.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 585.

Espiritu Santo, commonly known as Santo, is the largest island in Vanuatu. Its area is 3,955.5 km² (1,527.2 sq mi). The highest peak on the island, and Vanuatu, is Mount Tabwemasana at 1,879 m (6,165 ft). The first Europeans to set foot on the island were the members of a Spanish expedition led by the Portuguese Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, who landed in 1606 and named it Austrialia del Espíritu Santo. It was not visited again by Europeans until Louis de Bougainville arrived there in 1768 and James Cook in 1774. Between May and August 1980, the island was the scene of a rebellion during the transfer of power from the colonial condiminium of New Hebrides to the new state of Vanuatu, and was proclaimed independent as the Republic of Vemerana by the Negriamel Movement. After independence, Vanuatu requested the help of Papua New Guinea, whose army invaded and conquered Espiritu Santo, which was integrated into Vanuatu.