Espiritu Santo[a] (UK: /ɛˌspɪrɪtuː ˈsæntoʊ/,[1] US: /- ˈsɑːntuː, - ˈsɑːntoʊ/;[2][3][4] French: [ɛspiʁity sɑ̃to]) 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.

A Spanish expedition of three ships, led by Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, landed in 1606 at Big Bay on the north side of the island.

Queirós named the land La Austrialia [sic][6] 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.

They entered the bay on 1 and 2 May: the latter being the day of Saints Philip and James, Queirós named it Bahía de San Felipe y Santiago.

[8] The ships remained for a month at their anchorage "Puerto de la Vera Cruz", with armed sailors making incursions inland for provisions.

The almirante (second-in-command, and captain of the second ship), Luis Váez de Torres, searched the coast for signs of shipwreck but found none.

The wind and current were against this aim, so he left the island sailing west, eventually encountering the previously unexplored southern coast of New Guinea.

After the departure of Queirós and Torres, the Espiritu Santo was not visited again by Europeans until 160 years later, by Louis de Bougainville in 1768 and James Cook in 1774.

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 to be independent of the new government.

On June 5, the tribal chiefs of Santo named the French Ambassador Philippe Allonneau the "King of Vemerana", and Jimmy Stevens became the Prime Minister.

[citation needed] Next, 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 Vanuatu's capital island, but they did not enter Espiritu Santo as the soon-to-be government had hoped.

However, in many villages, particularly in Big Bay and South Santo, the people are "heathen", a term that in Vanuatu has no pejorative connotation — it simply denotes someone who has not embraced Christianity.

Canal Road runs along the southern and eastern coasts of the island, north through Hog Harbor and Golden Beach, ending at Port Olry.

Besides beef, tinned fish, and rice bought in town, Espiritu Santo has many foods that locals take for granted, and that tourists enjoy as delicacies.

There is a market in Luganville where local food such as yams, sweet potatoes, manioc, taro, cabbage, and other freshly grown island staples are sold.

Established in 1993 by Chief Caleb Ser, the 220-hectare (540-acre) reserve supports a rich variety of Vanuatu's bird, bat, and plant life, as well as a diverse range of marine species in the 2 km (1.2 mi) stretch of fringing reef.