The big fortress of Talietumu close to Lotoalahi in Mua was the last holdout of the Tongans until they were defeated.

Together with some 15 smaller islands surrounding it, on its huge barrier reef, it forms the Wallis archipelago.

The average temperature is around 26 °C (79 °F) all year round and almost never drops below 24 °C (75 °F), and in the rainy season is held in the 28–32 °C (82–90 °F) range.

The same period (November to March), the season of storms, is associated with the passage over the territory of the islands of powerful tropical cyclones.

Whilst Wallis is high enough to be in no danger of complete submersion due to the rising sea-levels, most of the population lives in coastal settlements which will be affected.

A legendary large canoe, the Lomipeau, was built on the island as a donation to the Tuʻi Tonga.

The big fortress of Talietumu close to Lotoalahi in Mua was the last holdout of the Tongans until they were defeated.

[3] In 1835, Uvea was attacked by a party of armed missionaries from Tonga, who attempted to convert the island to Protestantism by force.

[4] In October 1837, Jean-Baptiste Pompallier visited, and after negotiations with Lavelua, left a priest and a brother behind, ostensibly to learn the language and establish friendly relations.

[5] During World War II the island's administration was pro-Vichy until a Free French corvette from New Caledonia deposed the regime on 26 May 1942.

Everyday life is heavily influenced by Polynesian traditions and especially by the Roman Catholic feasts.

Almost all the people are Roman Catholic ("Lotu Katolika"), and there are numerous religious buildings on the island.

The anniversary was attended by Samoan Cardinal Pio Taofinu'u, who studied there in the 1940s, and a big delegation from Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and New-Caledonia.

Wallis and Futuna was established as an apostolic vicariate on 11 November 1935 and promoted to a diocese on 21 June 1966.