The Americans also brought with them many material goods and money: Wallisians were discovering consumer society, and traditional religious and customary structures were undermined by these changes.

[4] However, from 1934 to 1941, the kingdom of Uvea no longer had a sovereign, and it was the customary prime minister (kalae kivalu) who had the highest role in the Wallisian chiefdom.

[14] While some Wallisian chiefs may have been sympathetic to General de Gaulle, "for the natives, France remained an abstraction, and the London-Vichy quarrels were of no concern to them", writes Regnault.

Following repeated requests from Vichy, the Americans finally agreed in principle to this supply, before withdrawing after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the United States into the war.

[24] The operation was approved by the general on February 22, 1941, but delayed for a year due to a leak of information (resident Vrignaud learned of the landing plans) and various technical problems.

For historian Jean-Marc Regnault, the re-establishment of customary kingship in Uvea (interrupted since 1934) was decided by the resident and the bishop to unite the Wallisian population around the Vichy regime – although the new king refused to swear an oath to Marshal Pétain.

Wallis took on a sudden strategic importance: its location near Western Samoa (occupied by the United States in May 1942) and Fiji enabled American aircraft to monitor the area and prevent the Japanese from penetrating.

Negotiations between the Allies and De Gaulle were difficult: behind the question of recovering the colonies lay the problem of who would administer them, and how, as the French centralized system was very different from Anglo-Saxon indirect rule.

Political divisions within New Caledonia also slowed down the operation: Governor Henri Sautot opposed centralization of power and was sent back to London on May 5, 1942.

[33] The Americans' initial plan was for their fleet to enter the Wallis lagoon on May 28, led by a Free France ship, the aviso Chevreuil.

However, Lieutenant Fourlinnie decided to override the orders and enter a day ahead of schedule, to assert French sovereignty over Wallis and Futuna.

They were welcomed by the resident Léon Vrignaud, who agreed to surrender, and then by Bishop Alexandre Poncet, who considered the event a catastrophe, but assured the new authorities that he would not interfere with their mission.

The customary king, Leone Matekitoga, assured the authorities of his loyalty to General de Gaulle, and Captain Molina awarded him the Cross of Lorraine.

However, to remedy the protectorate's financial problems, Captain Molina sold Wallis-et-Futuna stamps bearing the day's date and the words France libre.

[26] The Americans build numerous infrastructures: an air base at Hihifo for bombers and another at Lavegahau, bulldozed (a machine never seen on the island), a hydrobase at Muʻa Point, a port at Gahi (built with local volcanic stone, wood and sand[36]) and a 70-bed[36] hospital, as well as roads.

In addition to the extensive infrastructure and equipment provided by the GIs (American soldiers), the latter arrived with considerable purchasing power in dollars, and Wallis was linked by air and sea to the Samoan Islands.

[27] However, New Zealand historian Judith A. Benett points out that the 250 Wallisian workers employed by the Americans were among the lowest paid in the Pacific, at 20 cents an hour.

[44] In addition to the sudden arrival of consumer society on the island, the presence of the Americans upset the authority of the chieftaincy, the residence and the missionaries.

The commoners (tuʻa) rapidly grew rich working for the American army, overturning the social hierarchy dominated by the nobles ('aliki).

While former resident Joseph Vrignaud and his chancellor Alexis Bernast were exiled to Tahiti in June 1942, Bishop Alexandre Poncet remained in office despite his allegiance to the Vichy regime.

[46] The Marist Fathers tried to control the morals of the Uvean population, but the fines demanded by the Catholic mission were no longer a deterrent, as they could easily be paid in dollars.

[4] Initially, the Americans had a very negative view of the Wallisians, considering them lazy and carriers of contagious diseases (tuberculosis, yaws, leprosy and filariasis).

[48] Perceptions differed: the Church complained of loose morals and mole katoliko ("not Catholic") acts, while the Americans found Wallisian women very shy.

The Wallisians were faced with economic difficulties: food crops had been neglected, coconut plantations had been abandoned for lack of copra exports, and poultry was threatened with extinction.

For two years, the French administration and the mission in Wallis had no news of Futuna, and the inhabitants, deprived of basic necessities (flour, wheat, oil, cloth, etc.

[17] Father O'Reilly writes: "[1945] With no sea link, Futuna, with no flour, no sugar, no medicine and no clothes, is experiencing difficult days.

[56] For historian Frédéric Angleviel, this period was above all marked by the discovery of a different way of life (Western consumer society), and favored the emigration of many Wallisians and Futunians seeking to emancipate themselves from their customary obligations.

In 1943, the American command wished to send three hundred Wallisian workers to New Caledonia, but as not everyone volunteered, the bishop intervened and in the end 169 men, including 48 Futunians, left for Nouméa.

Composed on the occasion of numerous religious and customary festivals, they chronicle current events and celebrate past ones, forming the privileged medium of oral tradition.

For Raymond Mayer and Malino Nau, "the U.S. Army's communications service did its job perfectly, when you consider the degree of accuracy of the information delivered by the songs' '.