History
Santo’s sandalwood resources were not discovered by the outside world until 1853, then alluvial gold was found and by 1856, 16 traders were resident on the island. Several ships at a time would be moored at various anchorages, taking on sandalwood in return for pigs.
By 1871, blackbirders were casting their greedy eyes on Santo. Over the next decade, many sailors were killed in revenge for acts of violence against islanders.
Resistance movements
Many Santo locals were resentful of the Europeans and by the early 20th century resistance movements included the Ronovuru movement. Ronovuru claimed to be able to bring the dead back to life. He told his supporters that his wife had been poisoned by an Englishman and that only by killing this settler could his wife and other dead people be resurrected. He and two friends murdered the unfortunate man, giving portions of the body to his followers.
The European settlers were outraged. Ronovuru, unrepentant, went to the gallows, promising a return to life for all his followers’ ancestors. Despite his death, and the fact that no corpses sprang back to life, the cult persisted in Santo’s isolated bush villages.
Wwii
Santo played an important role during WWII that few people are aware of. Japan’s relentless southward drive in early 1942 meant the Allies urgently needed a secure forward base to buttress their desperate holding action in the central Solomons. Santo’s Segond Channel was ideal.
Jimmy stevens & the coconut rebellion
In 1963 charismatic Jimmy Stevens formed the Nagriamel movement. Then on 27 May 1980, eight weeks before national independence, he and his supporters staged a coup known as the Coconut Rebellion. Armed mainly with bows and arrows, they occupied Luganville and proclaimed Santo’s independence, calling their new country Vemarana. The new nation was short-lived, however; it collapsed with Stevens’ arrest on 1 September.
