islama evolved as an English-based creole with influence from Indigenous Vanuatuan languages during Britain's colonial rule of Vanuatu, beginning in the late 19th century. Now one of the nation's official languages, Bislama is spoken by only nine people in New York, according to the Permanent Mission of Vanuatu to the UN—with a tenth on the Upper West Side (with Chinese Vanuatuan roots) having contacted ELA. Most speakers live on Roosevelt Island, which is a hub for expats and immigrants from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and other nations of the Pacific Islands. Some of the first Pacific Islanders to arrive in New York settled on Roosevelt Island, drawing a multinational community of Polynesians, Melanesians, and Micronesians. Vanuatuans have been members of this community since their arrival in the 1980s. Other Bislama speakers connected to the Mission live in Bay Ridge and Queens, one of whom is bilingual in Ambae. Though small, the Vanuatuan community still comes together annually to celebrate the country's Independence Day on July 30.