Most consider the history of New Zealand to be short. According to scientists, only seven hundred years. New Zealand's pioneer for civilized Europe is Dutch Abel Tasman. He was the first to set foot on the coast of New Zealand. The first who reached the shores of the islands, but also traveled around and mapped them, was none other than Captain Cook. Thanks to these brave characters of world history, the civilized world learned about the islands, where one of the most interesting post-colonial states is now located.
History (briefly)
The first to set foot on the islands of the archipelago were the tribes of Eastern Polynesia. They took up the development of these lands, according to inaccurate data, in the XI-XIV century. One after another, waves of migration followed, and progressive development became the basis for the creation of two main peoples: Maori and Moriori. Moriori populated the islands of the Chatham archipelago; Maori chose the North and South islands.
The legend of the tribe to this day has preserved the legend of the Polynesian sailor Coupe, who discovered the islands, sailing on a light catamaran in the middle of the tenth century. Also, the legends of the Maori people narrate that several generations later, many canoes left their homeland and went to explore new islands. Some scholars have argued that the existence of a Coupe and a large fleet of Polynesian legends is controversial. However, archaeological excavations have confirmed the authenticity of the Polynesian exploration of New Zealand.
If you look at the history of New Zealand briefly, the Polynesians, who first settled the uninhabited islands before, formed the Maori culture, first met Europeans in 1642. Since the Maori people were quite belligerent, this meeting was not constructive. The Maori fleet literally pounced on the ship of the Dutch merchant and explorer Abel Tasman who approached their shores. The crew of the mariner received significant injuries. Tasman called this place the Bay of Assassins (now Golden Bay).
Cook was wiser
The next meeting took place more than a century later. That it can be fully considered the beginning of the history of the discovery of New Zealand. In 1769, James Cook approached these shores with his expedition. The meeting with the Maori was held in the same vein as in the case of Tasman. But Cook did wiser. During the battle with the natives, he managed to capture many prisoners, and in order to achieve the local population, he released them home. And a little later, contact with the leaders of the tribe took place. At the beginning of the XIX century, European ships began to appear more often off the coast of the South and North islands. And by the thirties of the 19th century, two thousand Europeans lived here. True, they settled down among the Maori in different ways, many had the status of slaves or semi-slaves.
The Maori did not know the money, so the trade was with them through the exchange of goods. Native New Zealanders appreciated guns. As the story of New Zealand tells, the abundance of firearms has caused tribal bloody wars. As usual, from Europeans, except guns, they received sexually transmitted diseases, measles, flu and alcohol. All this reduced the number of local population by 1896 to a critical minimum of forty-two thousand people.
Treaty of Waitangi
In 1840, the Maori leaders and Great Britain signed an agreement or, as the history of New Zealand, the Waitangi Treaty. Under its terms, the Maori received custody of the kingdom, but gave the exclusive right to purchase land to the British. Not all representatives of the tribe agreed to the terms of the signed agreement. Conflicts erupted between Maori and the British from 1845 to 1872. In them the natives showed unprecedented courage, taking into account the superior forces of the colonialists. Defending their land, in some cases, the Maori were very cruel to the British.
To Cook and Tasman
The history of the country New Zealand is divided into three main periods: Polynesian colonization and modern. Before the arrival of the Europeans, the Maori formed a special culture, to some extent distinguishable from the Polynesian peoples, who were their direct ancestors. The natives are swarthy, with the type of face inherent in the inhabitants of Asia. However, due to the abundance of food in New Zealand, they are much larger and taller than the Polynesians.
When, around 1350, the wife of a Polynesian navigator and New Zealand discoverer, Hine-te-Aparanji, saw a new land, she called it Aotearoa, which literally means “land of a long white cloud”. According to some studies of the pre-European history of New Zealand, the Polynesians were also not the first on the islands of the archipelago. In fact, local tribes already lived here, which, in fact, were conquered by the Polynesians who arrived after the Coupe. Then they mixed into one nation. Based on this assertion, the history of New Zealand Maori before the Europeans was not so harmless, not to mention the tribal and inter-clan armed clarification of the right to the territory.
Dominion of the British Empire
After the signing of the fateful treaty by the Maori leaders and representatives of England on the posadnichestvo, the first natives actually took the development path according to the British colonial economic model. In the late XIX and early XX centuries, the archipelago developed rapidly capitalistically, but in fact was in the position of a raw materials appendage of the imperial economic machine. New Zealand did not have the status of a sovereign state. Some changes occurred after the colonial conference held in 1907, when the Prime Minister of New Zealand achieved self-government for the state. For this, they even came up with the new term "dominion", which gave New Zealand the opportunity to nominally become independent.
Independence
Four years later, after gaining state status, New Zealand acquired its own emblem. In 1926, the imperial conference equalized the rights of the dominions with the state. Already in 1931, the Westminster Statute affirmed New Zealand’s independence. True, until 1947, Great Britain was responsible for the military security of the Maori country and advocated for it at the international level in politics. And today, tourists in architecture and other signs find vivid evidence of the colonial influence of England. This is evidenced by many works of art.
By the way, the Maori did not have their own script before colonization. Perhaps that is why the brief history of New Zealand in English can be found more often than in any other.
New Zealand during World War II
New Zealand's politically dependent position on Great Britain placed military obligations on the British crown. Therefore, the entry of New Zealanders into the war began simultaneously with the entry of the British into it. It happened on September 3, 1941.
The New Zealand Army formed the second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. 140 thousand New Zealanders contributed to the victory. The peak of the military activity of the islanders occurred in July 1942. Then almost 155 thousand New Zealanders were put on alert.
Ferocious 28th Battalion
It should be noted that in this war, the innate Maori warfare came in handy. The 28th battalion was formed, which was called the "Maori battalion" of 700-900 men, created in 1940. The motto of the battalion was taken from the cries of a hack ritual martial dance, which sounded like "Ake! Ake! Kia Kaha E! " (Go! Go! Be strong!).
The Maori showed their famous military skill in operations on the island of Crete and Greece, as well as in North Africa and Italy. The greatest fighting prowess was shown by the Maori warriors, members of the 28th battalion during the capture of Florence. They were the first to enter the city on August 4, 1944, pushing the forces of the almighty Wehrmacht. They aroused respect among the enemies. Maori were especially famous when it came to hand-to-hand combat. Melee has become their hallmark.
After the war
The history of New Zealand, its new round, begins with the end of World War II. The Maori began to move from villages to cities to earn money. Urbanization continues, although agriculture remains the foundation of the economy. Maori often raise the issue of fair implementation of the Waitangi Treaty. In 1975, the Waitangi tribunal was even established to investigate violations of the agreement of the same name. In 1987, New Zealand declared itself nuclear-free territory, which complicates the passage of the US Navy.
Today, New Zealand is a developing, multinational state with a constitutional monarchy. Due to its climate and low taxation, it began to develop in the film industry. At the mention of the "Lord of the Rings" this state comes to mind.