History

Aotearoa: “Land of the Long White Cloud”

About 1000 years ago the first inhabitants of New Zealand arrived: the Maori. Originally the Maori came from the South Pacific, Polynesia. Maori named the land we now know as New Zealand Aotearoa, which means “Land of the Long White Cloud”. They have developed a very successful Society.

New Zealand

In 1840 New Zealand became a colony of Britain. Although in 1642 the Maori already had contact with the outside world. Two Dutch ships sailed from Indonesia, at that time the “Dutch East Indies”, to search for the legendary “Great South Land”. Abel Tasman was the commander. Because of misunderstandings between him and the Maori Tasman never set foot on land. Abel Tasman gave Aotearoa a name: Nieuw Zeeland, translated: New Zealand.

Maori and the British

In 1769 contact between Maori and the outside world was renewed. English, with James Cook as commander and French, with Jean de Surville as commander, explorers arrived in New Zealand. At first contact between the European and the Maori was smooth, but this changed when time passed. Exploration continued: science, profit and rivalry in power between Britain and France were the driving forces.

When time passed Maori and the Europeans started to need each other. Maori needed the European for European articles such as muskets. The Europeans needed the Maori for protection, labour etc. By 1840 there were about 70.000 Maori, the population undergone a 20% decline since 1769. This especially because of musket wars between Maori and diseases brought by the Europeans.

British Colonisation

Because both parties wanted more New Zealand became in 1840 the official colony of Britain. Problems occurred: the Maori version in contradiction to the British contained that the Maori would retain their chieftainship. This means local rights of government. The problem grew when more and more people from, Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Scandinavia, France, China etc. arrived. The Maori started battles against the settlers; Britain. The Maori weren’t able to give enough resistance because of the lack of resources compared to the one they fought.

Despite the conflicts in the country the Economy was booming in the 1850’s till the 1880’s. This happened on the back of the wool exports, overseas borrowing and gold rushes. After that time there was a long lasting depression, which stopped with the help of the liberal government. In 1893 New Zealand was the first country giving women the right to vote. In 1929 there was, like in many other places in the world, a great depression. Also this got better under a liberal government, which was a very social one. New Zealand helped Britain for example in the Second World War. For a country with just over a millions inhabitants at that time, they have sent many people to the front: 100.000.

Independent New Zealand

The colonial system between New Zealand and England has undergone changes since 1935. Since 1973, when Britain entered the EU, New Zealand started to explore other markets to do business with than Britain. They also developed alternative exports to diary products, wool and meat. They started in the jet aircraft industry. New Zealand developed itself as a tourist destination as well. In the 60’s about 35.000 tourists came to the country compared to around 2005’s 2 to 2,5 million.

The 21st Century

Until the late 90’s the Economy staggered. From untill that time New Zealand flourishes with its Culture, wine, film, literature, tourism and business. This on the back of the liberalization started in the 80’s. Examples of liberalization at that time are easing doing business with foreign countries, declination of the social system, less bureaucracy etc.

External Resources

If you would like to learn more about New Zealand’s history we recommend you to visit the following websites: http://history-nz.org; http://www.mch.govt.nz.