New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island), and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori language name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as land of the long white cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also includes the Cook Islands and Niue (self-governing but in free association); Tokelau; and the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica).
New Zealand is notable for its geographic isolation: it is situated about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) southeast of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and its closest neighbours to the north are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. During its long isolation New Zealand developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds, a number of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and the mammals they introduced.
The majority of New Zealand's population is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority. Asians and non-Māori Polynesians are also significant minority groups, especially in urban areas. The most commonly spoken language is English.
New Zealand is a developed country that ranks highly in international comparisons on many topics, including education, economic freedom, and lack of corruption. Its cities also consistently rank among the world's most liveable.
Elizabeth II, as the Queen of New Zealand, is the country's head of state and is represented by a Governor-General, and executive political power is exercised by the Cabinet of New Zealand.
Polynesian settlers
New Zealand is one of the most recently settled major landmasses. The first known settlers were Eastern Polynesians who, according to most researchers, arrived by canoe in about AD 12501300. Some researchers have suggested an earlier wave of arrivals dating to as early as AD 50150; these people then either died out or left the islands. Over the following centuries these settlers developed into a distinct culture now known as Māori. The population was divided into iwi (tribes) and hapū (subtribes) which would cooperate, compete and sometimes fight with each other. At some point a group of Māori migrated to the Chatham Islands where they developed their distinct Moriori culture.
European explorers
The first Europeans known to have reached New Zealand were Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman and his crew in 1642. Māori killed four of the crew and no Europeans returned to New Zealand until British explorer James Cook's voyage of 176871. Cook reached New Zealand in 1769 and mapped almost the entire coastline. Following Cook, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North American whaling, sealing and trading ships. They traded European food and goods, especially metal tools and weapons, for Māori timber, food, artefacts and water. The potato and the musket transformed Māori agriculture and warfare, although the resulting Musket Wars died out once the tribal imbalance of arms had been rectified. From the early nineteenth century, Christian missionaries began to settle New Zealand, eventually converting most of the Māori population, although their initial inroads were mainly among the more disaffected elements of society.
Becoming aware of the lawless nature of European settlement and of increasing French interest in the territory, the British government appointed James Busby as British Resident to New Zealand in 1832. Busby failed to bring law and order to European settlement, but did oversee the introduction of the first national flag on 20 March 1834, after an unregistered New Zealand ship was seized in Australia. In October 1835, the nebulous United Tribes of New Zealand sent the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand to King William IV of the United Kingdom, asking him for protection. Ongoing unrest and the legal standing of the Declaration of Independence prompted the Colonial Office to send Captain William Hobson RN to New Zealand to claim sovereignty for the British Crown and negotiate a treaty with the Māori. The Treaty of Waitangi was first signed in the Bay of Islands on 6 February 1840. The drafting was done hastily and confusion and disagreement continue to surround the translation. The Treaty however remains regarded as New Zealand's foundation as a nation and is revered by Māori as a guarantee of their rights.
In response to New Zealand Company attempts to establish a separate colony in Wellington, and French claims in Akaroa, Hobson, now Lieutenant-Governor, declared British sovereignty over all of New Zealand on 21 May 1840. The two proclamations published in the New Zealand Advertiser and Bay Of Islands Gazette issue of 19 June 1840 "assert on the grounds of Discovery, the Sovereign Rights of Her Majesty over the Southern Islands of New Zealand, commonly called 'The Middle Island' (South Island) and 'Stewart's Island' (Stewart Island/Rakiura); and the Island, commonly called 'The Northern Island', having been ceded Sovereignty to Her Majesty." The second proclamation expanded on how sovereignty over the "Northern Island" had been ceded under the treaty signed that February.
Under British rule, New Zealand had initially been part of the colony of New South Wales, but became a separate Crown colony in 1841. Hobson initially selected Okiato as the capital in 1840, before moving the seat of government to Auckland in 1841. Increasing numbers of European settlers came to New Zealand particularly from the British Isles. The Māori were initially eager to trade with the 'Pakeha', as they called them, and many iwi became wealthy. As settler numbers increased, conflicts over land led to the New Zealand Land Wars of the 1860s and 1870s, resulting in the loss and confiscation of much Māori land. The details of European settlement and the acquisition of land from Māori remain controversial.
Representative government for the colony was provided for in 1852 when the United Kingdom passed the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852. The 1st New Zealand Parliament met in 1854. In 1856 the colony became effectively self-governing with the grant of responsible government over all domestic matters other than native policy. Power in this respect would be transferred to the colonial administration in the 1860s.
In 1863 Premier Alfred Domett moved a resolution that the capital transfer to a locality in Cook Strait, apparently due to concern that the South Island might form a separate colony. Commissioners from Australia (chosen for their neutral status) advised that Wellington was suitable because of its harbour and central location, and parliament officially sat there for the first time in 1865.
20th and 21st centuries
In 1907 New Zealand declared itself a Dominion within the British Empire. In 1947 the country adopted the Statute of Westminster, making New Zealand a Commonwealth realm, although in practice Britain had long since ceased to play a significant role in governing New Zealand. As the country became more politically independent, however, it became more dependent economically; in the 1890s, refrigerated shipping allowed the export of meat and dairy products to Britain, a trade which provided the basis for strong economic growth in New Zealand.
New Zealand was an enthusiastic member of the British Empire, fighting in the Boer War, World War I and World War II, especially in the Battle of Britain, and supporting Britain in the Suez Crisis. The country was very much a part of the world economy and suffered as others did in the Great Depression of the 1930s. The depression led to the election of the first Labour government, which established a comprehensive welfare state and a protectionist economy.
New Zealand experienced increasing prosperity following World War II. However, some social problems were developing; Māori had begun to leave traditional rural life and move to the cities in search of work. A Māori protest movement eventually developed, which criticised Eurocentrism and worked for more recognition of Māori culture and the Treaty of Waitangi, which they felt had not been fully honoured.
In 1975, a Waitangi Tribunal was set up to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty, and it was enabled to investigate historic grievances in 1985. In common with other developed countries, social developments accelerated in the 1970s and social and political mores changed.
Britain's membership of the European Economic Community in 1973 drastically reduced access for New Zealand exporters to their previous largest market. In 1953 two-thirds of New Zealand's exports went to Britain, by 2003 this figure had reduced to 4.65%. This and the oil shocks of the 1970s led to significant economic and social changes during the 1980s under the 4th Labour government largely led by Finance Minister Roger Douglas, whose policies are commonly referred to as Rogernomics.
New Zealand Factoid
New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote in the late 19th century (most commonwealth followed after WWI)
New Zealand and Hawaii share the same peoples.