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New Zealand History
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Although New Zealand is quite
young, it has an interesting history with both Maori and European
heritage. Throughout the country you will find many Maori
historic sites and colonial buildings. The Kiwis cherish and
preserve this rich history.
The first immigrants to New Zealand were the Maori people.
They migrated here from their ancestral
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Polynesian homeland Hawaiki. They first landed on Aotearoa, meaning
Land of the Long White Cloud), in canoes. They quickly settled the
land and survived through their farming and hunting efforts.
About 800 years later, intense European migration followed. Abel
Tasman was the first European to discover New Zealand, but it was
after Captain James Cook began navigating the country in 1769 that
migration really began to occur, especially after the Treaty of
Waitangi was signed in 1840 (which turned New Zealand into a British
colony). At this time, British immigrants were offered a paid passage
into New Zealand, allowing 40-60,000 to arrive there. The South
Island gold rush of the 1860s saw even more migrants flood in from
all over the world.
As more migrants arrived and they took over the land, disputes
with Maori increased. This turned into a war in the Northland during
the 1840s and then the rest of the country during the 1860s. British
troops helped the New Zealand colonial forces during these conflicts.
Although the Maori were often victorious in many instances, the
sheer number of the Westerners left the indigenous Maori outnumbered.
Soon afterwards, the government seized much of the remaining Maori
land. With the loss in land and deaths in the wars, the population
of the Maori dropped to only 40,000 by 1900.
After World War II, cultural ties with Great Britain were still
very strong. However, the New Zealand governments saw the USA as
a major ally. So the country joined the SEATO (South-East Asia Treaty
Organization) and signed the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand and United
States) Pact.
Although New Zealand still welcomes its colonial heritage, it has
now grown and become its own unique country with its own identity.
Since the mid-1980s, New Zealand has been a nuclear free zone with
armed forces focused on peacekeeping in the Pacific region.
More Information
 www.state.gov
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New Zealand Travel Guides
Frommer's New Zealand
Lonely Planet New Zealand
Let's Go New Zealand
Fodors New Zealand
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