HISTORY
Archaeological evidence indicates
that New Zealand was populated by fishing and hunting people of
East Polynesian ancestry perhaps 1,000 years before Europeans
arrived. Known to some scholars as the Moa-hunters, they may have
merged with later waves of Polynesians who, according to Maori
tradition, arrived between 952 and 1150. Some of the Maoris called
their new homeland "Aotearoa," usually translated as
"land of the long white cloud."
In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch navigator,
made the first recorded European sighting of New Zealand and sketched
sections of the two main islands' west coasts. English Captain
James Cook thoroughly explored the coastline during three South
Pacific voyages beginning in 1769. In the late 18th and early
19th centuries, lumbering, seal hunting, and whaling attracted
a few European settlers to New Zealand. In 1840, the United Kingdom
established British sovereignty through the Treaty of Waitangi
signed that year with Maori chiefs.
In the same year, selected groups
from the United Kingdom began the colonization process. Expanding
European settlement led to conflict with Maori, most notably in
the Maori land wars of the 1860s. British and colonial forces
eventually overcame determined Maori resistance. During this period,
many Maori died from disease and warfare, much of it intertribal.
Constitutional government began
to develop in the 1850s. In 1867, Maori won the right to a certain
number of reserved seats in parliament. During this period, the
livestock industry began to expand, and the foundations of New
Zealand's modern economy took shape. By the end of the 19th century,
improved transportation facilities made possible a great overseas
trade in wool, meat, and dairy products.
By the 1890s, parliamentary government
along democratic lines was well- established, and New Zealand's
social institutions assumed their present form. Women received
the right to vote in national elections in 1893. The turn of the
century brought sweeping social reforms that built the foundation
for New Zealand's version of the welfare state.
Maori gradually recovered from population
decline and, through interaction and intermarriage with settlers
and missionaries, adopted much of European culture. In recent
decades, Maori have become increasingly urbanized and have become
more politically active and culturally assertive.
New Zealand was declared a dominion
by a royal proclamation in 1907. It achieved full internal and
external autonomy by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act in
1947, although this merely formalized a situation that had existed
for many years.
New Zealand on the Web has resources relating to the History,
People, Language and Culture of New Zealand.
