Colonization of New Zealand

The colonization of New Zealand was the process by which settlers from Britain asserted political and social controls over the island country of New Zealand, which had formerly been occupied solely by Indigenous people. European explorations there began in 1642 and reprised from 1769 to 1777 but had little effect until the 1830s. In 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi formally established a British colony in New Zealand. The colony experienced decades of instability and conflict between the settlers and the Indigenous people until finally reaching a more sustainable balance. A sense of New Zealand pride grew that helped the country prosper through its 1947 establishment as an independent country.

Background

New Zealand is a country of primarily two large islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean that are approximately 1,000 miles southeast of Australia. New Zealand is remarkable in human history as one of the last large areas of hospitable land on Earth to be settled by people. Archaeologists believe that it was uninhabited until sailors from various parts of Polynesia arrived there in canoes between 1200 and 1300 CE. Traditionally, historians have held that these sailors came from the Hawaiki region of Polynesia, though later research suggests that they may have come from other areas, such as the Cook and Society Islands.

New Zealand native tradition holds that the first human to arrive in the land was named Kupe, and his trip there was fraught with dangers and full of adventures and battles with his enemies. He settled on the North Island of New Zealand. These early settlers became the ancestors of the Māori, the Indigenous people of New Zealand, known as Aotearoa (“Land of the Long White Cloud”) in the Māori language. They lived in isolation from outside influences and developed their own culture, language, and religious beliefs over the course of more than three centuries.

Overview

New Zealand was virtually unknown to outsiders until 1642, when a Dutch explorer named Abel Tasman and his crew arrived in Golden Bay on the South Island. Although Tasman was able to create partial maps of the islands, Māori soon attacked the Dutch sailors, causing them to flee. Tasman’s maps survived the experience, however, and took compelling new knowledge about the distant islands back to Europe.

Cartographers copied and studied the maps, which were expanded during later explorations. Tasman had referred to the unknown island as “Staten Landt” to honor the government of the Netherlands, but cartographers soon changed the name to “Nova Zeelandia” to honor the Zeeland area of the Netherlands. This name developed over time into the anglicized New Zealand.

Despite the flurry of new information, Europeans did not mount any new expeditions to the island for more than a century. In 1769, British explorer Captain James Cook began to study New Zealand intensively over the course of several expeditions until 1777. In the coming years, European fishermen, sealers, and whale hunters roved ever closer to New Zealand’s coasts. Then, trading ships began landing there to swap goods with the Māori. In 1815, British missionaries began to arrive, hoping to spread Christianity to the island people.

This activity added to European knowledge of the island and increased the Europeans’ desire to control its location and resources. Although France was interested in colonizing New Zealand, British leaders moved in first, taking control and beginning settlements during the 1830s.

The British colonization of New Zealand officially began on February 6, 1840, with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. British governor William Hobson and his aides and a large contingent of Māori leaders were present at the signing. However, the two sides had very different ideas about what was taking place. British leaders hoped to gain political control over the islands, while the Māori believed the agreement would protect their own use and ownership of the lands.

Although Britain did assert control, the situation remained deeply contentious. British policy was typically to purchase land from the Indigenous people, but many British settlers overstepped their boundaries, and many Māori protested what they felt were breaches in the agreements. The result was a generation-long conflict known as the New Zealand Wars, or the Land Wars (1845–1872), in which about three thousand people, mostly Māori, died. The European settlers, known to the Indigenous people as Pākehā, gained and maintained an upper hand.

As the clashes ultimately subsided, much of New Zealand became increasingly prosperous. Sheep ranching and gold prospecting brought wealth and job opportunities in many parts of the island and encouraged increased immigration from Britain. Frozen meat and other agricultural products became important export items.

Towns and railroads expanded quickly, and the government implemented many modern innovations. Education increased in availability for both Indigenous people and settlers, including Otago and New Zealand Universities, Native Schools, and the 1877 Education Act that promoted public schooling throughout the colony. In 1893, the country became the first in the world to enfranchise women voters, and five years later adopted a system of pensions for older citizens.

The people of New Zealand, Māori and Pākehā alike, took on a sort of balance. By around 1900, the Māori had lost about 85 percent of their original lands. Agreements among the diverse people in the country and advances brought in by the British over time developed a stronger sense of unity. Many Pākehā who had been born in New Zealand began to see themselves as true New Zealanders, even though they still held imperial loyalties to Britain.

In 1901, New Zealand leaders declined an opportunity to become a state of Australia. Instead, in 1907, they voted to become a dominion of the British Empire, which many thought would increase New Zealand’s status and gain it more independence than it had enjoyed as a colony. Government disagreements ensued, but troubles in Europe and early stirrings of the tensions that would lead to World War I (1914–1918) led to a new sense of purpose and unity in New Zealand.

In 1909, New Zealanders funded the construction of a new ship for Britain’s Royal Navy, and young men began compulsory military training. When the war began in 1914, New Zealanders turned out in large numbers to enlist in the Allied cause. The death of some 18,500 men and wounding of 41,000 more, along with the harrowing experiences of modern warfare, made New Zealanders more aware of themselves and their role in the world. The experience of the war helped to solidify the identity and pride of the New Zealand people.

In World War II (1939–1945), New Zealanders again fought alongside the British and Allied forces. New Zealand armed forces saw action in European, African, and Pacific theaters of war. Following that conflict, with the dissolution of many empires, New Zealand gained its independence from Britain in 1947.

Bibliography

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