History of New Zealand

The island New Zealand was settled by people from Polynesia called the Maoris for the first time in 950. These people arrived to New Zealand in several waves, and the most famous arrival was in 1350 when they came in canoes. The Maoris brought their domestic animals and plants with them, and they developed their own distinctive culture and social norms in the new country. The Maoris lived in houses in small villages. They were divided in several tribes, and each tribe had their own chief.

In 1642 the Dutchman Abel Tasman came to New Zealand. He was one of the first Europeans who immigrated to the country, and he named many of the small islands in the area. The English discoverer, James Cook, arrived to New Zealand in 1769. He investigated the islands more closely trough several expeditions.

James Cook

In the early 1800’s British adventures, missionaries, whalers and traders settled down in New Zealand among the Maoris. Immediately a conflict between the residents and immigrants started to develop. Due to this, in 1832 the government in London sent a magistrate to New Zealand to supervise the development and protect the British interests. After few years, New Zealand was officially made a British Colony and a brutal repression against the Maoris began. Although many of the Maori-tribes submitted to the Queen, the conflicts lasted for over 30 years. In 1852 New Zealand became a colony with its own government. And finally in 1907 New Zealand got a status as an independent country.

Today New Zealand is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth of Nations consists of 54 independent countries, most of them former British colonies or dependencies of these colonies. Examples of other countries who are members are Canada, Australia, South-Africa and India.







Sources:
- http://snl.no/New_Zealand/historie
-http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand#Historie