The History of New Zealand

This is a tale of two islands, and a tale of two peoples from very different worlds. This stunning, verdant, virgin country on the far side of the world was the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. In its journey from colony to statehood, it wrestled with the first people's rights to their land, but along the way led the world in social reform. This is the story of the most remote of all developed nations. This is the story of New Zealand. New Zealand is the most remote country in the developed world, sitting on the southwestern edge of the Pacific Ocean. It has the shortest human history of any significant habitable land For a country so young in historical terms, the story that led to the New Zealand of today is surprisingly full of significant and unique events, one of a blending of European and Polynesian peoples, and how a colony finally matured into a country charting its independent course in the modern world. How it got there was not always easy, and many of the issues that dogged the merging of the peoples along the way still linger, but in their own journey, the egalitarian settlers of New Zealand led the world in social reform. In this, the first of two videos about the country, I look first at New Zealand's history up to the present. In part two, I'll examine its national organisation and state structure and symbols, its physical and human geography, and lastly its economy and culture. If you like these country summary videos, then please be sure to hit the subscribe button so you don't miss future episodes. Before the middle ages, no human had ever set foot on New Zealand. While this is understandable given its remoteness, it is still a remarkable fact that there existed, within relatively recent recorded history, large habitable places on earth that had never seen people. New Zealand's discovery by the Polynesian explorer Kupe in the 13th century led to the last major habitable land on earth being settled by humans. The history of the island's discovery was passed down through 40 generations of oral tradition, commonly agreed upon across the tribes of the nation, and Kupe and his discovery are accepted by historians today as people and events that existed. Most of the Polynesian settlement of the islands occurred between 1320 and 1350 AD. Over the succeeding centuries, the Polynesians developed a distinctive culture that became known as Maori, where once the early Polynesians had relied upon the land and sea directly for their sustenance as hunter-gatherers, by the time of the arrival of Europeans, they had developed agriculture around the domestication of sweet potatoes, yams, gourds and other plants to supplement their traditional hunting and fishing. The demand for agriculture was in part due to the hunting to extinction of large game such as the giant flightless mowerbird. The centuries of Maori settlement of the islands were plagued by near-constant warfare between the various tribes, and so it could be said that Maori were first and foremost a warrior culture. New Zealand was first seen by Europeans, entering recorded history, in 1642. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman had been sent on an expedition by the Dutch East India Company to search for new indigenous peoples to trade with in the as-yet-unexplored sector, south and east of the partially discovered continent of New Holland, which would later be named Australia. On his voyage, Tasman was the first European to see the Australian island of Tasmania, after which he was named, and continuing across the uncharted Tasman Sea, he sighted the west coast of South Island. During his journey north up the coast, his fleet was attacked by Maoris who paddled out on their waka canoes, and four of his crew were clubbed to death. Perhaps it was this violent encounter which dissuaded further efforts to seek trade with the Maoris, as another century or more would pass before the islands were explored further, this time by the English Captain James Cook, perhaps the greatest of all maritime explorer mapmakers, who thoroughly documented the coasts of both main islands on his voyage of 1769 to 70. Initial peaceful commercial contacts followed in the succeeding decades. Trading of food, water and lumber in exchange for metal tools and muskets resulted in the musket wars fought between rival Maori tribes seeking dominance over those that did not have the guns. As a result of these wars, and diseases introduced by the Europeans, the Maori population declined by as much as 40% in this time. Missionaries were also among the first group of Europeans to contact the Maori, and saw a rapid conversion of the locals to Christianity. But these missionaries also helped the Maori to transcribe their language into a written form, allowing them to document their oral history and traditions, and improving their ability to interact with each other and the outside world on legal matters such as land ownership. In formal settlement by runaway sailors, escaped convicts from Australia, whalers and missionaries resulted in a mixed ethnic descendant population, as there were almost no European women among them. But in 1839, the New Zealand Company of London sought to encourage families to settle by buying land off the Maori and selling on to settlers, primarily around the Wellington area. Further to the north, in Auckland, settlement had been more informal, organised partly around retired British soldiers who would defend land bought from the Maoris, eager to sell in the hope of gaining protection from rival Maori tribes. Meanwhile, many of the Maori tribes themselves came together in 1835 to draft a declaration of independence as the United Tribes of New Zealand, in a reaction against the Frenchman Charles de Thiers' plan to establish his own kingdom in the north of North Island. The British Crown recognised their independence in the following year. But in 1840, all this would change. Seeing the disorganised state of independent settlements by private individuals and companies purchasing land from the Maori, one of them in particular being French, as mentioned, the British Government sought a treaty with the Maori which would give them status as British subjects and allow them to keep their land in exchange for acceptance of British governance over the whole of New Zealand, but restricting the sale of land only to the British Government. The Treaty of Waitangi that year was signed by representatives of most of the tribes of North Island and would become the most important document in settler-Maori relations to this day. But many of the Maori were unhappy with the treaty, as it emerged that the translation between the English and Maori language versions of the documents was not fully accurate, especially regarding the Maori concept of governance and sovereignty by the British. Tensions over this mistranslation and abuses of land sales escalated in just a few years following the treaty, leading to a full insurrection of many Maori tribes that lasted for decades in what became known as the New Zealand Wars. This bitterly fought conflict, of a tribal nation battling against a global empire with massive technological superiority, demonstrated the considerable Maori resolve and expertise in the defence of fortified settlements that were often very costly to the British when assaulted. Significant amounts of Maori land were confiscated by the British colonial government during and following the wars in the 1860s and 70s and amounted to over 4% of the total land area of the islands. The justification for the confiscations, in violation of the earlier Treaty of Waitangi, was to punish the Maori that resisted British rule, but in actuality many Maori loyal to the British also had their land taken, although later about half of this land was paid for or returned, but not often to the same Maori owners. The result of the wars led to considerable marginalisation of the Maori population that, with the continued settlement of the British, now found themselves in the minority. The 1840 Waitangi Treaty, which was apparently just an agreement with no legal standing, and the subsequent New Zealand wars and land confiscations, left much unresolved between the indigenous and immigrant communities over the next century. Following the Waitanga Treaty, New Zealand was briefly administered as part of the colony of New South Wales and Australia, but by the following year of 1841 was granted its own colony status. In 1852 it became self-governing, with the settlers having their own parliament. During the middle of the 19th century, immigration from Britain increased dramatically, with about 1,000 having arrived by 1831, to half a million 50 years later. The at times dangerous sea voyage of three months would have been intimidating for any civilian at that time, but this was overcome by the prospect of a new life, away from the poverty and scarcity of jobs that a dramatic rise in population in Britain had brought about. In addition, for the working classes who formed the majority of settlers, it would be a chance to escape the class system that restricted their prospects back home, and allow them to become the shapers and influencers of a new nation. Most of the early settlers were farmers, and many of these raised sheep to produce wool that would be sent back to the mills and tailors of England that clothed much of the empire during the 19th century. This transformed much of the landscape from its once virgin forest to pasture land. Most of the conflicts with the Maori were on North Ireland, and this was one reason why South Ireland led in terms of numbers of settlers, with Scottish immigrants in particular dominating the southern part of South Ireland. It wouldn't be until 1911 when North Ireland had the majority of the New Zealand population. The capital was moved from Auckland in the far north, to Wellington at the southern tip of North Ireland in 1865, to better reflect this distribution of settlement across both islands. Toward the end of the 19th century, the largely working class settler base came to dominate politics in the form of the Liberal Party. Under this party's dominance of elections for decades into the early 20th century, the government bought large tracts of land from the Maori, along with other incentives that produced a large base of small-holding landowners. New Zealand was the most progressive country in the world politically at this time, giving women full and equal votes in parliamentary elections in 1893, a global first, while a minimum wage, maximum weekly working hours laws, and legal obligations on employers for arbitration in industrial disputes, put the country ahead of others in workers' rights. Following the development of refrigerated ships in the 1880s, the export of wool to Britain was augmented with mutton and beef, cheese and butter. In later decades, fruit would be added to this mix, especially apples and pears, since the summer and fruit harvests in New Zealand were at the opposite time of the year to Britain, and this enabled the consumption of fresh fruit in Britain during winter months for the first time. Agricultural exports would dominate the economy up to the 1970s, when various factors would confront New Zealand with a stark choice about its economic future thereafter, as we shall see. At the dawn of the 20th century, New Zealand was still a colony of the British Empire. Despite being self-governing, the British Parliament in London could always overturn any laws enacted locally should it deem fit. New Zealand was granted Dominion status in 1907, giving it the same elevated status of Canada and Australia above all other colonies, but full independence from the British Parliament would not come until 1947. Still very much tied to Britain, New Zealand joined her in both world wars. The sacrifice of the Joint Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or ANZACs, in the failed campaign of Gallipoli in World War I in particular is still remembered today, etched into the soul of both countries. Throughout that war, 120,000 New Zealanders enlisted, with half of those dying or returning wounded. A similar amount enlisted in World War II, fighting mostly in the Mediterranean, while the United States Navy guaranteed security for the homeland against any threat of invasion by the Japanese. This reliance upon the US would form part of the ANZUS Security Pact following the war between Australia, New Zealand and the United States. This pact meant that New Zealanders were called upon to support US military operations in Vietnam during the 1960s and 70s, which proved as unpopular in New Zealand as it was so famously in the US. Domestically, the Great Depression of the 1930s saw a dramatic reduction in the demand for agricultural exports that in turn led to a crisis of unemployment and collapse of incomes within the country. In response, the Labour government of the time introduced a public works programme similar to that of Roosevelt's in the US. Out of all this emerged a cradle-to-grave welfare state of publicly funded healthcare, state housing and pensions that increasingly dominated the economy up until the 1980s. In the early to mid-20th century, the Maori population grew rapidly, mainly as a result of the reduction in the death rate through the curbing of infectious diseases, especially tuberculosis. Until this time the Maori population was almost all rural, confined to their traditional lands, but the explosion in population meant many younger Maoris could not find work in their rural communities, and many came to the cities seeking work. By the 1980s, 80% of Maoris were urbanised. This transition led to many social issues within a community that had traditionally very alien values and ways of life compared to those of a modern city, and they also faced discrimination and racism from some white New Zealanders. But with the help of respected Maori leaders such as the long-serving MP Apirana Ngata, many Maoris saw that they could live in an urban environment and yet retain their traditional Maori identity. A protest movement in the early 1970s led to a 1975 Act of Parliament being passed that established a permanent Waitanga Tribunal to investigate violations of that treaty and land seizures of the mid-19th century, and this continues today with total settlements so far in the hundreds of millions of New Zealand dollars. Britain's 1973 joining of the EEC, later European Union, led to a sharp reduction in exports from New Zealand as a result of the latter losing most favoured nation trading status and the requirement of tariffs on goods entering the EEC from outside. Coupled with a general slump in the prices of agricultural products and the global energy crisis of the same year, a severe stress was placed on the economy that had been reliant upon such export income as its mainstay going back almost a century. The welfare state was expensive to maintain, and faced with either massive borrowing or reform, the people chose reform. In the 1980s, ironically it was a Labour government that came to power promising reforms akin to those of Thatcher in the UK and Reagan in the US. Between 1984 and 1987, financial markets were deregulated and tariffs on foreign trade opened up and much of the publicly owned utilities sold off. Since that time, New Zealand's economy has shifted largely to the service sector, away from agriculture. But it was the subject of nuclear weapons that would be the final marker for the country's true independence. In 1984, the Labour government made New Zealand a nuclear-free zone, meaning that no ships or submarines of any nation powered by nuclear engines or possessing nuclear weapons would be permitted to traverse the country's water or dock in her ports. This led to the US suspending New Zealand from the ANZUS pact. The following year, the environmental activist group Greenpeace had its ship, the Rainbow Warrior, docked in port at Auckland. It was on its way to protest a French nuclear weapon test in French Polynesia. It never made it. The French intelligence services planted a bomb on the ship, resulting in its sinking and the death of one of its crew. Initially the French denied involvement, but the successful capture and interrogation by New Zealand police of the two French agents responsible, exposed the whole plot. In the aftermath, the US failed to condemn the bombing, leading to a distancing of New Zealand from its traditional ally. Many New Zealanders felt that international partners could not be relied upon, and reflected in their elected governments, New Zealand today follows its own independent path in foreign affairs. Once a virgin land that had never seen people, these islands of the South Pacific saw five centuries of Maori settlement, and then two more centuries of European dominance, from colony to dominion to nominal independence but with the support of and reliance upon Britain and later the US, to the country today marking its own path in the much larger world. Coming up in part two, Sheep and Rugby, Tattoos and the Haka, and those jaw-dropping landscapes that formed the backdrop of the greatest fantasy movie trilogy of all time. The geography, economy and culture of New Zealand. You won't want to miss this conclusion to my study of this unique country on the far side of the world. I hope you enjoyed this presentation of its history first and foremost. Please like and share this video if you enjoyed it or found it useful, and please let me know your thoughts in the comments, especially if you're from this country, and if I missed out anything that you feel is important. If you haven't already done so, then please click the subscribe button and the bell notification icon so you don't miss future episodes. You can also support future development of this channel by becoming a member, just click the join button below the video. Thanks again for watching, and I'll see you in part two.