Figure 1.-- |
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New Zealand was discovered and settled by the Maoris as early as the 10th Century from their legendary "Hawaiki". New Zealand is the last significant land area of the world to be settled by humans. The first settlers are commonly referred to as the Moa-hunters. To these early voyagers, New Zealand must have looked like steaming banks of mist and cloud emerging from the ocean, and so they named the new land "Aotearoa"--the land of the long white cloud. The Maori are a Polynesian race which migrated from the central Pacific. Modern Maori history dates from the "Great Migrations" of the 13th and 14th Centuries. These Maori settlers traveled in canoes, or more accurately, double-hulled sailing ships. These settlers were semi-nomadic Maori tribes with no central authority.
The Ngati Mamoe invade and settle North Islamd (about 1570). The Ngai Tahu tribe begin to enter South Island from North Island (about 1675). By the 18th Century, the Maori population in New Zealand probably totaled about 150,000, the vast majority located on North Island. The Maori were divided into individual with no central authority. The tribes engaged in periodic land struggles, but the lack of modern weaponry limited the intensity of these conflicts until Europeans introduced modern weapons.
Europeans first encountered New Zealand in the 17th Century. Dutch navigator Abel Tasman sighted the Islands in 1642. Clashes reported by Tasman and other European explorers help establish the Maori reputation in Europe as a savage war-like people who engaged in cannibalism. Captain James Cook of the Royal Navy who extensively charted coastal areas during three voyages beginning in 1769 also reported violent clashes with the Maori. Whalers and traders began to arrive on New Zealand soon after Captain Cook.
The first European settlers appeared in New Zealand during the early part of the 19th Century. The Europeans attracted to the islands Europeans were a curious mixture of pious missionaries and an oddly contrasting mix of amoral (the missionaries would have said immoral) whalers, sealers, loggers, and traders.
Missionaries: Missionaries first arrived in 1814 and worked diligently to convert the Maoris. They established the first formal schools in New Zealand and worked diligently to promote both their religion and the merits of European civilization. The other Europeans arriving in New Zealand, however, provided a less appealing model of European civilization to the Maori.
Whalers/sealers: Much of the early knowledge about the coast and initial outposts were established by Australian whalers and sealers. Whaling stations at Lyttelton Harbour, Bluff, and other New Zealand locations were established in the early 19th Century and trading stations soon followed.
Traders: Other Europeans were soon taking advantage of the demand for European products. The Maori developed a taste for two European products of dubious value--rum and muskets. Europeans in turn were interested in various New Zealand products, especially timber, fur, and supplies for seamen.
Loggers: Logging was an important activity in early New Zealand. In an age of wooden ships, the virgin New Zealand forests were an important strategic resources for European navies. The towering Kairi (DW: Spell??) trees of New Zealand forests were a vital substitute for depleted European forests.
Settlers: There was at first no significant European agricultural settlements. Although it was well known in Europe that New Zealand offer climatic conditions suitable to European-style agriculture, the war-like reputation of the Maori, including cannibalism, probably discouraged settlement.
Social conditions in early 19th Century New Zealand were increasingly chaotic. Before British annexation there was no established legal order for either the Maori or Europeans. While the devout missionaries worked fervently to save souls and "civilize" the Maori, the other Europeans attracted to New Zealand pursued a more "earthy" form of civilization. They brandished guns, swilled whiskey, and pursued a seemingly insatiable taste for Maori maidens. The Maori faced with two such different European groups must have had great difficulty divining the true Pakea character. Although only a small number of Europeans found there way to New Zealand (less than 1,500 in 1839), they had an enormous impact on Maori society. The modern weapons fueled an increasingly violent tribal war. The increasingly chaotic situation was exacerbated by cultural conflict, alcohol, tobacco, prostitution and other vices. Thousands of Maori were killed in the escalating inter-tribal wars. No legal system existed to control the avarice of the Europeans and Maori war lords.
New Zealand was becoming a sanctuary for a variety of Australian villains and the early outposts developed a reputation for lawlessness, scandalizing the pious/virtuous if sanctimonious missionaries who were diligently trying to convince the Maoris of the superiority of European civilization. Many missionaries at first opposed British intervention and 1838 helped to defeat an effort in Parliament by the New Zealand Association (NZA) to annex New Zealand. The missionaries had initially hoped to Christianize the Maori and help them build an independent nation. Scandalized by the depravity of the other Europeans and the growing chaos, the missionaries, eventually came to see British annexation as inevitable if not necessary. The NZA decided to continue its efforts without government support and formed a joint stock company, the New Zealand Colonization Company. The Company acquired funds to purchase land and dispatched its founder, Edward Gibbons Wakefield to Wellington in 1839.
The British Government eventually decided with some reluctance to formally establish a colony. The Government dispatched Governor William Hobson to negotiate with the Maori chiefs and the Treaty of Waitangi was signed February 6, 1840 which is now recognized as New Zealand's national day. The Treaty recognized Maori rights, especially land ownership and most tribal leaders signed the Treaty, ceding sovereignty to the British Crown.
The Maori clearly had no idea of the document they signed. Few cold read and most relied on the European missionaries to explain the treaty to them. They and the British had very different expectations. The Maori expected the British Government to control the small number of troublesome Pakeas already in New Zealand and to honor the assurances over land rights. The British viewed the Treaty as establishing British law and opening the way for peaceful immigration. None of the Maori who signed the Treaty had the least inkling that thousands of European settlers would in a few years make them a minority in their own land.
The greatest misunderstanding from the treaty was over land. The Maori were a communal people with a strong emotional attachment to their land, but no understanding of individual land ownership. Most of New Zealand was claimed by different Maori tribes, but much of it was undeveloped in a European sense. The Maoris used their land for hunting and fishing or for gathering wild plants and not for European-style intensive agriculture. They were, however, soon faced with a seemingly endless stream of land-hungry British settlers. The new settlers viewed land which was not cleared and used for crops as unclaimed and were unable, or unwilling, to understand the Maori attachment to the land.
The first European settlement began in the early 19th century at the Bay of Islands and the settlers established missionary stations in the area. Large-scale British settlement began in 1840 after the signing of the the Treaty of Waitangi. Much of the early settlements were conducted under the authority or in cooperation with the New Zealand Company, founded by Edward Gibbon Wakefield and others who for years had been agitating for British annexation and hoped to found a model colony through planned migration recreating hierarchial British society. The objective was to recreate British society in New Zealand. The New Zealand Company founded Port Nichlson (Wellington), Nelson, and New Plymouth and supported the Canterbury (Christchurch) and Otago settlements.
Many of the original colonies were founded predominately by settlers from specific regions such as the [PB: who???] New Plymouth and the Scots in Otago. Canterbury (Anglicans) and Otago Presbyterians) were church settlements. Canterbury was founded as a model Church of England settlement. The early settlements were Auckland (18??), New Wanganui (1841), Plymouth (1841), Nelson (1842), Port Nicholson/Wellington (1844), Otago/Dunedin (1848), and Canterburry/Christchurch (1850).
The idealistic plans for orderly settlement and the introduction of British social structures soon proved impossible to maintain. Industrious workers had not come half way around the world to work on a transplanted manor. The workers proved unwilling to work for a landed gentry and instead quickly moved from the original settlements to carve farms out of virgin forests and sheep runs on the native grasslands.
The central question in early colonial New Zealand was the Maori and their land claims. In many ways the Maori adjusted much more readily to European capitalism than most other indigenous species. Many Maori sent their children to missionary schools. Some planted European crops and opened business such as flour mills, saw mills, and shipping companies. The expanding European population and desire for land, however, soon led to violent confrontations with the Maoris.
The first serious encounter occurred in 1843 when settlers from Nelson were killed by the Maori in what has become known as the Wairau Affair. More serious confrontations with the settlers were reported during 1845-47. The publicity in England concerning the violent incidents impaired the New Zealand Company's ability to recruit settlers. The resulting financial problems during the 1840s caused the Company to eventually surrender its title to the British Government.
Problems between the settlers and Maori occurred when settlers purchased large area of land for small amounts from unsophisticated individual Maoris without the authority of appropriate tribal authorities. British settlement continued and the European population steadily expanded. European settlers in only 10 years (about 1850), to the amazement of the Maori, had approximately equalled their population. The early New Zealand economy developed much more rapidly on South Island because the conflicts with the Maori occurred primarily on North Island where the Maori population was concentrated. [The Maori Land Wars continued intermittently utill armed resistance was finally crushed in 1871.]
Britain granted New Zealand internal self-government in 1852 under the New Zealand Constitution Act which established a system of provincial administration. Steady migration continued to expand the European population. The different Provinces, however, developed along separate lines during this period with little central control. Different administrative policies, educational systems, and economic policies were adopted. Few of the provinces were connected by roads. Wellington was made the capital in 1865.
The 1860s were marked by renewed land disputes between the European settlers and the Maoris which intermittently erupted in fighting as the Maori increasingly understood the concept of individual land ownership and more forcefully resisted further sales. The British Government made some effort to fairly resolve the disputes, to the displeasure of the settlers. British troops and militia were used to evict some Maoris from land obtained through often dubious purchases. Large scale clashes followed and peace was not permanently restored until 1871 when British troops, local militia, and tribes allied with the Government finally crushed the Maori tribes resisting land sales. The Government subsequently abandoned any real effort to deal with land disputes between settlers and the Maori in an even-handed manner.
The settlers with the approval of colonial authorities proceeded to divest large areas of land from Maori communities, often using troops to force evictions on the basis of extremely questionable legal claims. By 1890 Maori communities retained title to only 4.4 million hectares (ha) of the country's 26.8 million ha total. At the same time, the European population steadily increased through immigration. Gold finds in South Island attracted another major wave of immigration. The Maori population declined during the late 19th Century as a result of the wars, evictions, economic decline, and the exposure to European diseases.
New Zealand instituted a constitutional reform which implemented a centralized administrative system in 1876, abolishing the provincial system. The reform was designed to counter the "provincialism" which some felt was hindering the colony's overall development. The provincial governments were based on the initial settlements which were established independently of real central authority and had developed along different lines making the development of national policies and programs difficult.
New Zealand made major investments were made in railway and road construction during the 1870s. The defeat of armed Maori resistance resolved the security situation and made New Zealand more attractive to foreign investment. The Government also promoted British immigration and the european population doubled during the 1870s. Initially logging was of enormous importance to the colony's economy. Gradually the economy shifted from logging to agriculture, especially after the introduction of refrigerated transport in 1882 opened up vast markets to perishable products and laid the foundation for the development of a profitable export-based agricultural economy. New Zealand's isolation and distance from British and other European market initially limited the colony's development. Refrigeration was vital as New Zealand's small population could not begin to absorb the potential production of the colony's expanding farm economy. Without refrigeration, New Zealand farmers would have been restricted to subsistence farming or a narrow range of non-perishable products such as wool. Key products such as meat and dairy commodities had to be refrigerated to reach distant export markets. Refrigeration opened vast new markets for the steady stream of immigrants opening up new areas for agriculture and animal husbandry.
Economic downturns such as the Depression of 1888 occasional interrupted the expansion of the economy. Partly as a result of the Depression the Liberal Party won an election in 1891 and governed the colony until 1912. Liberal reforms instituted during this period laid the foundation for the welfare state that was to subsequently emerge. Liberal reforms included promotion of labor unions (1892-96) and enactment of a social security program (1898). The pioneering reforms by the Liberal Government during this period were far ahead of the social legislation enacted by most European countries and the United States. One of the most significant reforms was a land policy aimed a breaking up large holdings laying the basis for family holdings that dominate New Zealand agriculture today. Britain granted New Zealand Dominion status in 1907.
New Zealand loyally joined the Allies to support Britain when World War I began in 1914. The World War was as a boon to the export oriented economy. The human losses, however, were horrifying for the fledgling Dominion. More than 100,000 New Zealanders served overseas, arriving in 1915 to participate in the Egyptian and disastrous Gallipoli campaign. New Zealand forces also served in France with Australian soldiers making up the ANZAC corps which during 1916 suffered terrible losses-- especially during the first battle of the Somme. Incredibly more than half of the New Zealanders serving overseas were killed or wounded. The New Zealand losses may have been small by British standards. The British, for example, sustained over 500,000 casualties in the first battle of the Somme alone. New Zealand's devastating battlefield losses, however, were keenly felt in such a small country. One can easily observe the impact even today as monuments to the fallen soldiers dot virtually every New Zealand town and village. The consequences of the war experience and the sacrifices of New Zealand serviceman had an enduring impact on the country's psyche. Many New Zealanders began to doubt the comfortable certainties of pre-War society. Working class New Zealanders exposed to foreign countries and wider experience began to question the established order which led them into the war. Many began to look at the fledgling Labour Party, which had opposed the War, for leadership in building a more just society.
The markets created for agricultural products by World War I helped to expand the national economy. An era of relative prosperity followed the War. Farmers experienced problems with fluctuating commodity prices. Important export marketing agencies were created allowing for shared authority between producers and government agencies. These initial steps during this period provided the foundation for the cooperative marketing structure that still exists for many important commodities.
The Great Depression of the 1930s was especially severe in countries like New Zealand which relied on international markets. Many importing countries, responding to rising unemployment roles enacted protectionist trade regulation to limit imports. The resulting economic decline and unemployment in New Zealand significantly affected living standards. The public response to the deteriorating economic conditions was the Labour Party victory of 1935.
Labor leaders who had been arrested in 1917 because of their opposition to the War found themselves in power. They proceeded to create a modern welfare system. They established a comprehensive social security system, expanded payments to old age pensioners, created a 40 hour work week, and set up a state-finance home building system to promote home ownership. The Labour welfare system helped to limit the deprivations caused by the Depression. The Depression, however, did not end in New Zealand until the onset of World War II.
[DW: When? healthcare, housing assistance, free higher ed]
New Zealand again supported Britain in World War II. This time Labour put its' reform program on hold and joined with the National and Liberal parties to form a Government of national unity. New Zealand soldiers and airmen played a key roll in the critical early years (1939-41) of the war when, after the fall of France, Britain stood alone against the Germans. New Zealanders played an especially important role in the in the crucial North African campaign helping to deny Suez to Rommel's African Corps. The Dominion again paid a heavy price in both manpower and resources. Unlike World War I, New Zealand like Australia found itself actually threatened with invasion by the Japanese in the dark days after the American disaster at Pear Harbor and the fall of Singapore and the Philippines. New Zealand faced the Japanese with its army largely deployed in North Africa defending Suez. Nothing stood between the Japanese and New Zealand in early 1942 except distance and a handful of American aircraft carriers. The entry of the United States into World War II resulted in a major American presence in the country. The War experience combined with the deployment of nearly 10 percent of New Zealand's population overseas, significantly affected the global outlook of the country's population. Most New Zealanders came to see that the provincialism was outdated and a small country like New Zealand could not survive in isolation.
The postwar period saw expanding employment opportunities and the development of manufacturing and service industries. The economy and personal income expanded during the 1960s and 1970s. New Zealand has had to face some major changes beginning in the 1970s in major international and domestic policies:
British association: Concern over industrial and agricultural development grew in the 1960s, especially the need to diversify markets. Britain's entry in the European Common Market in 197? brought the importance of finding new markets to the fore.
Australian free trade: New Zealand negotiated a free trade agreement with neighboring Australia.
Asian ties: New Zealanders who had traditionally looked to Britain began to realize that their future lay with their Asian neighbors, especially Japan. This at first required a painful reassessment for the country, especially given their experience during the War. By the 1990s, however, New Zealand has clearly embraced its new trading partners and aggressively participating in Asian regional organizations.
American relationship: Since World War II, New Zealand has looked on the United States to guarantee its security through the ANZUS treaty. Concern over American nuclear weapons, however, have impaired close military cooperation. Americans continues to be a major market for New Zealand exports.
Welfare system: The economic realities of the 1980s have forced successive New Zealand, including Labour Governments, to cut back the country's vaunted welfare system. Benefits have been reduced and long established entitlement such as virtually free tertiary studies have been ended.
Market economy: Governments have attempted to reduce Government regulation and adopt free market economic approaches. State corporations are being privatized and taxes reduced through spending cuts.
Multi-culturalism: New Zealand is seriously addressing the grievances of its Maori citizens. Immigration laws have been changed to permit immigration from Asian countries. The Government is reaching out to Pacific Island countries.
