Early settlement
Nearly 3,200 years ago the island of New Zealand bared witness to its first inhabitants. It wasn’t until roughly 1250 AD that the earliest settlers traveled from Polynesia and discovered land, known today as New Zealand. Experts believe that discovery of New Zealand was part of an ancient list of Pacific migrations made by the Polynesians. They believe that New Zealand was the last voyage the Polynesians made in the exploration of the Pacific Islands. The discovery of New Zealand was not by chance, but rather by deliberation. The Polynesians, known today as the Maori, arrived in small groups or tribes by way of canoes. The Maori people used ocean currents, winds, and stars to travel to the island. It wasn’t until the 1600s that Europeans discovered the existence of New Zealand as well.
The tribes got to work right away building small shelters out of the materials they could gather such as tree branches, leaves, and mud. Hunting, gathering, gardening, and fishing proved to be the most beneficial and most vital aspects of survival for the Maori tribes. The Moa bird became the main prey for the Maori until its extinction. The Moa bird was a large flightless bird that they Maori were exceptional at catching. The Maori people also brought with them seeds to plant and sow. According to Anthony G. Flude, “New seedlings of coconuts, gourd, taro, yam, and sweet potatoes had been carefully stored aboard away from the salt sea air.” (Flude, 2001) However, due to the harsh and unfamiliar climate changes they quickly discovered that yams and sweet potatoes were the only food to prosper. Seals and fish were also abundance for the earliest settlers and they took full advantage of these food sources.
The drastic change in climate and temperatures was perhaps the greatest struggle for the new settlers. New Zealand possessed a temperate climate that could not be home to many of their crops. The structure of their shelters had to be changed and constructed more durably in order to keep out the harsh winds and cold rain. They were used to small huts with no roofs and open sided dwellings that let air and other elements inside. Upon arriving to New Zealand they discovered quickly that roofs and side walls were a necessity for survival. The Maori also had to create a new style of clothing garments seeing as how their old ones were not weather proof or warm enough. The Maori proved to be exceptionally adaptable people, and these changes were nothing more than a minor hiccup in their new lives.
As John Wilson stated, “In 1642 the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman made the first confirmed European discovery of New Zealand.” (History - Māori Arrival and Settlement) Before the 1600s the Europeans were completely unaware of New Zealand’s existence at all. Over the next 100 years, many voyages from Europe to New Zealand were made to identify supplies, access to the island, and to see if there were any inhabitants already on the island. The first interactions between the Maori people and Europeans occurred in the late 1700s. For the most part these interactions involved trade between the two sides and were relatively friendly. However, there were a few incidents where exchanges became heated and weapons such as firearms were pulled on the Maori people. At the turn of the 19th century Europeans began to settle and farm on the island of New Zealand. Having European settlers was uneasy at first, but “having a European living among them gave some tribal groups an advantage in the race to acquire European goods, especially firearms.” (Wilson, 2013) New Zealand soon became part of the Pacific-Wide trade system.
The effects of European settlement became inevitable for New Zealand and the Maori people. In the 1830s the British government became extremely interested in establishing laws and rules on the island. The intrusion of New Zealand, by the British government, lead to a new declaration of independence, a flag, and The Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty stated that, Maori ceded powers of government to Britain in return for the rights of British subjects and guaranteed possession of their lands and other ‘treasures’.” (Wilson, 2013) Exploration and settlement of New Zealand increased with the signing of the treaty by British officials and Maori head chiefs. Before they knew it, New Zealand was crawling with Europeans ready to establish and build a new life.
The tribes got to work right away building small shelters out of the materials they could gather such as tree branches, leaves, and mud. Hunting, gathering, gardening, and fishing proved to be the most beneficial and most vital aspects of survival for the Maori tribes. The Moa bird became the main prey for the Maori until its extinction. The Moa bird was a large flightless bird that they Maori were exceptional at catching. The Maori people also brought with them seeds to plant and sow. According to Anthony G. Flude, “New seedlings of coconuts, gourd, taro, yam, and sweet potatoes had been carefully stored aboard away from the salt sea air.” (Flude, 2001) However, due to the harsh and unfamiliar climate changes they quickly discovered that yams and sweet potatoes were the only food to prosper. Seals and fish were also abundance for the earliest settlers and they took full advantage of these food sources.
The drastic change in climate and temperatures was perhaps the greatest struggle for the new settlers. New Zealand possessed a temperate climate that could not be home to many of their crops. The structure of their shelters had to be changed and constructed more durably in order to keep out the harsh winds and cold rain. They were used to small huts with no roofs and open sided dwellings that let air and other elements inside. Upon arriving to New Zealand they discovered quickly that roofs and side walls were a necessity for survival. The Maori also had to create a new style of clothing garments seeing as how their old ones were not weather proof or warm enough. The Maori proved to be exceptionally adaptable people, and these changes were nothing more than a minor hiccup in their new lives.
As John Wilson stated, “In 1642 the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman made the first confirmed European discovery of New Zealand.” (History - Māori Arrival and Settlement) Before the 1600s the Europeans were completely unaware of New Zealand’s existence at all. Over the next 100 years, many voyages from Europe to New Zealand were made to identify supplies, access to the island, and to see if there were any inhabitants already on the island. The first interactions between the Maori people and Europeans occurred in the late 1700s. For the most part these interactions involved trade between the two sides and were relatively friendly. However, there were a few incidents where exchanges became heated and weapons such as firearms were pulled on the Maori people. At the turn of the 19th century Europeans began to settle and farm on the island of New Zealand. Having European settlers was uneasy at first, but “having a European living among them gave some tribal groups an advantage in the race to acquire European goods, especially firearms.” (Wilson, 2013) New Zealand soon became part of the Pacific-Wide trade system.
The effects of European settlement became inevitable for New Zealand and the Maori people. In the 1830s the British government became extremely interested in establishing laws and rules on the island. The intrusion of New Zealand, by the British government, lead to a new declaration of independence, a flag, and The Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty stated that, Maori ceded powers of government to Britain in return for the rights of British subjects and guaranteed possession of their lands and other ‘treasures’.” (Wilson, 2013) Exploration and settlement of New Zealand increased with the signing of the treaty by British officials and Maori head chiefs. Before they knew it, New Zealand was crawling with Europeans ready to establish and build a new life.
Polynesian MigrationThis map shows the migration of the Polynesians throughout the Pacific. As it was stated before, experts believe that the Polynesians had created a list of voyages that would expose them to new land bodies in the pacific area. The map provides routes and dates that the Polynesians traveled these different voyages.
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European MigrationThis particular map shows the migration of the European to New Zealand (and Australia) in the late 1700s to early 1800s. This map provides detailed routes the Europeans used to travel to New Zealand as well as the trade routes between the countries. This map shows how the Europeans had a much more strenuous and arduous journey to New Zealand than the Polynesians did, but it also shows the expansion of trade and commerce that the Europeans introduced New Zealand to.
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Sources:Wilson, J. (2013, September 2). History - war, expansion and depression. Retrieved from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/history/page-4
Flude, A. G. (2001). Exploration & settlement. Retrieved from http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~tonyf/explore/explore.html |
Additional Sources for More Information:http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/when-was-new-zealand-first-settled/page-1
--This website is a great tool to learn more about the first settlers of New Zealand. This particular website goes into the long debate of the actual time that settlers reached New Zealand. It provides key research findings such as carbon dating and genealogical dating and explains how researchers used these tools to estimate the exact time period that the first settlers reached New Zealand. http://history-nz.org --This website provides additional information that goes into more depth on the arrival of Europeans to New Zealand. It discusses many of the conflicts that Europeans ran into with the Maori people, as well as key European and Maori figures that were involved with the treaty. |
Population:
The two graphs below show the difference in population in New Zealand from 1950 to 2010. In 1950 younger children made up a higher percentage of New Zealand's population while the elderly accounted for only a small fraction of the population. In 2010 its noticeable that the elderly now make up a larger portion of New Zealand's population than they did in 1950. Younger children still make up a decent percentage of the population, but it has decreased a little since 1950. Middle aged males and females seem to remain the core of the population in 2010 just like they did in 1950.