The British Government thought that Aotearoa would be a good base in the Pacific for Britain. Many British families packed their bags and boarded ships to start a new life in a land they had never seen on the other side of the world.
When did the British move to New Zealand?
1840
Whalers, missionaries, and traders followed, and in 1840 Britain formally annexed the islands and established New Zealand’s first permanent European settlement at Wellington.
Why did so many British want to leave Britain in 1840 and come to New Zealand?
The push to emigrate
In early 19th-century Britain conditions were such that millions set off for the New World in search of a better life. After the industrial and agricultural revolutions the population had increased from 16 million in 1801 to 26 million in 1841.
Why did Europeans move to New Zealand?
Apart from convicts escaping from Australia and shipwrecked or deserting sailors seeking asylum with Māori tribes, the first Europeans in New Zealand were in search of profits—from sealskins, timber, New Zealand flax (genus Phormium), and whaling.
How did Britain acquire New Zealand?
Following this advice in 1840 the consul in New Zealand, William Hobson, signed the Treaty of Waitangi with Maori chiefs, which assured them of the Crown’s protection of their lands and rights. He then annexed the islands to Britain, in order to enforce Crown control over the British settlers there.
How long did Britain rule New Zealand?
| Colony of New Zealand | |
|---|---|
| Government | Crown colony (1841–1852) Self-governing colony (1852–1907) |
| British monarch | |
| • 1841–1901 | Victoria |
| • 1901–1907 | Edward VII |
What were most disputes between the British and the Māori about?
Though the wars were initially localised conflicts triggered by tensions over disputed land purchases, they escalated dramatically from 1860 as the government became convinced it was facing united Māori resistance to further land sales and a refusal to acknowledge Crown sovereignty.
Who originally settled New Zealand?
Māori were the first to arrive in New Zealand, journeying in canoes from Hawaiki about 1,000 years ago. A Dutchman, Abel Tasman, was the first European to sight the country but it was the British who made New Zealand part of their empire.
Where did most British immigrants to New Zealand originate from?
the United Kingdom
[Regional origins of English immigrants] Scots: Scotland was a very significant source of New Zealand’s immigrants throughout the 19th century, and Scots immigrants were consistently more than double their representation in the United Kingdom itself.
Who lived in New Zealand before the Māori?
Patupaiarehe and tūrehu
There are many accounts of mysterious people who were already in New Zealand when Polynesian voyagers arrived by canoe. It is said that they lived high in the mountains, and could be heard calling to each other. Two of these groups were known as the patupaiarehe and the tūrehu.
What does the word Pakeha mean?
the white inhabitants of
The Word Pakeha. Pakeha, which is a Maori term for the white inhabitants of New Zealand, was in vogue even prior to 1815. Its original meaning and origin are obscure, but the following are possible origins, the first being the most probable: From pakepakeha: imaginary beings resembling men.
Why did people migrate to New Zealand in the 1800s?
From 1840 until the 1970s, Britain was the main source for immigrants. There were historical and political grounds for this – New Zealand was first a British colony and later a Dominion – but also cultural and economic reasons.
Does Britain still control New Zealand?
In passing the Constitution Act 1986 (effective 1 January 1987), New Zealand “unilaterally revoked all residual United Kingdom legislative power.” New Zealand, as of 1987, is a free-standing constitutional monarchy whose parliament has unlimited sovereign power.
Are New Zealanders British?
Most European New Zealanders are of British and Irish ancestry, with significantly smaller percentages of other European ancestries such as Germans, Poles (historically noted as German due to Partitions of Poland), French, Dutch, Croats and other South Slavs, Greeks, and Scandinavians.
How did the British treat the Māori?
The British preferred a peaceful arrangement to taking control of New Zealand by force, and the queen’s government offered the Maori chiefs its support and all privileges as the queen’s subjects. This was the Treaty of Waitangi, signed by 46 Maori chiefs on February 6, 1840.
Why did the British want Māori land?
In 1838, a group from Britain called the New Zealand Company began buying land from iwi to sell to settlers whom they brought to New Zealand. They did this to make money. Other settlers were buying and selling land to make money as well. The idea of buying land was something new to Māori.
What did the British do to Māori?
British policy was to foster trade, encourage Māori to ‘amalgamate’ with settler society and continue their education under the missionaries, and have them prosper alongside the settlers. Britain also needed the legal authority to deal with British subjects.
What was New Zealand originally called?
When James Cook arrived in 1769, Nieuw Zeeland was anglicised to New Zealand, as can be seen in his famous 1770 map. Cook renamed Te Moana-o-Raukawa as Cook Strait, and imposed dozens more English place names.
Who named Aotearoa?
The now common specific ‘translation’ of Aotearoa as ‘the land of the long white cloud’ probably became more established from the 1920s or 30s. Both Bracken and Reeves are commonly credited with first inventing the word Aotearoa.
What percentage of New Zealand is British?
Around 80 per cent of New Zealanders have some British ancestry and an estimated 17 per cent are entitled to British nationality by descent.
Are there any full blooded Māori left?
Being Māori is so much more than blood quantum. In New Zealand, many believed there are no full-blood Māori left. It’s often been used by critics of Māori who seek equal rights and sovereignty. My results, at least, show there is one full-blooded Māori contrary to that belief.