The 'Cook Islands' (
Cook Islands Māori: ''Kūki 'Āirani'') are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with
New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this
South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240
square kilometres (92.7
sq mi), but the Cook Islands
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 1.8 million square kilometres (0.7 million
sq mi) of ocean.
[1]
The main population centres are on the island of
Rarotonga (''c.''10,000), where there is an international airport. There is also a much larger population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand, particularly the
North Island; in the
2006 census, 58,008 self-identified as being of ethnic
Cook Island Māori descent.
[2]
Tourism is the country's number one industry, the leading element of the
economy, far ahead of offshore banking, pearls, marine and fruit exports. A popular art form on the islands is
Tivaivai, often likened to
quilting.
Defence is the responsibility of
New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request. In recent times, the Cook Islands has adopted an increasingly independent foreign policy.
Politics
Main articles: Politics of the Cook Islands
The politics of the Cook Islands takes place in a framework of a
parliamentary representative democratic associated state, whereby the
Queen of New Zealand, represented in the Cook Islands by the
Queen's Representative, is
Head of State and the Chief Minister is the
head of government. There is a pluriform multi-party system and the islands are self-governing in free association with
New Zealand and fully responsible for internal affairs.
New Zealand retains some responsibility for external affairs, in consultation with the Cook Islands. In recent years the Cook Islands has taken on more of its own external affairs and as of
2005 has diplomatic relations in its own name with eighteen other countries.
Executive power is exercised by the government.
Legislative power is vested in both the
government and the
Parliament of the Cook Islands.
The Cook Islands are not
United Nations full members but participate in
WHO and
UNESCO.
The
Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Geography
Main articles: Geography of the Cook Islands
The Cook Islands are in the South Pacific Ocean, north-east of New Zealand, between
French Polynesia and
Fiji. There are fifteen major islands, spread over 2.2 million square kilometres of ocean, divided into two distinct groups: the Southern Cook Islands, and the Northern Cook Islands of
coral atolls.
[3]
The islands were formed by volcanic activity; the northern group is older and consists of six
atolls (sunken volcanoes topped by
coral growth). The climate is moderate to tropical.
The fifteen islands are grouped as follows:
★ High Cook Islands
★
★
Aitutaki
★
★
Atiu (Enua-Manu or Island of Birds)
★
★
Mangaia
★
★
Mauke (Akatokamanava)
★
★
Rarotonga (with capital, Avarua)
★ Low islands of the Southern group
★
★
Manuae
★
★
Mitiaro
★
★
Takutea
★ Northern Cook Islands
★
★
Manihiki
★
★
Nassau
★
★
Palmerston Island
★
★
Penrhyn Island also known as Tongareva
★
★
Pukapuka
★
★
Rakahanga
★
★
Suwarrow also called Suvorov
History
Main articles: History of the Cook Islands
The Cook Islands were first settled in the
6th Century A.D. by
Polynesian people who migrated from nearby
Tahiti, to the southeast.
[4]
Spanish ships visited the islands in the late sixteenth century; the first written record of contact with the Islands came with the sighting of
Pukapuka by Spanish sailor
Álvaro de Mendaña in 1595 who called it ''San Bernardo'' ("
Saint Bernard"). Another Spaniard,
Pedro Fernández de Quirós, made the first recorded European landing in the islands when he set foot on
Rakahanga in
1606, calling it ''Gente Hermosa'' ("Beautiful People").
British navigator Captain
James Cook arrived in
1773 and
1779 and named the islands the ''Hervey Islands''; the name "Cook Islands", in honour of Cook, appeared on a Russian naval chart published in the 1880s.
[5]
In 1813, John Williams, a missionary on the ''Endeavour'' (not the same ship as that of Cook), made the first official sighting of the
island of Rarotonga.
[6]
The first recorded landing by Europeans was in 1814 by the Cumberland; trouble broke out between the sailors and the Islanders and many were killed on both sides.
[7]
The islands saw no more Europeans until missionaries arrived from England in 1821. Christianity quickly took hold in the culture and many islanders continue to be Christian believers today.
The Cook Islands became a
British protectorate at their own request in
1888, mainly to thwart French expansionism. They were transferred to
New Zealand in
1901. They remained a New Zealand protectorate until 1965, at which point they became a
self-governing territory in
free association with New Zealand. Sir Albert Henry, the Islands' first Prime Minister, led the country until he was accused of vote-rigging in 1978.
Today, the Cook Islands are essentially independent ("self-governing in free association with New Zealand") but are still officially placed within New Zealand's
sovereignty. New Zealand is tasked with overseeing the country's foreign relations and defence. The Cook Islands are one of three New Zealand
dependencies, along with
Tokelau and
Niue.
After achieving autonomy in 1965, the Cook Islands elected
Albert Henry of the
Cook Islands Party as their first
Prime Minister. He was succeeded in
1978 by
Tom Davis of the
Democratic Party.
On June 11,
1980, the
United States signed a treaty with New Zealand specifying the maritime border between the Cook Islands and
American Samoa and also relinquishing its claim to the islands of
Penrhyn Island,
Pukapuka (Danger),
Manihiki, and
Rakahanga.
In 2006, the British television station Channel 4 broadcast the show ''
Shipwrecked'', filmed in the Cook Islands. The thirteenth season of
CBS's ''Survivor'' series was also filmed in the Cook Islands during the summer of 2006. It was broadcast in the autumn of 2006 as ''.
Culture
Float parade during the annual Maeva Nui celebrations.
Sport
Rugby union is the most popular sport in the Cook Islands with
football and
rugby league also popular.
Cook Islands in popular culture
★ The thirteenth season of the popular
reality TV show
Survivor, named was filmed in the Cook Islands. The "tribes" of players were named after the islands, for example,
Rarotonga.
★ The British television show is set in the Cook Islands.
See also
References
1. A View from the Cook Islands SOPAC
2. QuickStats About Culture and Identity - Pacific Peoples
3. "Cook Islands Travel Guide" (with description), ''World Travel Guide'', Nexus Media Communications, 2006. Webpage: WTGuide-Cook-Islands.
4. Cook Islands Samoa2007.com
5. Cook Islands Government website
6. TEN DECADES: The Australasian Centenary History of the London Missionary Society, Rev. Joseph King (Word document)
7. History of the Cook Islands
External links
★
Cook Islands Government
★
Cook Islands Government (summary)
★
Cook Islands Tourism Corporation
★
Open Directory Project - Cook Islands directory category
★
Comprehensive Cook Islands site with news section
★
Detailed and non-commercial website
★
Cook Islands National Environment Service
★
Cook Islands Biodiversity Database
★
Photographs of CI banknotes including unique 3 dollar bill
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