.
Cook Islands (Maori Kūki 'Āirani) is an archipelago and
self-governing self-governing state entity in free association with
New Zealand in the South Pacific in Polynesia. It borders on the
waters of Kiribati in the north, French Polynesia in the east, Niue,
American Samoa, Tokelau in the west and neutral Pacific waters in
the south. Cook Islands are part of the Kingdom of New Zealand. The
territory includes 15 islands, 3 of which are uninhabited: 7 islands
in the Northern group and 8 in the South. Land area - 236.7 km². The
population is 14 974 people (2011). The capital is the city of
Avarua on the island of Rarotonga. In 1888, the islands became a
protectorate of the British Empire, and in 1901 were transferred to
the administration of New Zealand. In 1965, the Cook Islands became
a self-governing state entity in partnership with New Zealand. Cook
Islands is a member of the South Pacific Commission and the Pacific
Islands Forum. Most countries of the world do not recognize the Cook
Islands as a subject of international law, but 48 states and the
European Union maintain diplomatic relations with them.
The
archipelago got its modern name only in the 19th century and was
named by the Russian navigator Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern in honor
of the English traveler James Cook. Cook himself, who visited the
islands of the Southern Group in 1773-1775, named them Hervey
Islands.
According to radiocarbon analysis, the Cook Islands from the
Southern Group were originally settled by Polynesians no later than
500 AD. According to comparative linguistics, the islands of the
Southern Group were settled from the islands of the Society, which,
in turn, were settled from the Marquesas. At the same time, the
separation of the Pramarkiz and Prataitian languages occurred
around 900 AD. The islands of the Northern group (except for
Pukapuk, inhabited probably from Samoa) were settled either from the
islands of the Southern group, or directly from the islands of the
Society.
The Spanish mariners Alvaro de Mendagna and Pedro
Fernandez Quiros became the first Europeans to reach the islands in
the late XVI-XVII centuries. The first to be discovered was the
island of Pucapuca, named Mendanya in 1595 by the island of San
Bernardo. Already in the middle of the XVII century the islands were
explored by English sailors. In 1773-1774 and in 1777, the famous
English traveler James Cook discovered the islands of Manuae,
Palmerston, Mangaia and Atiu. The islands of the Southern Group
discovered by him were named the navigator of the island of Hervey.
The archipelago got its modern name only at the beginning of the
19th century, when the Russian explorer Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern
studied the islands.
In the early 1820s, the first
missionaries from the London Missionary Society landed on the Cook
Islands (John Williams became the first). Christianity spread very
quickly, and soon the church gained control of the political and
administrative life of the islands. The appearance of missionaries
contributed to the establishment of peace on the archipelago
(before, local tribes were constantly at war). However, there were
negative consequences: due to diseases brought to the Cook Islands
by Europeans, a sharp decrease in the number of local population was
noted.
In 1843, after France seized the island of Tahiti, the
Ariks (local leaders) of the Cook Islands turned to the British
Empire for patronage. However, the British protectorate over
Rarotonga (later on all the islands of the South and North groups)
was announced only in 1888. New Zealand was of great interest to the
archipelago, but the majority of the Cook Maori, who wished to
remain under the tutelage of the British Empire, opposed the idea of
a “colony colony” (at that time New Zealand was a colony of
Britain). But already in 1901, the management of the islands was
transferred to New Zealand. In 1960, as a result of the
anti-colonial movement of the Cook Islands, one of the first among
the Pacific nations acquired internal self-government. From August
4, 1965, the Cook Islands became a self-governing state entity in
partnership with New Zealand.
The following decades were
marked by improvements in the economic and social spheres, the
powers of the local government expanded, and therefore the
independence of the Cook Islands increased (for example, in the
field of foreign policy, the right to unilateral exit from free
association with New Zealand). In the mid-1990s, the country
experienced a major financial crisis. As a result, the well-being of
local residents worsened, emigration to New Zealand increased, and
there was a frequent change of governments and prime ministers.