The first settlers on the islands of New Zealand had been the Polynesian Maori who came in droves about A.D.800. These indigenous people ruled until 1840 when their chieftain entered into a covenant with Great Britain, with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty gave the British sovereignty over the islands, while the local people retained territorial rights. And out of this new treaty, the British organized the first European colonial settlement on the islands.
The British occupation in New Zealand resulted in the land wars of 1843 and 1872, which eventually led to the defeat of the local folks, ending as a colony of Great Britain. The association with the British produced the
New Zealand flag, as a defaced blue ensign with the Union Flag in the canton and together with four red stars with white borders to the right of the flag. The stars actually represent the constellation Crux (the southern cross) as seen in New Zealand. This emblem was adopted even before New Zealand became a colony, as desired by an assembly of Maori chiefs in 1834.
New Zealand though mountainous is a fertile land located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. A Dutch navigator Abel Tasman, who was the first European to set his sights on New Zealand describe, "it is a land uplifted high," with snowy peaks, fjord-scarred shores, and sheep that abounds the countryside.
New Zealand evolved as a parliamentary democracy a constitution patterned after that of the United Kingdom, has stayed a self-governing British colony since 1907. It thus became a founding member of the British Commonwealth in 1926.
As it is, New Zealand enjoys an export driven economy, with trading partners all over the world.
by:
The Flagman
