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117-632: The Polynesian Leaders Group (PLG) is an international governmental cooperation group bringing together four independent countries and eight self-governing territories in Polynesia . The idea of a Polynesian regional grouping had been discussed for several years, notably in response to the Melanesian Spearhead Group , a regional grouping for countries in Melanesia . In September 2011, Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi initiated

234-405: A de jure usually resident population of 1,499 people. The census shows a 6.2% increase in the de jure usually resident population between 2011 and 2016. The nationals of Tokelau are called Tokelauans , and the major ethnic group is Polynesian ; it has no recorded minority groups. About 84% of inhabitants are of wholly or partly Tokelauan ethnicity; people of Samoan ethnicity make up 6.7% of

351-506: A Fiji heavily indebted to foreign creditors to the United Kingdom. It became independent on 10 October 1970 and a republic on 28 September 1987. Fiji is classified as Melanesian and (less commonly) Polynesian. Beginning in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, Polynesians began to migrate in waves to New Zealand via their canoes , settling on both the North and South islands as well as

468-657: A Treaty of Friendship on 18 May 1900, when European settlers and rival Tongan chiefs tried to oust the second king. Within the British Empire , which posted no higher permanent representative on Tonga than a British Consul (1901–1970), Tonga formed part of the British Western Pacific Territories (under a High Commissioner who residing in Fiji ) from 1901 until 1952. Despite being under the protectorate, Tonga retained its monarchy without interruption. On June 4, 1970,

585-670: A change in the movements of the Pacific Plate in relation to the Indo-Australian Plate . The Pacific plate had previously been subducted under the Australian Plate . When that changed, it had the effect of uplifting the portion of the continent that is modern-day New Zealand. The convergent plate boundary that runs northwards from New Zealand's North Island is called the Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone . This subduction zone

702-461: A culture and political traditions influenced by Polynesia, Tuilaepa argued that "Fiji is within this triangle and its founding leaders considered themselves as Polynesians. Obviously, the current leadership is leaning towards our Melanesian brothers." Chairs Polynesia The term Polynésie was first used in 1756 by the French writer Charles de Brosses , who originally applied it to all

819-462: A halt in new domain registrations, and in November 2023, ICANN terminated Freenom's registrar accreditation due to unresolved breaches. By February 2024, Freenom settled the lawsuit with Meta, announced its exit from the domain business, and by March 2024, 99% of Freenom domains became inaccessible, significantly affecting Cloudflare 's hosted domains. According to the 2016 Tokelau Census, Tokelau has

936-402: A high-speed Internet connection. Foundation Tokelau financed the project. Tokelau gave most domain names under its authority away to anyone for free to gain publicity for the territory. This has allowed the nation to gain enhanced telecommunications technologies, such as more computers and Internet access for Tokelauan residents. By 2012, there were about 120 computers, mostly laptops, and 1/6th of

1053-881: A meeting with the leaders of Tonga , Tuvalu , the Cook Islands and Niue on the margins of the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Auckland . These initial talks led to a second meeting in Apia which, on 17 November, led to a memorandum of understanding formally establishing the Polynesian Leaders Group (PLG). The Group does not have a fixed Secretariat at present, despite initial suggestions that one would be established in Apia. The Group held its first formal meeting in Rarotonga in

1170-407: A metre of seawater. The cyclone also caused major erosion on several islets of all three atolls, damaging roads and bridges and disrupting electric power and telecommunications systems. The cyclone did significant and widespread damage to food crops including bananas, coconuts and pandanus . It did not seriously injure anyone but villagers lost significant amounts of property. No significant land

1287-557: A non- Polynesian language . Some of the Lau Islands to the southeast of Fiji have strong historic and cultural links with Tonga. However, in essence, Polynesia remains a cultural term referring to one of the three parts of Oceania (the others being Melanesia and Micronesia ). The following islands and island groups are either nations or overseas territories of former colonial powers. The residents are native Polynesians or contain archaeological evidence indicating Polynesian settlement in

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1404-581: A plane-iron. A few days later, French explorer Captain Morvan sighted Fakaofo. The American expedition reached Nukunonu on 28 January 1841, but did not record any information about inhabitants. On 29 January 1841, the expedition sighted Fakaofo and named it "Bowditch". The Fakaofo islanders were found to be similar in appearance and behavior to the Atafu islanders. Missionaries preached Christianity in Tokelau from 1845 to

1521-509: A possibility that the early Lapita Austronesians were direct descendants of the early colonists of the Marianas (which preceded them by about 150 years), which is also supported by pottery evidence. The most eastern site for Lapita archaeological remains recovered so far is at Mulifanua on Upolu . The Mulifanua site, where 4,288 pottery shards have been found and studied, has a "true" age of c.  1000 BC based on radiocarbon dating and

1638-728: A region within Polynesia and the categorization of these language groups by Green in 1966 helped to confirm that Polynesian settlement generally took place from west to east. There is a very distinct "East Polynesian" subgroup with many shared innovations not seen in other Polynesian languages. The Marquesas dialects are perhaps the source of the oldest Hawaiian speech which is overlaid by Tahitian-variety speech, as Hawaiian oral histories would suggest. The earliest varieties of New Zealand Maori speech may have had multiple sources from around central Eastern Polynesia, as Maori oral histories would suggest. The Cook Islands are made up of 15 islands comprising

1755-524: A state, territory or an indigenous Polynesian population can be invited to become a member or as an observer by a consensus decision of the founding members". A few days later, discussing the founding of the Group with Radio Australia , Tuilaeapa said that Fiji could be welcomed as a member in future. Despite Fiji being usually considered a Melanesian country just outside the Polynesian Triangle , albeit with

1872-645: A subset of the sea-migrating Austronesian people . Tracing Polynesian languages places their prehistoric origins in Island Melanesia , Maritime Southeast Asia , and ultimately, in Taiwan . Between about 3000 and 1000 BC, speakers of Austronesian languages spread from Taiwan into Maritime Southeast Asia . There are three theories regarding the spread of humans across the Pacific to Polynesia. These are outlined well by Kayser et al. (2000) and are as follows: In

1989-629: A widespread Polynesian network or confederacy (or "empire") that was prehistorically ruled by the successive Tui Manuʻa dynasties. Manuan genealogies and religious oral literature also suggest that the Tui Manuʻa had long been one of the most prestigious and powerful paramount of Samoa. Oral history suggests that the Tui Manuʻa kings governed a confederacy of far-flung islands which included Fiji , Tonga as well as smaller western Pacific chiefdoms and Polynesian outliers such as Uvea , Futuna , Tokelau , and Tuvalu . Commerce and exchange routes between

2106-410: Is achieved, where democratic values are observed, human rights promoted and protected as well as upholding the rule of law." It was also announced that the countries would cooperate in the fields of "education, culture and language, transport, environmental conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation, health, agriculture and fisheries, tourism, trade and investment". The fourth section of

2223-481: Is almost entirely dependent on subsidies from New Zealand. It has annual revenues of less than US$ 500,000 (€336,995) against expenditures of some US$ 2.8 million (€1.9 million). The deficit is made up by aid from New Zealand. Tokelau annually exports around US$ 100,000 (€67,000) of stamps , copra and woven and carved handicrafts and imports over US$ 300,000 (€202,000) of foodstuffs, building materials, and fuel to, and from, New Zealand. New Zealand also pays directly for

2340-646: Is associated with the volcanism that gave rise to the Kermadec and Tongan islands. There is a transform fault that currently traverses New Zealand's South Island, known as the Alpine Fault . Zealandia's continental shelf has a total area of approximately 3,600,000 km (1,400,000 sq mi). The oldest rocks in Polynesia are found in New Zealand and are believed to be about 510 million years old. The oldest Polynesian rocks outside Zealandia are to be found in

2457-485: Is characterized by a small amount of land spread over a very large portion of the mid- and southern Pacific Ocean . It comprises approximately 300,000 to 310,000 square kilometres (117,000 to 118,000 sq mi) of land, of which more than 270,000 km (103,000 sq mi) are within New Zealand . The Hawaiian archipelago comprises about half the remainder. Most Polynesian islands and archipelagos , including

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2574-416: Is considered to have lasted roughly 1,000 years. The cause of this gap in voyaging is contentious among archaeologists with a number of competing theories presented including climate shifts, the need for the development of new voyaging techniques, and cultural shifts. After the long pause, dispersion of populations into central and eastern Polynesia began. Although the exact timing of when each island group

2691-409: Is derived. This is due to new population being established by a very small number of individuals from a larger population which also causes a loss of genetic variation. Atholl Anderson wrote that analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA, female) and Y chromosome (male) concluded that the ancestors of Polynesian women were Austronesians while those of Polynesian men were Papuans . Subsequently, it

2808-502: Is more than two metres (6.6 feet) above high water of ordinary tides. This means Tokelau is particularly vulnerable to future sea level rise . Until December 2011, Tokelau was 11 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). At midnight 29 December 2011 Tokelau shifted to UTC+13:00 in response to Samoa's decision to switch sides of the International Dateline. This brought Tokelau closer to New Zealand time (and in

2925-520: Is rare and there are no prisons, and offenders are publicly rebuked, fined or made to work. The head of state is Charles III , the King in right of New Zealand , who also reigns over the other Commonwealth realms . The King is represented in the territory by the Administrator – currently Don Higgins. The current head of government ( Tokelauan : Ulu-o-Tokelau ) is Alapati Tavite , who presides over

3042-463: Is the marker of Austronesian expansions. The high frequencies of mtDNA Haplogroup B in the Polynesians are the result of founder effect and represents the descendants of a few Austronesian females who intermixed with Papuan males. A genomic analysis of modern populations in Polynesia, published in 2021, provides a model of the direction and timing of Polynesian migrations from Samoa to the islands to

3159-622: Is the oldest site yet discovered in Polynesia. This is mirrored by a 2010 study also placing the beginning of the human archaeological sequences of Polynesia in Tonga at 900 BC. Within a mere three or four centuries, between 1300 and 900 BC, the Lapita archaeological culture spread 6,000 km further to the east from the Bismarck Archipelago, until reaching as far as Fiji , Tonga , and Samoa . A cultural divide began to develop between Fiji to

3276-614: Is the subject of an ongoing territorial dispute; it is currently administered by the United States as part of American Samoa . Tokelau lies north of the Samoan Islands , east of Tuvalu , south of the Phoenix Islands , southwest of the more distant Line Islands , and northwest of the Cook Islands . Tokelau has a population of approximately 1,500 people; it has the fourth-smallest population of any sovereign state or dependency in

3393-877: Is thought that the Cook Islands were settled in two periods: the Tahitian Period, when the country was settled between 900 and 1300 AD, and the Maui Settlement, which occurred in 1600 AD, when a large contingent from Tahiti settled in Rarotonga, in the Takitumu district. The first contact between Europeans and the native inhabitants of the Cook Islands took place in 1595 with the arrival of Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña in Pukapuka , who called it San Bernardo (Saint Bernard). A decade later, navigator Pedro Fernández de Quirós made

3510-468: The Bounty mutineers . They found no inhabitants, but saw that there were houses containing canoes and fishing gear, which suggested to them that the island was being used as a temporary residence by fishing parties from other, nearby islands. On 12 June 1791, Edwards sailed farther south, and sighted Nukunonu, naming it "Duke of Clarence's Island". A landing party that went ashore was unable to make contact with

3627-647: The British Crown in 1836. In 1840, Royal Navy officer William Hobson and several Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi , which transformed New Zealand into a colony of the British Empire and granting all Māori the status of British subjects. However, tensions between Pākehā settlers and the Māori over settler encroachment on Māori lands and disputes over land sales led to the New Zealand Wars (1845–1872) between

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3744-638: The Chatham Islands . Over the course of several centuries, the Polynesian settlers formed distinct cultures that became known as the Māori on the New Zealand mainland, while those who settled in the Chatham Islands became the Moriori people . Beginning the 17th century, the arrival of Europeans to New Zealand drastically impacted Māori culture. Settlers from Europe (known as " Pākehā ") began to colonize New Zealand in

3861-554: The Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau , which functions as a cabinet. The Council consists of the faipule (leader) and pulenuku (village mayor) of each of the three atolls. The administrator is appointed by the minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand, and the role of head of government rotates between the three faipule for a one-year term. The Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers legislative power on

3978-554: The General Fono , a unicameral body. The number of seats each atoll receives in the Fono is determined by population – at present, Fakaofo and Atafu each have seven and Nukunonu has six. Faipule and pulenuku also sit in the Fono. On 11 November 2004, Tokelau and New Zealand took steps to formulate a treaty that would turn Tokelau from a non-self-governing territory to a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand. Besides

4095-680: The German Empire and the United States. The German-controlled Western portion of Samoa (consisting of the bulk of Samoan territory – Savaiʻi, Apolima, Manono and Upolu) was occupied by New Zealand in WWI, and administered by it under a Class C League of Nations mandate . After repeated efforts by the Samoan independence movement, the New Zealand Western Samoa Act of 24 November 1961 granted Samoa independence, effective on January 1, 1962, upon which

4212-697: The Gilbert Islands by the Tokelau Islands (Union Islands) Order in Council, 1916. The annexation took place on 29 February 1916. From the point in time that the islands were annexed, their people had the status of British subjects . Tokelau was removed from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony and placed under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of New Zealand in 1925, two Orders in Council being made for

4329-489: The Hawaiian Islands and Samoa , are composed of volcanic islands built by hotspots (volcanoes). The other land masses in Polynesia — New Zealand , Norfolk Island , and Ouvéa , the Polynesian outlier near New Caledonia — are the unsubmerged portions of the largely sunken continent of Zealandia . Zealandia is believed to have mostly sunk below sea level 23 million years ago, and recently partially resurfaced due to

4446-551: The Kingdom of Tonga became independent from the British Empire. The reef islands and atolls of Tuvalu are identified as being part of West Polynesia. During pre-European-contact times there was frequent canoe voyaging between the islands as Polynesian navigation skills are recognised to have allowed deliberate journeys on double-hull sailing canoes or outrigger canoes . Eight of the nine islands of Tuvalu were inhabited; thus

4563-533: The Marshall Islands ' claim to U.S.-administered Wake Island , but the re-emergence of this somewhat dormant issue has been an unintended result of the United Nations' recent efforts to promote decolonisation in Tokelau. Tokelauans have proven somewhat reluctant to push their national identity in the political realm: recent decolonisation moves have mainly been driven from outside for ideological reasons. But at

4680-582: The Solomon Islands . The Tongan influence brought Polynesian customs and language throughout most of Polynesia. The empire began to decline in the 13th century. After a bloody civil war, political power in Tonga eventually fell under the Tuʻi Kanokupolu dynasty in the 16th century. In 1845, the ambitious young warrior, strategist, and orator Tāufaʻāhau united Tonga into a more Western-style kingdom. He held

4797-456: The Tovata confederacy of Fiji. This is where most Fijian-Polynesian linguistic interactions occurred. In the chronology of the exploration and first populating of Polynesia, there is a gap commonly referred to as the long pause between the first populating of Fiji ( Melanesia ), Western Polynesia of Tonga and Samoa among others and the settlement of the rest of the region. In general this gap

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4914-523: The Union Islands , and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands ) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean . It consists of three tropical coral atolls : Atafu , Nukunonu , and Fakaofo . They have a combined land area of 10 km (4 sq mi). In addition to these three, Swains Island ( Olohega ), which forms part of the same archipelago ,

5031-609: The United Kingdom by an Order in Council that claimed jurisdiction over all unclaimed Pacific Islands . Commander C. F. Oldham on HMS Egeria landed at each of the three atolls in June 1889 and officially raised the Union Flag , declaring the group a British protectorate . In conformity with desire expressed by "the Native government" they were annexed by the United Kingdom and included in

5148-521: The colonial government and the Māori. In response to the conflict, the colonial government initiated a series of land confiscations from the Māori. This social upheaval, combined with epidemics of infectious diseases from Europe, devastated both the Māori population and their social standing in New Zealand. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Maori population began to recover, and efforts were made to redress social, economic, political and economic issues facing

5265-620: The islands of the Pacific . In 1831, Jules Dumont d'Urville proposed a narrower definition during a lecture at the Société de Géographie of Paris. By tradition, the islands located in the southern Pacific have also often been called the South Sea Islands , and their inhabitants have been called South Sea Islanders . The Hawaiian Islands have often been considered to be part of the South Sea Islands because of their relative proximity to

5382-449: The ' Australo-Papuans ' of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands . The preliminary analysis of skulls found at the Teouma and Talasiu Lapita sites is that they lack Australian or Papuan affinities and instead have affinities to mainland Asian populations. A 2017 DNA analysis of modern Polynesians indicates that there has been intermarriage resulting in a mixed Austronesian-Papuan ancestry of

5499-483: The 1 May 2006 issue of The New Yorker magazine. A repeat referendum took place on 20–24 October 2007 , again narrowly failing to approve self-government. This time the vote was short by just 16 votes or 3%. In May 2008, the United Nations' Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged colonial powers "to complete the decolonization process in every one of the remaining 16 non-self-governing territories ", including Tokelau. This led The New Zealand Herald to comment that

5616-916: The 1870s. French Catholic missionaries on Wallis Island (also known as 'Uvea) and missionaries of the Protestant London Missionary Society in Samoa used native teachers to convert the Tokelauans. Atafu was converted to Protestantism by the London Missionary Society, Nukunonu was converted to Catholicism and Fakaofo was converted to both denominations. The Rev. Samuel James Whitmee, of the London Missionary Society , visited Tokelau in 1870. Helped by Swains Island -based Eli Jennings senior, Peruvian "blackbird" slave traders arrived in 1863 and kidnapped nearly all (253) of

5733-535: The 1970s with the Kingitanga of New Zealand, an its leader Te Atairangikaahu , reviving the idea of an alliance similar to, but separate from, the Pacific Islands Forum. Fiji and Samoa were also parties to these discussions. Memorandum of Understanding Announcing the launch, Prime Minister Tuilaepa said the member countries would work together "through this group to seek a future for our Polynesian people and countries where cultures, traditions and values are honored and protected. Where sustainable economic prosperity

5850-474: The 19th century, leading to tension with the indigenous Māori. On October 28, 1835, a group of Māori tribesmen issued a declaration of independence (drafted by Scottish businessman James Busby ) as the " United Tribes of New Zealand ", in order to resist potential efforts at colonizing New Zealand by the French and prevent merchant ships and their cargo which belonged to Māori merchants from being seized at foreign ports. The new state received recognition from

5967-535: The 2013 New Zealand census, more than 7,000 people identified as Tokelauan, almost five times as many as live in Tokelau itself. Depletion of tuna has made fishing for food more difficult. A significant proportion (44.9% in 2016) of the population were born overseas , mostly in Samoa (15.3% of total population) and New Zealand (11.5%). While slightly more females than males live on Atafu and Fakaofo, males make up 57% of Nukunonu residents. Only 9% of Tokelauans aged 40 or more have never been married. One-quarter of

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6084-456: The Bismarck Archipelago. The modern Polynesians still show human genetic results of a Melanesian culture which allowed indigenous men, but not women, to "marry in" – useful evidence for matrilocality. Although matrilocality and matrilineality receded at some early time, Polynesians and most other Austronesian speakers in the Pacific Islands were and are still highly "matricentric" in their traditional jurisprudence. The Lapita pottery for which

6201-446: The Cook Islands in August 2012. The idea of a 'Polynesian Alliance' in order to address social and economic issues within the Pacific has been discussed since the between the 1870s and 1890s when King Kamehameha V of Hawaii , King Pomare V of Tahiti , King Malietoa Laupepa of Samoa and King George Tupou II of Tonga agreed to establish a confederation of Polynesian states, of which did not eventuate. The idea once again arose in

6318-453: The Duke of Clarence Group, and Fakaofo , once Bowditch Island. Their combined land area is 10.8 km (4.2 sq mi). The atolls each have a number of coral islands , where the villages are situated. The highest point of Tokelau is just 5 metres (16 feet) above sea level . There are no ports or harbours for large vessels, however, all three atolls have a jetty to and from which supplies and passengers are shipped. Tokelau lies in

6435-409: The Hawaiian Emperor Seamount Chain and are 80 million years old. Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle , although some islands inhabited by Polynesians are situated outside the Polynesian Triangle. Geographically, the Polynesian Triangle is drawn by connecting the points of Hawaii , New Zealand , and Easter Island . The other main island groups located within

6552-525: The Kingdom of Fiji by 1871. In around 1855 a Tongan prince, Enele Ma'afu , proclaimed the Lau islands as his kingdom, and took the title Tui Lau . Fiji had been ruled by numerous divided chieftains until Cakobau unified the landmass. The Lapita culture, the ancestors of the Polynesians, existed in Fiji from about 3500 BC until they were displaced by the Melanesians about a thousand years later. (Both Samoans and subsequent Polynesian cultures adopted Melanesian painting and tattoo methods.) In 1873, Cakobau ceded

6669-543: The Memorandum of Understanding read; The meeting decided that through the PLG, members will work together in the spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation to: Encourage sharing knowledge and experiences in awareness and education to promote and protect cultures, traditions and languages; Encourage mutual support of development efforts in areas including but not limited to: transport, energy, environmental conservation, climate change, education, health, agriculture and fisheries, tourism, trade and investment; Encourage respect for

6786-482: The Māori in wider New Zealand society. Beginning in the 1960s, a protest movement emerged seeking redress for historical grievances . In the 2013 New Zealand census , roughly 600,000 people in New Zealand identified as being Māori. In the 9th century, the Tui Manuʻa controlled a vast maritime empire comprising most of the settled islands of Polynesia. The Tui Manuʻa is one of the oldest Samoan titles in Samoa. Traditional oral literature of Samoa and Manu'a talks of

6903-411: The Navy's multi-role ship, HMNZS  Canterbury , has been employed to provide logistics support to the territory. Little crime has been reported in Tokelau and a total of nine police officers were reported as present as of the early 2020s: three each on Fakaofo, Nukunonu and Atafu. According to the Government they are responsible to the village authorities for the enforcement of law and order and to

7020-399: The Northern and Southern groups. The islands are spread out across many kilometers of a vast ocean. The largest of these islands is called Rarotonga, which is also the political and economic capital of the nation. The Cook Islands were formerly known as the Hervey Islands, but this name refers only to the Northern Groups. It is unknown when this name was changed to reflect the current name. It

7137-422: The Pacific tropical cyclone belt. A fourth island that is culturally, historically, and geographically, but not politically, a part of the Tokelau Islands is Swains Island (Olohega), under United States control since about 1900 and administered as a part of American Samoa since 1925. Swains Island was claimed by the United States pursuant to the Guano Islands Act , as were the other three islands of Tokelau;

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7254-457: The Polynesian Triangle are Samoa , Tonga , the Cook Islands , Tuvalu , Tokelau , Niue , Wallis and Futuna , and French Polynesia . Also, small Polynesian settlements are in Papua New Guinea , the Solomon Islands , the Caroline Islands , and Vanuatu . An island group with strong Polynesian cultural traits outside of this great triangle is Rotuma , situated north of Fiji . The people of Rotuma have many common Polynesian traits, but speak

7371-419: The Polynesians (as with other modern Austronesians, with the exception of Taiwanese aborigines ). Research at the Teouma and Talasiu Lapita sites implies that the migration and intermarriage, which resulted in the mixed Austronesian-Papuan ancestry of the Polynesians, occurred after the first initial migration to Vanuatu and Tonga. A complete mtDNA and genome-wide SNP comparison (Pugach et al. , 2021) of

7488-443: The Teouma Lapita site ( Efate Island , Vanuatu ) and the Talasiu Lapita site (near Nuku'alofa , Tonga ) published in 2016 supports the Express Train model; although with the qualification that the migration bypassed New Guinea and Island Melanesia . The conclusion from research published in 2016 is that the initial population of those two sites appears to come directly from Taiwan or the northern Philippines and did not mix with

7605-427: The Trusteeship Agreement terminated. The new Independent State of Samoa was not a monarchy, though the Malietoa titleholder remained very influential. It effectively ended however with the death of Malietoa Tanumafili II , the country's head of state, on May 11, 2007. In the 10th century, the Tuʻi Tonga Empire was established in Tonga, and most of the Western Pacific came within its sphere of influence, up to parts of

7722-421: The United Nations was "apparently frustrated by two failed attempts to get Tokelau to vote for independence". In April 2008, speaking as leader of the National Party , future New Zealand Prime Minister John Key stated that New Zealand had "imposed two referenda on the people of the Tokelau Islands", and questioned "the accepted wisdom that small states should undergo a de-colonisation process". Consistent with

7839-405: The United States ( American Samoa ), an overseas country of France ( French Polynesia ), and a nation that is also a dependency of New Zealand ( Tokelau ). In September 2017, the Group added the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna as a member. Wallis and Futuna would be the first new member since the Group was founded in 2011. In June 2018, the Group voted to add three members:

7956-478: The able-bodied men to work as labourers, depopulating the atolls. The Tokelauan men died of dysentery and smallpox , and very few returned. With that loss, the system of governance became based on the "Taupulega", or "Councils of Elders", on which individual families on each atoll were represented. During that time, Polynesian immigrants settled, followed by American, Scottish , French, Portuguese and German beachcombers , marrying local women and repopulating

8073-437: The addition of New Zealand and Hawaii could bring additional resources to the Group and increase the potential for strategic cooperation with the United States. Further, the addition of Easter Island raised questions about the relationship between the Group's interest in decolonization and Easter Island's political status within Chile. Potential membership for Fiji In November 2011, Tuilaeapa stated it had been "decided that

8190-829: The archaeological record, there are well-defined traces of this expansion which allow the path it took to be followed and dated with some certainty. It is thought that by roughly 1400 BC, " Lapita peoples", so-named after their pottery tradition, appeared in the Bismarck Archipelago of northwest Melanesia . This culture is seen as having adapted and evolved through time and space since its emergence "Out of Taiwan ". They had given up rice production, for instance, which required paddy field agriculture unsuitable for small islands. However, they still cultivated other ancestral Austronesian staple cultigens like Dioscorea yams and taro (the latter are still grown with smaller-scale paddy field technology), as well as adopting new ones like breadfruit and sweet potato . The results of research at

8307-539: The atolls of Tokelau – Atafu , Nukunonu , and Fakaofo – were settled about 1,000 years ago from Samoa and may have been a gateway into Eastern Polynesia. The inhabitants embrace Polynesian mythology and the local god, Tui Tokelau . Over time, they developed distinctive musical and art forms. The three atolls have historically functioned separately politically, while maintaining social and linguistic cohesion. Tokelauan society has been governed by chiefly clans , and there have been occasional skirmishes and wars between

8424-682: The atolls, as well as inter-marriage. Fakaofo, the "chiefly island", held some dominion over Atafu and Nukunonu after the dispersal of Atafu. Life on the atolls was historically subsistence-based, with a diet that relied mainly on fish and coconut . The first European to sight Atafu was British Navy officer Commodore John Byron , on 24 June 1765. He called the island "Duke of York's Island". Parties from his expedition who landed ashore reported that there were no signs of current or previous inhabitants. Captain Edward Edwards , having learned of Byron's discovery, visited Atafu on 6 June 1791 in search of

8541-493: The atolls. In 1856 the United States claimed that it held sovereignty over the island and the other Tokelauan atolls under the Guano Islands Act . In 1979, the U.S. conceded that Tokelau was under New Zealand sovereignty, and a maritime boundary between Tokelau and American Samoa was established by the Treaty of Tokehega . In 1889, Tokelau became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. This lasted until 1916, when it

8658-426: The chiefly title of Tuʻi Kanokupolu, but had been baptised with the name Jiaoji ("George") in 1831. In 1875, with the help of the missionary Shirley Waldemar Baker , he declared Tonga a constitutional monarchy, formally adopted the western royal style, emancipated the "serfs", enshrined a code of law, land tenure, and freedom of the press, and limited the power of the chiefs. Tonga became a British protectorate under

8775-442: The cost of medical and education services. Local industries include small-scale enterprises for copra production, wood work, plaited craft goods, stamps, coins, and fishing. Agriculture and livestock produces coconuts , copra, breadfruit , papayas , bananas, figs , pigs, poultry and a few goats. Many Tokelauans live in New Zealand and support their families in Tokelau through remittances . The goal of 100% renewable electricity

8892-401: The decline of the Tui Manuʻa's power, with the western isles of Savaiʻi and Upolu rising to prominence in the post-Tongan occupation period and the establishment of the tafaʻifa system that dominated Samoan politics well into the 20th century. This was disrupted in the early 1900s due to colonial intervention, with east–west division by Tripartite Convention (1899) and subsequent annexation by

9009-541: The east. This model presents consistencies and inconsistencies with models of Polynesian migration that are based on archaeology and linguistic analysis. The 2021 genomic model presents a migration pathway from Samoa to the Cook Islands (Rarotonga), then to the Society Islands (Tōtaiete mā) in the 11th century AD, the western Austral Islands (Tuha'a Pae) and the Tuāmotu Archipelago in the 12th century AD, with

9126-436: The economy consisted of income from .tk domain names. According to a 2016 analysis of domain name registration performed by the .uk registrar Nominet using data from ZookNIC, tk domains are the "world's largest country-code domain ... almost as large as second and third place holders China ( .cn ) and Germany ( .de ) combined". On 3 March 2023, Meta sued Freenom for cybersquatting and trademark infringement, leading to

9243-624: The first 100% solar-powered nation in the world. Tokelau is officially referred to as a nation by both the New Zealand government and the Tokelauan government. It is a free and democratic nation with elections every three years . However, in 2007, the United Nations General Assembly included Tokelau on its list of non-self-governing territories . Its inclusion on this list is controversial, as Tokelauans have twice narrowly failed to vote for further self-determination , and

9360-424: The first European landing in the islands when he set foot on Rakahanga in 1606, calling it Gente Hermosa (Beautiful People). Cook Islanders are ethnically Polynesians or Eastern Polynesia. They are culturally associated with Tahiti, Eastern Islands, NZ Maori and Hawaii. The Lau Islands were subject to periods of Tongan rulership and then Fijian control until their eventual conquest by Seru Epenisa Cakobau of

9477-603: The general archaeological complex of the earliest "Oceanic" Austronesian speakers in the Pacific Islands are named also lapsed in Western Polynesia. Language, social life and material culture were very distinctly "Polynesian" by 1000 BC. Early European observers detected theocratic elements in traditional Polynesian government. Linguistically, there are five sub-groups of the Polynesian language group . Each represents

9594-602: The greatest threats to biodiversity is posed by introduced mammalian predators such as the Polynesian Rat . In 2011 Tokelau declared its entire exclusive economic zone of 319,031 km (123,179 sq mi) a shark sanctuary . According to the US Central Intelligence Agency 's list of countries by GDP (PPP) Tokelau has the smallest economy in the world. Tokelau has an annual purchasing power of about US$ 1,000 ( € 674) per capita. The government

9711-461: The inhabitants, but saw " morai s", burying places, and canoes with "stages in their middle" sailing across the island's lagoons. On 29 October 1825, August R. Strong of the USS Dolphin and his crew arrived at the atoll Nukunonu. He wrote: Upon examination, we found they had removed all the women and children from the settlement, which was quite small, and put them in canoes lying off a rock in

9828-477: The initial settlement of individual islands; although Professor Matisoo-Smith of the Otago study said that the founding Māori population of New Zealand must have been in the hundreds, much larger than previously thought. The Polynesian population experienced a founder effect and genetic drift. The Polynesian may be distinctively different both genotypically and phenotypically from the parent population from which it

9945-414: The island. The residents appeared to be there only temporarily, because there was no chief among them, and they had the kind of double canoes that were typically used for inter-island travel. They appeared to have interacted with foreigners in the past, because they expressed a desire to engage in barter with the expedition crew, and they possessed items that were apparently of foreign origin: blue beads and

10062-707: The islands should become part of New Zealand, revoked the Union Islands (No. 2) Order in Council, 1925, with effect from a date fixed by the Governor-General of New Zealand after he was satisfied that the New Zealand Parliament had provided for the incorporation of the islands with New Zealand, as it did by the Tokelau Islands Act 1948 . Tokelau formally became part of New Zealand on 1 January 1949. The Dominion of New Zealand , of which Tokelau formerly

10179-469: The islands' small population makes the viability of self-government challenging. The basis of Tokelau's legislative, administrative and judicial systems is the Tokelau Islands Act 1948 , which has been amended several times. Since 1993, the territory has annually elected its own head of government, the Ulu-o-Tokelau . Before 1993, the administrator of Tokelau was the highest official in the government and

10296-608: The lagoon. They would frequently come near the shore, but when we approached they would pull off with great noise and precipitation. On 14 February 1835, Captain Smith, of the United States whaling ship the General Jackson , wrote of having sighted Fakaofo, which he chose to call "D'Wolf's Island". On 25 January 1841, the United States Exploring Expedition visited Atafu, and discovered a small population living on

10413-421: The latter three claims were ceded to Tokelau by treaty in 1979. In the draft constitution of Tokelau subject to the Tokelauan self-determination referendum in 2006, Olohega (Swains Island) was also claimed as a part of Tokelau, though the claim was surrendered in the same 1979 treaty. This established a clearly defined boundary between American Samoa and Tokelau. Tokelau's claim to Swains is generally comparable to

10530-471: The migrant pathway branching to the north to the Marquesas (Te Henua 'Enana), to Raivavae in the south, and to the easternmost destination on Easter Island (Rapa Nui), which was settled in approximately 1200 AD via Mangareva . The Polynesians were matrilineal and matrilocal Stone Age societies upon their arrival in Tonga , Samoa and the surrounding islands, after having spent at least some time in

10647-596: The name, Tuvalu, means "eight standing together" in Tuvaluan . The pattern of settlement that is believed to have occurred is that the Polynesians spread out from Samoa and Tonga into the Tuvaluan atolls, with Tuvalu providing a stepping stone for migration into the Polynesian outlier communities in Melanesia and Micronesia . Tokelau Tokelau ( / ˈ t oʊ k ə l aʊ / ; lit.   ' north-northeast ' or ' north wind ' ; known previously as

10764-604: The past. Some islands of Polynesian origin are outside the general triangle that geographically defines the region. The Line Islands and the Phoenix Islands , most of which are parts of Kiribati , had no permanent settlements until European colonization, but are often considered to be parts of the Polynesian Triangle . Polynesians once inhabited the Auckland Islands , the Kermadec Islands , and Norfolk Island in pre-colonial times, but these islands were uninhabited by

10881-721: The population were born overseas; almost all the rest live on the same atoll they were born on. Most households own five or more pigs. Despite its low income, Tokelau has a life expectancy of 69 years, comparable with other Oceania islands. Tokelau is predominantly Christian with majority belonging to either Congregational Christian Church (Ekalehia Fakalapotopotoga Kelihiano Tokelau) or Roman Catholic. In 2016, 50.4% of responents belonged to Congregational Christian Church, 38.7% were Roman Catholic , 5.9% were Presbyterian , 4.2% were other Christian and 0.8% were unspecified. Majority of resident population of Atafu (78.3%) and Fakaofo (62.7%) identified as Congregational Christians. While

10998-451: The population, and Tuvaluans 2.8%. The main language—spoken by over 90% of inhabitants—is Tokelauan , but almost 60% also speak English. The less than 1,500 Polynesian inhabitants live in three villages. Their isolation and lack of resources greatly limits economic development and confines agriculture to the subsistence level. The very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand and Samoa . In

11115-639: The principles of partnership with New Zealand, defence is the responsibility of the New Zealand Government. The New Zealand Defence Force has responsibilities for protecting the territory as well as its offshore exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The total offshore EEZ is about 300,000 km . Vessels of the Royal New Zealand Navy are employed for this task including its Protector-class offshore patrol vessels . Tokelau has its own customs regulations. Given Tokelau's limited wharf facilities,

11232-450: The process omitted 30 December). The Time&Date website states that "the international time zone community has apparently been listing the wrong local time for Tokelau since 1901" and that "most sources, including the commonly referred to International Atlas by Shanks/Pottenger, claim that the UTC offset is +14 hours, or equivalent." In 1877, the islands were included under the protection of

11349-533: The public service for their various civil duties. Tokelau includes three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean between longitudes 171° W and 173° W and between latitudes 8° S and 10° S , about midway between Hawaii and New Zealand. From Atafu in the north to Fakaofo in the south, Tokelau extends for less than 200 km. The atolls lie about 500 kilometres (311 miles) north of Samoa . The atolls are Atafu and Nukunonu , both in an island group once called

11466-459: The purpose on the same day. This step meant that New Zealand took over administration of Tokelau from the British on 11 February 1926. At this point, Tokelau was still a territory under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom but administered by New Zealand. The Union Islands (Revocation) Order in Council, 1948 after reciting the agreement by the governments of the United Kingdom and New Zealand that

11583-733: The quality of governance, observance of democratic values and human rights rule of law and right to self-determination; Encourage the strengthening of connections with institutions of regional and international cooperation. Overseas workers In 2013, the PLG ended their annual meeting with an announcement pushing New Zealand and Australia to increase its seasonal workers quotas in order for more Pacific peoples to gain seasonal work in these countries. There are eight founding members: three sovereign states ( Samoa , Tonga and Tuvalu ), two self-governing states in free association with New Zealand (the Cook Islands and Niue ), an unincorporated territory of

11700-541: The remains of early settlers of the Mariana Islands and early Lapita individuals from Vanuatu and Tonga also suggest that both migrations originated directly from the same ancient Austronesian source population from the Philippines . The complete absence of "Papuan" admixture in the early samples indicates that these early voyages bypassed eastern Indonesia and the rest of New Guinea . The authors have also suggested

11817-540: The same time, Tokelauans are reluctant to disown their common cultural identity with Swains Islanders who speak their language. Tokelau is located in the Western Polynesian tropical moist forests ecoregion . Most of the original vegetation has been replaced by coconut plantations, some of which have been abandoned and became scrubby forests. The atolls of Tokelau provide habitat for 38 indigenous plant species, over 150 insect species and 10 land crab species. One of

11934-577: The southern Pacific islands, even though they are in fact located in the North Pacific . Another term in use, which avoids this inconsistency, is "the Polynesian Triangle " (from the shape created by the layout of the islands in the Pacific Ocean). This term makes clear that the grouping includes the Hawaiian Islands, which are located at the northern vertex of the referenced "triangle". Polynesia

12051-472: The sovereign state of New Zealand , the U.S. state of Hawaii , and the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) . As far back as September 2011, Niuean Premier Toke Talagi had noted that "we consider New Zealand and Hawaii, for example, as being part of the Polynesian Triangle so they could very well be part of the members of this Polynesian Group". Tuilaeapa, while also acknowledging that New Zealand

12168-449: The territory was directly administered by a New Zealand government department. Tokelau is a word meaning "north wind" in the native Tokelau language . The Tokelau islands were named the Union Islands and Union Group by European explorers at an earlier time. Tokelau Islands was adopted as the islands’ official name in 1946. The name was officially shortened to Tokelau on 9 December 1976. Archaeological evidence indicates that

12285-648: The time European explorers arrived. The oceanic islands to the east of Easter Island, such as Clipperton Island , the Galápagos Islands , and the Juan Fernández Islands , were in the past formerly categorized on rare occasion as part of Polynesia. No evidence of prehistoric contact with either Polynesians or the indigenous peoples of the Americas has been found. The Polynesian people are considered, by linguistic, archaeological, and human genetic evidence,

12402-401: The treaty, a United Nations-sponsored referendum on self-determination took place, with the three islands voting on successive days starting 13 February 2006. (Tokelauans in Apia, Samoa , voted on 11 February.) Out of 581 votes cast, 349 were for Free Association, being short of the two-thirds majority required for the measure to pass. The referendum was profiled (somewhat light-heartedly) in

12519-415: The user owns only usage rights and not the domain itself, or paid, which grants full rights. Free domains are pointed to Tokelau name servers , which redirects the domain via HTML frames to a specified address or to a specified A or NS record , and the redirection of up to 250 email addresses to an external address (not at a .tk domain). In September 2003, Fakaofo became the first part of Tokelau with

12636-485: The west, and the distinctive Polynesian language and culture emerging on Tonga and Samoa to the east. Where there was once faint evidence of uniquely shared developments in Fijian and Polynesian speech, most of this is now called "borrowing" and is thought to have occurred in those and later years more than as a result of continuing unity of their earliest dialects on those far-flung lands. Contacts were mediated especially through

12753-467: The western Polynesian societies are well documented and it is speculated that the Tui Manuʻa dynasty grew through its success in obtaining control over the oceanic trade of currency goods such as finely woven ceremonial mats, whale ivory " tabua ", obsidian and basalt tools, chiefly red feathers, and seashells reserved for royalty (such as polished nautilus and the egg cowry ). Samoa's long history of various ruling families continued until well after

12870-399: The world. As of the 2016 census, around 45% of its residents had been born overseas , mostly in Samoa or New Zealand. The populace has a life expectancy of 69, which is comparable to that of other Oceanian island nations. Approximately 94% of the population speak Tokelauan as their first language. Tokelau has the smallest economy of any nation. It is a leader in renewable energy , being

12987-585: Was a part, has since been superseded by the Realm of New Zealand , of which Tokelau remains a part. When the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948 came into effect on 1 January 1949, Tokelauans who were British subjects gained New Zealand citizenship ; a status they still hold. Villages are entitled to enact their own laws regulating their daily lives and New Zealand law only applies where it has been extended by specific enactment. Serious crime

13104-434: Was annexed and incorporated into the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony . In 1926, it was incorporated into New Zealand. Cyclone Percy struck and severely damaged Tokelau in late February and early March 2005. Forecasters underestimated the cyclone's strength and the length of time it would be in vicinity to Tokelau. It coincided with a spring tide which put most of the area of the two villages on Fakaofo and Nukunonu under

13221-763: Was completed in August 2012. In total, 4,032 solar panels are used and 1,344 batteries weighing 250 kilograms (550 lb) each. The systems are designed to withstand winds of 230 km/h (143 mph). By 2011, Tokelau's electricity was 93% generated by photovoltaics , with the remainder generated from coconut oil . As of 2019, increased demand and degradation of batteries had led to increased need for backup power. Plans were made for an additional 210 kW of PV and close to 2MWh of lithium-ion battery capacity. Tokelau has increased its GDP by more than 10% through registrations of domain names under its top-level domain , .tk . Registrations can be either free, in which case

13338-453: Was found that 96% (or 93.8%) of Polynesian mtDNA has an Asian origin, as does one-third of Polynesian Y chromosomes; the remaining two-thirds from New Guinea and nearby islands; this is consistent with matrilocal residence patterns. Polynesians existed from the intermixing of few ancient Austronesian-Melanesian founders, genetically they belong almost entirely to the Haplogroup B (mtDNA), which

13455-463: Was geographically part of Polynesia, said there might be "complications" to inviting New Zealand into the Group. When the new members were formally announced, the Group's then-chairman, Enele Sopoaga , prime minister of Tuvalu, said, "we welcome other Polynesian communities in other places and locations to join the PLG as brothers," and emphasized the need for Polynesian communities to come together to address common problems. Commentators also noted that

13572-521: Was met on 7 November 2012, according to the Foreign Affairs Minister of New Zealand , Murray McCully . Previously electricity was generated using diesel generators and was only available about 16 hours/day. Three solar power stations with a total generation capacity of 930kWp were installed to provide 100% of current electrical demand from photovoltaics , with lead acid battery backup able to store around 8MWh. The first power station

13689-409: Was settled is debated, it is widely accepted that the island groups in the geographic center of the region (i.e. the Cook Islands , Society Islands , Marquesas Islands , etc.) were settled initially between 1000 and 1150 AD, and ending with more far flung island groups such as Hawaii , New Zealand , and Easter Island settled between 1200 and 1300 AD. Tiny populations may have been involved in

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