Tokelauan history

Tokelau, "the north wind", was settled by Maori who arrived from Polynesian islands south of this small archipelago in about the IX. In the course of time an original culture developed, based on tribal organization and a great affinity with the land. The Maori designated themselves guardians of the land for future generations.

The first European to visit the islands was the English explorer John Byron, in 1765; the absence of great wealth did not arouse interest in the British crown. It was not until 1877 when the islands became a British protectorate. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland annexed them to the crown in 1916 and included them as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony (present-day Kiribati and Tuvalu, respectively). In 1925 the United Kingdom transferred administrative control of the islands to Aotearoa (New Zealand). In 1946 the group received its current name of Tokelau and in 1958 sovereignty was definitively granted to Aotearoa.

The policy of the New Zealand administration has been oriented in the sense of not altering customs, nor traditional institutions, nor community relations. The population lives in relative isolation: until 1990 a single ship made regular trips from Apia (Samoa), every two or three months. The population obtains fish and shellfish from the ocean and lagoons, which constitute their basic diet. There are no facilities or infrastructure (for example, no proper ports) that encourage tourism.

In the 1980s, agriculture went through a critical period due to a series of adverse climatic events. Consequently, the number of people leaving the country for Aotearoa and Samoa increased considerably. The Aotearoa government has tried by various means to encourage immigrants from Tokelau to return to their homeland but these policies have not worked.

In 1976 and 1981 the United Nations sent delegations to Tokelau and on both occasions the envoys indicated in their reports that the islanders did not wish to change the type of relations that existed with Aotearoa. For this reason, in December 1984, the United Nations Assembly considered the question of Tokelau and resolved to uphold the decision that Aotearoa, as the administering power, continue to report periodically on its management. However, in the report submitted to the United Nations Special Committee in June 1987, Tokelau expressed its desire to achieve a greater degree of autonomy in its political affairs, while maintaining current relations with Aotearoa.

A United Nations report on the consequences of the so-called "greenhouse effect" (warming of the earth's atmosphere as a result of pollution), included Tokelau in the list of islands that could disappear under the sea in the XXI, if drastic measures are not taken to stop the contamination process.

In February 1990, the three groups of islands that make up its territory were devastated by Cyclone Ofa, which destroyed all the banana trees and 80% of the coconut trees, as well as hospitals, schools, houses and bridges. As a consequence, the emigration flow to Aotearoa increased.

In 1991, Aotearoa installed the first regular shipping service between the three atolls.

In May 1995 the Aotearoa parliament voted an extension of powers to the local assembly. In 1997 the connection to the satellite telephone network was made.

New Zealand Official Development Assistance (NZODA) provided Tokelau with a budget of NZ$7.5 million in 2000.

New Zealand's Ministry of Pacific Islands implemented policy development and management support programs in 2001 to help Tokelau begin self-government.

Tokelau began in 2004, with the assistance of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the government of Samoa, a village fisheries development programme, which included the three atolls of Fakaofo, Nukunonu and Atafu.

Training for each community was provided by the SPC and the Samoan fisheries departments. The atolls maintain laws for the preservation of the marine coast and the species for future generations. The scientific methods of the program would contribute to maximizing in the villages the traditional institutions, the acquired knowledge and the regulatory mechanisms of fishing. A fundamental aspect of the program was the support to the communities in planning, monitoring and evaluation of the different stages of the project. The management plans were even transferred to Tokelauan to bring the communities closer together.

On December 29, 2011, Tokelau, together with Samoa, decided to change its time zone from UTC-10 to UTC+14, bringing it forward one day, and thus December 30 of that year was deleted, beginning on the 31st. Thus, both States become one of the first to enter in one day, and consequently they will be in relation to 2012. The time change was given to strengthen the country's commercial economy with respect to China, Australia and New Zealand, States that are very close to Tokelau, but that had almost a day difference in this regard.