History of New Caledonia
Today, it is one of the richest areas in the Pacific region, but what is the history behind New Caledonia?
Austronesians (later known as Lapita) migrated from Vanuatu around 1500 BC as navigators, hunters and agriculturists. Following this, various groups of Polynesians made the voyage west to New Caledonia, between the 11th Century and 18th Century AD. These groups grew several types of crops including yams and taro, with their ancient fields still visible throughout places today such as Païta, Bourail and Houaïlou. Living along the river valleys and in small coastal groups, the life centered around the clan’s largest hut known as the grande case, where the chief resided. It is estimated that around 300 clans existed in New Caledonia prior to the arrival of Europeans. The Indigenous Melanesian inhabitants are known by the name Kanak (originally named by the French and spelled as canaque).
In September 1774, Captain James Cook became the first European to explore the island, naming it New Caledonia as the northeast coast reminded him of the highlands of Scotland, known as Caledonia by the Romans. It wasn’t until 1785 that the French set their sights on the area when Jean-François de Galaup La Pérous was sent to explore but disappeared in a cyclone off the Solomon Islands. Six years later Admiral Antoine Bruni d’Entrecasteaux and Captain Huon de Kermadec went exploring to the South Pacific, after being sent on a mission to find Mr de Galaup La Pérous. They sailed past the island of Vanikoro where some of the survivors were still living and arrived in New Caledonia in 1793, to a hostile reception. It is believed they weren’t given the same welcoming reception as Cook, due to diseases which had been introduced and killed locals since Cook’s departure.
Shortly after their arrival, de Kermadec died, whilst d’Entrecasteaux and his crew explored the northern part of Grand Terre, before leaving after a month. D’Entrecasteaux was the first European to sight one of the northern Loyalty Islands of Ouvéa, and he died on his way back to France. English navigator William Raven sighted Maré in the Loyalty Islands in the same year of 1793 and also discovered sandalwood. From then until 1840 only a few voyages were recorded to New Caledonia.
From the 1840s, the presence of visiting ships increased due to sandalwood traders who wanted to harvest the trees. This included Europeans and also traders operating from Australia, who sailed from New Caledonia to China to trade the fragrant wood for tea. Additionally, missionaries also began to arrive, including two Samoan Protestant missionaries from the London Missionary Society, who arrived on Île des Pins. Unreceptive locals drove them away, but they then established themselves on the island of Lifou in 1842. In 1843, there was also a missionary group established in Balade on the main island of Grand Terre, by the French Marists.
Photo by Nick Sarvari on Unsplash
By the 1850s, France was looking for a new place to establish a penal settlement outside of French Guyana, as well as strategic military position. In 1853, Emperor Napolean III ordered the annexation of New Caledonia and sent Admiral Febvrier Despointes to colonise the land, officially taking possession on 24 September 1853. On 25 June 1854, Captain Louis-Marie-François Tardy de Motravel discovered Nouméa, which was named Port-de-France at the time, and a few free settlers arrived. By 1864, New Caledonia had become a penal colony and convicts began arriving from France following their six-month voyage. From then until the late 1890s, around 25 000 prisoners (convicts and petty offenders) had been sent to New Caledonia. Many of them settled in New Caledonia following their labour, as those who had a sentence of eight years or more were required to stay.
In 1878, a revolt broke out between the French and Kanaks, as Governor Guillain had begun taking over land to use for cattle farming, destroying the Kanaks’ local crops in the process. This included prime land from Chief Ataï in La Foa, with him leading a revolt that lasted seven months. Clans from Boulouparis to Poya were involved, although the French military ended the revolt aided by allied Kanak tribes. 1400 people were killed altogether, including 200 French and 1200 Kanaks, as well as Chief Ataï. After this, the French implemented an indigénat system that excluded Kanaks from being giving legal status outside of French common law, forcing them to flee into the countryside.
During this time, nickel mining was in full swing and blackbirding also became prevalent. From 1865 to the 1930s, roughly 15 000 people were bought to New Caledonia, the majority from the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu). The mining boom in 1873 also saw large numbers of ships arrive through the blackbirding trade. Children comprised of somewhere between a quarter to half of all people who were taken to New Caledonia, with some as young as six years old being required to work for up to 12 years. Around 33% of all workers died and around half were not paid for their labour.
As Professor Clive Moore said,
“New Caledonia has two significant nineteenth century connections with Queensland and New South Wales. First, 1,300 Loyalty Islanders, whose islands have been included with New Caledonia since 1864, were part of the Melanesian labour trade between 1847 (in New South Wales) and the 1860s and early 1870s in Queensland. The second is that for thirty years after 1864, French convicts were sent to New Caledonia, occasionally making their escape to Queensland and even to eastern New Guinea. One French convict lived in isolation near Cape Hillsborough north of Mackay for about 20 years in the 1880s and 1890s.”
Convicts had stopped arriving by 1897, and the mines faced a labour shortage. Additional workers from Indonesia, Indochina and Japan arrived. As more people came, the Kanak population had fallen from 42 500 in 1887 to 28 000 in 1901. During World War I, over 2000 men from New Caledonia including both Kanaks and French were sent to serve in France and Turvey, resulting in 600 deaths. This led to a second rebellion taking place in 1917, killing 200 Kanaks and 11 French.
The United States established a military base in 1942 for World War II, where 50 000 American and New Zealand personnel were based. Following the war, the status of New Caledonia changed to become a French overseas territory. By 1946, the indigénat system finally being abolished all New Caledonians were given French citizenship by 1953, regardless of ethnicity. Europeans and Polynesians gradually migrated to New Caledonia, prior to the mining boom of 1969 to 1972.
Between 1976 and 1988, several political events took place, with conflicts between the French government and the Kanak independence movement leading to violence and disorder. 1984 marked the beginning of Les Évènements (the Events), with the Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) group being created. The FLNKS boycotted the territorial election, creating their own provincial government, which led to violence with settlers and 10 Kanaks being killed. Consequently, France offered a referendum on independence and self-government in association with France in 1985, which was rejected by the independence groups. After the French elections in 1986, the new government changed various land laws which resulted in two-thirds of land being redistributed to the Europeans. A referendum was held in 1987, which was boycotted by 84% of Kanaks.
In April 1988, the Ouvéa cave hostage-taking took place. Members of a separatist group took 27 hostages and killed four gendarmes, with the attempt to resolve the situation leading to the deaths of 19 hostage-takers and two members of the French military. Following this, in June 1988, the newly elected French government signed the historic peace agreement called the Accords de Matignon.
This agreement set forth the plan for a referendum on self-determination, which was planned to be held in the following 10 years. By 1998, a new agreement was signed between pro-independence groups, anti-independence groups and the French government. Known as the Noumea Accord, it mandated that a referendum on self-determination be held by 2018. If the vote fails, two more referenda can be held in the following years. The 2018 referendum resulted in 56.4% voting to remain part of France and 43.6% for independence. The second referendum vote is scheduled for Sunday 4 October 2020.
Today, the population of New Caledonia is 39.1% Kanak, 27.1% European, 8.2% Wallisian and Futunan, 2.1% Tahitian, 1.4% Indonesian, 1% Ni-Vanuatu, 0.9% Vietnamese, and 17.7% other. With a long history and various ethnicities now reflecting a modern New Caledonia, everyone must come together as they move forward to build a peaceful and inclusive future.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/new-caledonia/narratives/background/history
https://www.indexmundi.com/new_caledonia/demographics_profile.html