History of the Cook Islands

The Cook Islands are named after Captain James Cook, who visited the islands in 1773 and 1777. The Cook Islands became a British protectorate in 1888.

By 1900, the islands were annexed as British territory. In 1901, the islands were included within the boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand.

The Cook Islands contain 15 islands in the group spread over a vast area in the South Pacific. The majority of islands are low coral atolls in the Northern Group, with Rarotonga, a volcanic island in the Southern Group, as the main administration and government centre. The main Cook Islands language is Rarotongan Māori. There are some variations in dialect in the 'outer' islands.

It is thought that the Cook Islands may have been settled between the years 900 - 1200 AD. Early settlements suggest that were generally great warriors migrating from Tahiti, to the north east of the Cooks. The Cook Islands continue to hold important connections with Tahiti, and this is generally found in the two countries culture, tradition and language. It is also thought that the early settlers were true Tahitians, who landed in Rarotonga (Takitumu city). There are notable historic epics of great warriors that travel between the two nations for a wide variety of reasons. These missions are still unclear but recent research indicate that large to small groups often flee their island due to local wars being forced upon them. For each group to travel and to survive, they would normally rely on a warrior to lead them. Outstanding warriors are still mentioned in the countries traditions and stories.

These arrivals are evidenced by an older road in Toi, the Ara Metua, which runs around most of Rarotonga, and is believed to be at least 1200 years old. This 29 km long, paved road is a considerable achievement of ancient engineering, possibly unsurpassed elsewhere in Polynesia. The islands of Manihiki and Rakahanga trace their origins to the arrival of Toa, an outcast from Rarotonga, and Tupaeru, a high-ranking woman from the Puaikura tribe of Rarotonga. The remainder of the northern islands were probably settled by expeditions from Samoa.

Spanish ships visited the islands in the 16th century; the first written record of contact from Europeans with the native inhabitants of the Cook Islands came with the sighting of Pukapuka by Spanish sailor Álvaro de Mendaña in 1595 who called it San Bernardo (Saint Bernard). Portuguese-Spaniard Pedro Fernández de Quirós made the first recorded European landing in the islands when he set foot on Rakahanga in 1606, calling it Gente Hermosa (Beautiful People).

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Wikipedia