Four Waves of New Zealand Migration and Their Contributions

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Four Waves of New Zealand Migration and their Contributions New Zealand’s four waves of immigration were the Maori, who were the first settlers, followed by the Colonial Europeans, after Captain Cook’s discovery, then the Pacific Islanders and most recently, Asians and South Africans. The Maori were the first settlers. They had originally come from Polynesia. The Polynesian islands were becoming overpopulated which led to food shortages and conflicts. Maoris such as Kupe, were very adventurous and didn’t want to pass up the chance for more land, which led to many of them migrating between 900-1200 AD. The Maoris have many contributions to New Zealand culture such as the Haka, a part of the national anthem, koru patterns and maraes as well as the names of many native plants, trees, streets and places. The second wave of migration were the Colonial Europeans. Slowly, after New Zealand was discovered by Captain Cook and became known to Europe, migrants began arriving, especially after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. These migrants who were mostly from Britain, came between 1830-1920, mainly due to the vast poverty and lack of land back home. Europe used a class system. The King, nobles and very few of the middle class owned land and 98% of the population were poor. Social inequality was very prominent. In New Zealand, there were more land and more opportunities. The British contributed food, language, technology, education, infrastructure, systems and laws to New Zealand’s culture and setup. However, they also introduced pests such as possums, stoats, weasels
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