..... Click the link for more information. , Mangaia, Atiu, Aitutaki, Mauke, Mitiaro, and Manuae and Te-Au-o-tu) and the Northern Cook islands (Nassau, Palmerston, Penrhyn, Manihiki Manihiki , atoll, c.2 sq mi (5.2 sq km), South Pacific, in the Cook Islands. It comprises 12 islets; the whole group that includes Manihiki and Penrhyn is also often designated Manihiki.
..... Click the link for more information. , Rakahanga, Pukapuka, and Suwarrow). The islands were formerly called the Hervey Islands. Avarua on Rarotonga is the administrative center of the group. The Cook Islanders are Maoris, a Polynesian people, and are largely Christians.
Economy
Copra, fresh and canned fruits and fruit juices, clothing, pearl shell, handicrafts, and jewelry are the principal exports. Tourism and food processing are the major industries. Beginning in 1980s the islands also became a popular tax haven and offshore banking center, but in 2003 the government moved to increase regulation of offshore banks as a result of international pressure. Government spending is important to the economy, and some 60% of the labor force work in the public sector. Most imports, largely foodstuffs, textiles, and fuels, come from New Zealand. The Maoris generally work their own land.
Government
The government consists of a prime minister, a cabinet, a 24-member elected legislature, and a 15-member House of Arikis (hereditary chiefs). The latter is a purely consultative body that advises on traditional matters. New Zealand is responsible for foreign affairs and defense in consultation with the Cook Islands government.
History
The southern islands were probably occupied by the Polynesians c.1,500 years ago. Spaniards visited the islands in the late 16th and early 17th cent. Capt. James Cook Cook, James, 1728–79, English explorer and navigator. The son of a Yorkshire agricultural laborer, he had little formal education. After an apprenticeship to a firm of shipowners at Whitby, he joined (1755) the royal navy and surveyed the St.
..... Click the link for more information. sighted some of the islands in 1773; others were not discovered until the 1820s. The London Missionary Society was a powerful influence in the southern islands during the 19th cent. The islands were proclaimed a British protectorate in 1888 and were annexed by New Zealand in 1901. The Cook Islands achieved internal self-government in 1965 and are free to unilaterally declare their complete independence. An economic crisis in the mid-1990s led to outmigration and a significant drop in the islands population.
Cook Islands
)
Cook Islands
an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, located in Polynesia. Administratively under New Zealand sovereignty. The 15 islands subdivide into the Northern and Lower Cook groups, situated between 8° and 23°S lat. Area, 240 sq km.
The most important and populated islands of the Lower group are Rarotonga (67 sq km) and Mangaia (52 sq km). The Lower islands are primarily volcanic (maximum elevation, 643 m on Rarotonga). The Northern islands are coral atolls. The climate is tropical trade wind, mild and moist. The difference in seasonal temperatures (7° C) on Rarotonga is one of the lowest on earth. Population, more than 20,000 (1968): primarily Polynesian. There is fishing here, as well as the gathering of copra, pearls, mother-of-pearl, tortoise shells, and arrowroot. Bananas, oranges, and pineapples are grown.
The administrative center is Avarua on Rarotonga. The Cook Islands were discovered in 1773–74 by the British seafarer J. Cook; the Suvorov Atoll was discovered by the Russian seafarer M. P. Lazarev in 1814.
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
| ?Page tools | ||
|---|---|---|
|