Denis Novak, Claudia Strahinić, Maja Arbanas; 3.

D
Historical background &
independence
 discovered by Polynesians → Maori
culture
 first European explorer → Abel Tasman (
1642.)
 James Cook → first European explorer
to map New Zealand (1769.)
 1840.- British empire (British colony)
Historical background &
independence
 no fixed date of independence → result
of NZ’s evolving constitutional status →
no independence day
 1919.- League of Nations
 1926.- Balfour Declaration → equal in
status
Historical backgroud &
independence
 1973.- the UK joined the European
Community → trade agreement with NZ
changed
 2015. and 2016. – referendums on the
flag → 6% voted to keep the current flag
 “The current flag is too colonial and
gives the impression that NZ is still a
British colony”
Official languages
 English (96%), Maori (3%), NZ sign
language (1%)
 Maori or Te reu is spoken by the Maori
people
 an official language since 1987., 160k
people speak it
 the language is dying
 NZ sign language - deaf community
Maori people
Religion
 Christianity is the most common religion
(48%)
 Hinduism (2%), Buddhism (2%), Islam
(1%)
 Angnostics (5%)
 Atheism → a surprising 42%
 freedom of religion has been protected
since 1840.
Economy - today
 the 53. largest in the world (GDP)
 it depends on Australia, the EU, the Usa,
China, South Korea, Japan, Canada
 New Zealand dolar (“kiwi dolar”) → the
10th most traded currency in the world
 primary sector brings most money
 tertiary sector – the largest (73%)
Kiwi dolar
Economy - history
 1850.-1970. – built on a narrow range of
agricultural products (wool, meat, dairy)
 1970. – trading position with the UK was
lost → their GDP fell enourmously
 1984. – radical economic reform
Political situation
 constitutional monarchy with a
parliamentary democracy
 Elizabeth II. – queen on New Zealand
and the head of state
 the queen is represented by the
Governer-General
 prime minister – Jacinda Ardern
Elitabeth II.
Jacinda
Ardern
prime minister
Culture – British influence
 the British and Irish immigrants brought
Christianity and their language (English)
 the silver fern – appears on army
insignias and sporting team uniforms
 music – influenced by blues, jazz,
country, rock and hip hop
 some big budget movies were shot there
( Avatar, The Lord of the Rings, The
Hobbit, King Kong etc.)
Culture – British influence
 Rugby union considered the national
sport
 other popular sports are gold, netball
and tennis
silver fern