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| {{Infobox country|name=New Caledonia|native_name=Kanaky|image_flag=New Caledonian flag.svg|image_coat=Emblem of New Caledonia.svg.png|capital=Nouméa|largest_city=Nouméa|government_type=Devolved parliamentary dependency|leader_title1=High Commissioner|leader_name1=[[Louis Le Franc]]|leader_title2=President of the Government|leader_name2=[[Louis Mapou]]|image_map=New Caledonia map.png|map_width=320|official_languages=French|area_km2=18,576|population_census=271,407|population_census_year=2019}} | | {{Infobox country|name=New Caledonia|native_name=Kanaky|image_flag=New Caledonian flag.svg|image_coat=Emblem of New Caledonia.svg.png|capital=Nouméa|largest_city=Nouméa|government_type=Devolved parliamentary dependency|leader_title1=High Commissioner|leader_name1=[[Louis Le Franc]]|leader_title2=President of the Government|leader_name2=[[Louis Mapou]]|image_map=New Caledonia map.png|map_width=320|official_languages=French|area_km2=18,576|population_census=271,407|population_census_year=2019}} |
| [[File:Kanaky map.png|thumb|Indigenous groups in New Caledonia]] | | [[File:Kanaky map.png|thumb|Indigenous groups in New Caledonia]] |
| '''Kanaky''', officially known as '''New Caledonia''', is a [[French Republic|French]] [[Settler colonialism|settler-colony]] in the southwest [[Pacific Ocean]]. The [[Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front]] (FLNKS) has been struggling for [[national liberation]] and independence since the 1980s.<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|author=B. A. Ford|newspaper=[[People's Voice]]|title=Kanaky-New Caledonia independence vote shines light on imperialism in the Pacific|date=2020-10-19|url=https://pvonline.ca/2020/10/19/kanaky-new-caledonia-independence-vote-shines-light-on-imperialism-in-the-pacific/|retrieved=2022-12-22}}</ref> | | '''Kanky''', officially known as '''New Caledonia''', is a [[French Republic|French]] [[Settler colonialism|settler-colony]] in the southwest [[Pacific Ocean]]. The [[Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front]] (FLNKS) has been struggling for [[national liberation]] and independence since the 1980s.<ref name=":1">{{Web citation|author=B. A. Ford|newspaper=[[People's Voice]]|title=Kanaky-New Caledonia independence vote shines light on imperialism in the Pacific|date=2020-10-19|url=https://pvonline.ca/2020/10/19/kanaky-new-caledonia-independence-vote-shines-light-on-imperialism-in-the-pacific/|retrieved=2022-12-22}}</ref> |
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| == Terminology ==
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| New Caledonia is the [[Colonialism|colonial]] name of the islands and was chosen by [[James Cook]] in 1774 based on an old name for [[Scotland]].<ref name=":2" />
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| French settlers first used the word 'Kanak' as an insult. In 1969, Chief [[Nidoish Naisseline]] decided to adopt the term 'Kanak' to refer to his own people, leading the French to stop using that term and instead call the natives [[Melanesia|Melanesians]].<ref name=":4">{{Citation|author=Susanna Ounei|year=1985|title=For Kanak Independence|chapter=The Kanak people's struggle for independence in New Caledonia|page=3–4|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacean27lkjc3azb6uduikg7lvi3xsgcegdya7iok6oseor5tipypvfm?filename=Susanna%20Ounei%20-%20For%20Kanak%20independence_%20The%20fight%20against%20French%20rule%20in%20New%20Caledonia-Corso_%20Labour%20Publishing%20Co-operative%20Society%20Ltd.%20%281985%29.pdf|publisher=Labour Publishing Co-operative Society}}</ref>
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| == History == | | == History == |
| | James Cook became the first [[Europe|European]] to visit New Caledonia in 1774, naming the archipelago New Caledonia after the old name for [[Scotland]]; Caledonia.<ref name=":2">{{Citation|author=V. Z. Klepikov|year=1979|title=The Great Soviet Encyclopedia|title-url=https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/New+Caledonia|chapter=New Caledonia|section=Historical Survey}}</ref> |
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| === Pre-colonial ===
| | New Caledonia in 1853 was declared a possession of France and in 1860 became a colony.<ref name=":2" /> The archipelago was a penal colony and many members of the [[Paris Commune]] were exiled to New Caledonia after 1871.<ref>{{Citation|author=Robert Aldrich, John Connell|year=2006|title=France's Overseas Frontier: Départements et territoires d'outre-mer|page=46|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521030366|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRB3woPa7LAC&pg=PA46}}</ref> New Caledonia became a French Overseas Territory in 1946.<ref name=":0">{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Peoples Dispatch]]|title=Progressive sections denounce outcome of New Caledonia referendum|date=2021-12-20|url=https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/12/20/progressive-sections-denounce-outcome-of-new-caledonia-referendum/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116220207/https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/12/20/progressive-sections-denounce-outcome-of-new-caledonia-referendum/|archive-date=2022-01-16|retrieved=2022-09-09}}</ref> In 1998, the FLNKS signed an agreement with France to extend more rights to indigenous Kanak peoples.<ref name=":1" /> |
| Before colonization, around 200,000 people lived in New Caledonia.<ref name=":4" />
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| James Cook became the first [[Europe|European]] to visit New Caledonia in 1774, naming the archipelago New Caledonia.<ref name=":2">{{Citation|author=V. Z. Klepikov|year=1979|title=The Great Soviet Encyclopedia|title-url=https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/New+Caledonia|chapter=New Caledonia|section=Historical Survey}}</ref>
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| === French colonization ===
| | == 2021 independence referendum == |
| [[French Empire (1852–1870)|France]] took over New Caledonia as a [[Colonialism|colony]] in 1853 and forced the natives into small reservations with infertile land. The French killed thousands of natives when they rebelled,<ref name=":3">{{Citation|author=Susanna Ounei|year=1985|title=For Kanak Independence|chapter=Introduction|page=1–2|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacean27lkjc3azb6uduikg7lvi3xsgcegdya7iok6oseor5tipypvfm?filename=Susanna%20Ounei%20-%20For%20Kanak%20independence_%20The%20fight%20against%20French%20rule%20in%20New%20Caledonia-Corso_%20Labour%20Publishing%20Co-operative%20Society%20Ltd.%20%281985%29.pdf|publisher=Labour Publishing Co-operative Society}}</ref> reducing the population to only 26,000.<ref name=":4" />
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| The archipelago was a penal colony and many members of the [[Paris Commune]] were exiled to New Caledonia after 1871.<ref>{{Citation|author=Robert Aldrich, John Connell|year=2006|title=France's Overseas Frontier: Départements et territoires d'outre-mer|page=46|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521030366|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRB3woPa7LAC&pg=PA46}}</ref>
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| In 1878, Chief [[Ataï]] led a rebellion against the [[French Republic (1870–1940)|French]]. Many survivors were exiled to [[Commonwealth of Australia|Australia]] or [[Republic of Vanuatu|Vanuatu]].<ref name=":4" />
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| In 1917, Chief [[Noël]] organized against involvement in the [[First World War]]. The French beheaded him and took his head to a museum in Paris, where it remained until the 1980s at least.<ref name=":4" />
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| New Caledonia became a French Overseas Territory in 1946.<ref name=":0">{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Peoples Dispatch]]|title=Progressive sections denounce outcome of New Caledonia referendum|date=2021-12-20|url=https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/12/20/progressive-sections-denounce-outcome-of-new-caledonia-referendum/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116220207/https://peoplesdispatch.org/2021/12/20/progressive-sections-denounce-outcome-of-new-caledonia-referendum/|archive-date=2022-01-16|retrieved=2022-09-09}}</ref> Before then, settlers were allowed to kill any natives who entered settler towns after 9 p.m. without permission from the [[police]].<ref name=":4" />
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| === Anti-colonial movement ===
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| Kanaks first won the right to vote in the 1950s and formed the [[Caledonian Union]] (UC), which demanded autonomy for New Caledonia. In 1977, it changed its goal to full independence. In 1979, the pro-independence forces of the [[Independence Front]] coalition won 83% of the Kanak vote and 35% of the total vote, including settlers.<ref name=":3" />
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| In 1984, French Minister of Overseas Territories [[Georges Lemoine]] rejected independence and prevented any independence referendum from being held until 1989. In response, the Kanaks dissolved the Independence Front and formed the FLNKS.<ref name=":3" />
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| ==== 1984 provisional government ====
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| The FLNKS boycotted the 1984 elections and established a provisional government led by [[Jean-Marie Tjibaou]] on 1 December 1984. The French invaded with thousands of troops to crush the rebellion and murdered FLNKS leader [[Eloi Machoro]]. They killed at least 20 natives and took over 100 political prisoners.<ref name=":3" />
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| In 1998, the FLNKS signed an agreement with France to extend more rights to indigenous Kanak peoples.<ref name=":1" />
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| ==== 2021 independence referendum ====
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| The FLNKS boycotted a 2021 referendum for independence from France. 96.5% of votes in the referendum were against independence, but only 43.87% of the population voted in the referendum.<ref name=":0" /> | | The FLNKS boycotted a 2021 referendum for independence from France. 96.5% of votes in the referendum were against independence, but only 43.87% of the population voted in the referendum.<ref name=":0" /> |
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| == Demographics ==
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| In 1985, the native Kanak population was just over 60,000, and there were 54,000 [[White people|white]] settlers, mostly from France. There were also 30,000 people from other countries, especially from the South Pacific and Southeast Asia.<ref name=":3" />
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| == References == | | == References == |
