Editing New Caledonia

{{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]]
'''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>

== History ==

=== Pre-colonial ===
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>

=== French colonization ===
[[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>

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" />

=== Anti-colonial movement ===
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" />

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" />

==== 1984 provisional government ====
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" />

==== 2021 independence referendum ====
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" />

== Demographics ==
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" />

== References ==
[[Category:Colonial outposts]]
<references />
[[Category:Settler-colonial states]]