New Caledonia

On 24 September 1853, under orders from Emperor Napoleon III, Admiral Febvrier Despointes took formal possession of New Caledonia. Captain Louis-Marie-François Tardy de Montravel founded Port-de-France (Nouméa) on 25 June 1854.[10] A few dozen free settlers settled on the west coast in the following years.[10] New Caledonia became a penal colony in 1864, and from the 1860s until the end of the transportations in 1897, France sent about 22,000 criminals and political prisoners to New Caledonia. The Bulletin de la Société générale des prisons for 1888 indicates that 10,428 convicts, including 2,329 freed ones, were on the island as of 1 May 1888, by far the largest number of convicts detained in French overseas penitentiaries.[18] The convicts included many Communards, arrested after the failed Paris Commune of 1871, including Henri de Rochefort and Louise Michel.[19] Between 1873 and 1876, 4,200 political prisoners were "relegated" to New Caledonia.[10] Only 40 of them settled in the colony; the rest returned to France after being granted amnesty in 1879 and 1880.[10]

Chief King Jacques and his Queen

In 1864, nickel was discovered[19] on the banks of the Diahot River; with the establishment of the Société Le Nickel in 1876, mining began in earnest.[20] To work the mines the French imported labourers from neighbouring islands and from the New Hebrides, and later from Japan, the Dutch East Indies, and French Indochina.[19] The French government also attempted to encourage European immigration, without much success.[19]

The indigenous population or Kanak people were excluded from the French economy and from mining work, and ultimately confined to reservations.[19] This sparked a violent reaction in 1878, when High Chief Atal of La Foa managed to unite many of the central tribes and launched a guerrilla war that killed 200 Frenchmen and 1,000 Kanaks.[20] A second guerrilla war took place in 1917, with Catholic missionaries like Maurice Leenhardt functioning as witnesses to the events of this war. Leenhardt would pen a number of ethnographic works on the Kanak of New Caledonia. Noël of Tiamou led the 1917 rebellion, which resulted in a number of orphaned children, one of whom was taken into the care of Protestant missionary Alphonse Rouel. This child, Wenceslas Thi, would become the father of Jean-Marie Tjibaou[21] (1936–1989).

Europeans brought new diseases such as smallpox and measles, which caused the deaths of many natives.[16] The Kanak population declined from around 60,000 in 1878 to 27,100 in 1921, and their numbers did not increase again until the 1930s.[20]

In June 1940, after the fall of France, the Conseil General of New Caledonia voted unanimously to support the Free French government, and in September the pro-Vichy governor was forced to leave for Indochina.[20] In March 1942, with the assistance of Australia,[22] the territory became an important Allied base,[20] and the main South Pacific Fleet base of the United States Navy in the South Pacific moved to Nouméa in 1942–1943.[23] The fleet that turned back the Japanese navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 was based at Nouméa.[20] American troops stationed on New Caledonia numbered as many as 50,000, the equivalent of the contemporary population.[10]

In 1946, New Caledonia became an overseas territory.[10] By 1953, French citizenship had been granted to all New Caledonians, regardless of ethnicity.[24]

The European and Polynesian populations gradually increased in the years leading to the nickel boom of 1969–1972, and the indigenous Kanak Melanesians became a minority, though they were still the largest ethnic group.[24]

Between 1976 and 1988, conflicts between French government actions and the Kanak independence movement saw periods of serious violence and disorder.[10] In 1983, a statute of "enlarged autonomy" for the territory proposed a five-year transition period and a referendum in 1989. In March 1984, the Kanak resistance, Front Indépendantiste, seized farms and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) formed a provisional government. In January 1985, the French Socialist government offered sovereignty to the Kanaks and legal protection for European settlers. The plan faltered as violence escalated. The government declared a state of emergency; however, regional elections went ahead, and the FLNKS won control of three out of four provinces. The centre-right government elected in France in March 1986 began eroding the arrangements established under the Socialists, redistributing lands mostly without consideration of native land claims, resulting in over two-thirds going to Europeans and less than a third to the Kanaks. By the end of 1987, roadblocks, gun battles and the destruction of property culminated in the Ouvéa cave hostage taking, a dramatic hostage crisis on the eve of the presidential elections in France. Pro-independence militants on Ouvéa killed four gendarmes and took 27 hostage. The military response resulted in nineteen Kanak deaths and another three deaths in custody.[25]

The Matignon Agreements, signed on 26 June 1988, ensured a decade of stability. The Nouméa Accord signed 5 May 1998, set the groundwork for a 20-year transition that gradually transfers competences to the local government.[10]

Flags side by side on the same pole, Nouméa, March 2011.

Following the timeline set by the Nouméa Accord that stated a vote must take place by the end of 2018, the groundwork was laid for a referendum on full independence from France at a meeting chaired by the French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe on 2 November 2017, to be held by November 2018. Voter list eligibility had been a subject of a long dispute, but the details have since been resolved.[26] On 20 March 2018, the government announced a referendum that was held on 4 November 2018,[27] with independence being rejected.[28]

Another referendum was held October 2020 and voters once again voted to remain a part of France.[29]

Kanak society has several layers of customary authority, from the 4,000–5,000 family-based clans to the eight customary areas (aires coutumières) that make up the territory.[34] Clans are led by clan chiefs and constitute 341 tribes, each headed by a tribal chief. The tribes are further grouped into 57 customary chiefdoms (chefferies), each headed by a head chief, and forming the administrative subdivisions of the customary areas.[34]

Jean Lèques during a ceremony honoring U.S. service members who helped ensure the freedom of New Caledonia during World War II

The Customary Senate is the assembly of the various traditional councils of the Kanaks, and has jurisdiction over the law proposals concerning the Kanak identity.[35] The Customary Senate is composed of 16 members appointed by each traditional council, with two representatives per each customary area.[35] In its advisory role, the Customary Senate must be consulted on law proposals "concerning the Kanak identity" as defined in the Nouméa Accord.[35] It also has a deliberative role on law proposals that would affect identity, the civil customary statute, and the land system.[35] A new president is appointed each year in August or September, and the presidency rotates between the eight customary areas.[35]

Kanak people have recourse to customary authorities regarding civil matters such as marriage, adoption, inheritance, and some land issues.[34] The French administration typically respects decisions made in the customary system.[34] However, their jurisdiction is sharply limited in penal matters, as some matters relating to the customary justice system, including the use of corporal punishment, are seen as clashing with the human rights obligations of France.[34]

The Armed Forces of New Caledonia (French: Forces armées de Nouvelle-Calédonie, or FANC) include about 2,000 soldiers, mainly deployed in Koumac, Nandaï, Tontouta, Plum, and Nouméa.[36] The land forces consist of a regiment of the Troupes de marine, the Régiment d'infanterie de marine du Pacifique. The naval forces include two P400-class patrol vessels, a BATRAL, and a patrol boat of the Maritime Gendarmerie.[36] The air force is made up of three Casa transport aircraft, four Puma helicopters and a Fennec helicopter, based in Tontouta.[36] In addition, 760 gendarmes are deployed on the archipelago.[36]

The special territories of the European Union

New Caledonia has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1983 with Nouméa the home of the organization's regional headquarters. Since 1986, the United Nations Committee on Decolonization has included New Caledonia on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.[37] An independence referendum was held the following year, but independence was rejected by a large majority.

Under the Nouméa Accord, signed in 1998 following a period of secessionist unrest in the 1980s and approved in a referendum, New Caledonia held a second referendum on independence on 4 November 2018,[38][39] where 56.9% of voters chose to remain with France.[40] On 4 October 2020 there was another independence referendum, with the same result – 53.26% of voters chose to remain with France.[41] The referendum was rescheduled from 6 September 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The official name of the territory, Nouvelle-Calédonie, could be changed in the near future due to the accord, which states that "a name, a flag, an anthem, a motto, and the design of banknotes will have to be sought by all parties together, to express the Kanak identity and the future shared by all parties."[42] To date, however, there has been no consensus on a new name for the territory, although Kanak Republic is popular among 40% of the population.[43] New Caledonia has increasingly adopted its own symbols, choosing an anthem, a motto, and a new design for its banknotes.[44] In July 2010, New Caledonia adopted the Kanak flag, alongside the existing French tricolor, as dual official flags of the territory.[45] The adoption made New Caledonia one of the few countries or territories in the world with two official national flags.[45] The decision to use two flags has been a constant battleground between the two sides and led the coalition government to collapse in February 2011.[46]

The climate is tropical, with a hot and humid season from November to March with temperatures between 27 °C and 30 °C,[48] and a cooler, dry season from June to August with temperatures between 20 °C and 23 °C,[48] linked by two short interstices.[10] The tropical climate is strongly moderated by the oceanic influence and the trade winds that attenuate humidity, which can be close to 80%.[48] The average annual temperature is 23 °C, with historical extremes of 2.3 °C and 39.1 °C.[10]

The rainfall records show that precipitation differs greatly within the island. The 3,000 millimetres (120 in) of rainfall recorded in Galarino are three times the average of the west coast. There are also dry periods, because of the effects of El Niño.[10] Between December and April, tropical depressions and cyclones can cause winds to exceed a speed of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph), with gusts of 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph) and very abundant rainfall.[10] The last cyclone affecting New Caledonia was Cyclone Cook, in January 2017.

Amborella, the world's oldest living lineage of flowering plant

Araucaria columnaris, New Caledonia

New Caledonia's fauna and flora derive from ancestral species isolated in the region when it broke away from Gondwana many tens of millions of years ago.[55] Not only endemic species have evolved here, but entire genera, families, and even orders are unique to the islands.

More tropical gymnosperm species are endemic to New Caledonia than to any similar region on Earth. Of the 44 indigenous species of gymnosperms, 43 are endemic, including the only known parasitic gymnosperm (Parasitaxus usta).[56] Also, of the 35 known species of Araucaria, 13 are endemic to New Caledonia.[52] New Caledonia also has the world's most divergent lineage of flowering plant, Amborella trichopoda, which is at, or near, the base of the clade of all flowering plants.

The world's largest extant species of fern, Cyathea intermedia, also is endemic to New Caledonia. It is very common on acid ground, and grows about one metre per year on the east coast, usually on fallow ground or in forest clearings. There also are other species of Cyathea, notably Cyathea novae-caledoniae.[57]

New Caledonia also is one of five regions on the planet where species of southern beeches (Nothofagus) are indigenous; five species are known to occur here.[56]

New Caledonia has its own version of maquis (maquis minier) occurring on metalliferous soils, mostly in the south.[51] The soils of ultramafic rocks (mining terrains) have been a refuge for many native flora species which are adapted to the toxic mineral content of the soils, to which most foreign species of plants are poorly suited, which has therefore prevented invasion into the habitat or displacement of indigenous plants.[56]

Two terrestrial ecoregions lie within New Caledonia's territory: New Caledonia rain forests and New Caledonia dry forests.[58]

The kagu, an endemic flightless bird

New Caledonia is home to the New Caledonian crow, a bird noted for its tool-making abilities, which rival those of primates.[59] These crows are renowned for their extraordinary intelligence and ability to fashion tools to solve problems, and make the most complex tools of any animal yet studied apart from humans.[60]

The endemic kagu,[61] agile and able to run quickly, is a flightless bird, but it is able to use its wings to climb branches or glide. Its sound is similar to the bark of a dog. It is the surviving member of monotypic family Rhynochetidae, order Gruiformes.[62]

There are 11 endemic fish species and 14 endemic species of decapod crustaceans in the rivers and lakes of New Caledonia. Some, such as Neogalaxias, exist only in small areas.[63] The nautilus—considered a living fossil and related to the ammonites, which became extinct at the end of the Mesozoic era—occurs in Pacific waters around New Caledonia.[63] There is a large diversity of marine fish in the surrounding waters, which are within the extents of the Coral Sea.

Several species of New Caledonia are remarkable for their size: Ducula goliath is the largest extant species of arboreal pigeon; Rhacodactylus leachianus, the largest gecko in the world; Phoboscincus bocourti, a large skink thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 2003.[63]

Much of New Caledonia's fauna present before human settlement is now extinct including Sylviornis a bird over a metre tall not closely related to any living species, and Meiolania a giant horned turtle that diverged from living turtles during the Jurassic period.

At the 2019 census,[71] 41.2% of the population reported belonging to the Kanak community (up from 39.1% at the 2014 census[72]) and 24.1% to the European (Caldoche and Zoreille) community (down from 27.2% at the 2014 census). Most of the people who self-identified as "Caledonian" are thought to be ethnically European.[73]

The other self-reported communities were Wallisians and Futunians (8.3% of the total population, up from 8.2% at the 2014 census), Indonesians (1.4% of the total population, the same as in 2014), Tahitians (2.0% of the total population, down from 2.1% at the 2009 census), Ni-Vanuatu (0.9%, down from 1.0% at the 2014 census), Vietnamese (0.8%, down from 0.9% at the 2014 census), and other Asians (primarily ethnic Chinese; 0.4% of the total population, the same as in 2014).

Finally 11.3% of the population reported belonging to multiple communities (mixed race) (up from 8.6% at the 2014 census), and 9.6% belonged to other communities (mainly "Caledonian"). The question on community belonging, which had been left out of the 2004 census, was reintroduced in 2009 under a new formulation, different from the 1996 census, allowing multiple choices (mixed race) and the possibility to clarify the choice "other".[74]

Kanak women

The Kanak people, part of the Melanesian group, are indigenous to New Caledonia.[75] Their social organization is traditionally based on clans, which identify as either "land" or "sea" clans, depending on their original location and the occupation of their ancestors.[75] According to the 2019 census, the Kanak constitute 95% of the population in the Loyalty Islands Province, 72% in the North Province and 29% in the South Province.[75] The Kanak tend to be of lower socio-economic status than the Europeans and other settlers.[75][76]

Europeans first settled in New Caledonia when France established a penal colony on the archipelago.[75] Once the prisoners had completed their sentences, they were given land to settle.[75] According to the 2014 census, of the 73,199 Europeans in New Caledonia 30,484 were native-born, 36,975 were born in Metropolitan France, 488 were born in French Polynesia, 86 were born in Wallis and Futuna, and 5,166 were born abroad.[77] The Europeans are divided into several groups: the Caldoches are usually defined as those born in New Caledonia who have ancestral ties that span back to the early French settlers.[73] They often settled in the rural areas of the western coast of Grande Terre, where many continue to run large cattle properties.[73]

Rodeos (here at the annual fair of Bourail) are part of Caldoche culture.

Distinct from the Caldoches are those who were born in New Caledonia from families that had settled more recently, and are called simply Caledonians.[9] The Metropolitan French-born migrants who come to New Caledonia are called Métros or Zoreilles, indicating their origins in metropolitan France.[9] There is also a community of about 2,000[9] pieds noirs, descended from European settlers in France's former North African colonies;[78] some of them are prominent in anti-independence politics, including Pierre Maresca, a leader of the RPCR.[79]

A 2015 documentary by Al Jazeera English asserted that up to 10% of New Caledonia's population is descended from around 2,000 Arab-Berber people deported from French Algeria in the late 19th century to prisons on the island in reprisal for the Mokrani Revolt in 1871. After serving their sentences, they were released and given land to own and cultivate as part of colonisation efforts on the island. As the overwhelming majority of the Algerians imprisoned on New Caledonia were men, the community was continued through intermarriage with women of other ethnic groups, mainly French women from nearby women's prisons. Despite facing both assimilation into the Euro-French population and discrimination for their ethnic background, descendants of the deportees have succeeded in preserving a common identity as Algerians, including maintaining certain cultural practices (such as Arabic names) and in some cases Islamic religion. Some travel to Algeria as a rite of passage, though obtaining Algerian citizenship is often a difficult process. The largest population of Algerian-Caledonians lives in the commune of Bourail (particularly in the Nessadiou district, where there is an Islamic cultural centre and cemetery), with smaller communities in Nouméa, Conné, Blambut, and Surianté.[80]

The French language began to spread with the establishment of French settlements, and French is now spoken even in the most secluded villages. The level of fluency, however, varies significantly across the population as a whole, primarily due to the absence of universal access to public education before 1953, but also due to immigration and ethnic diversity.[81] At the 2009 census, 97.3% of people aged 15 or older reported that they could speak, read and write French, whereas only 1.1% reported that they had no knowledge of French.[82] Other significant language communities among immigrant populations are those of Wallisian and Javanese language speakers.

The 28 Kanak languages spoken in New Caledonia are part of the Oceanic group of the Austronesian family.[83] Kanak languages are taught from kindergarten (four languages are taught up to the bachelor's degree) and an academy is responsible for their promotion.[84] The three most widely spoken indigenous languages are Drehu (spoken in Lifou), Nengone (spoken on Maré) and Paicî (northern part of Grande Terre).[84] Others include Iaai (spoken on Ouvéa). At the 2009 census, 35.8% of people aged 15 or older reported that they could speak (but not necessarily read or write) one of the indigenous Melanesian languages, whereas 58.7% reported that they had no knowledge of any of them.[82]

The predominant religion is Christianity; half of the population is Roman Catholic, including most of the Europeans, Uveans, and Vietnamese and half of the Melanesian and Polynesian minorities.[24] Roman Catholicism was introduced by French colonists. The island also has numerous Protestant churches, of which the Free Evangelical Church and the Evangelical Church in New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands have the largest number of adherents; their memberships are almost entirely Melanesian.[24] Protestantism gained ground in the late 20th century and continues to expand. There are also numerous other Christian groups and more than 6,000 Muslims.[24][86] See Islam in New Caledonia and Baháʼí Faith in New Caledonia. Nouméa is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nouméa

A creek in southern New Caledonia. Red colors reveal the richness of the ground in iron oxides and nickel.

New Caledonian soils contain about 25% of the world's nickel resources.[98] The late-2000s recession has gravely affected the nickel industry, as the sector faced a significant drop in nickel prices (−31.0% year-on-year in 2009) for the second consecutive year.[99] The fall in prices has led a number of producers to reduce or stop altogether their activity, resulting in a reduction of the global supply of nickel by 6% compared to 2008.[99]

This context, combined with bad weather, has forced the operators in the sector to revise downwards their production target.[99] Thus, the activity of mineral extraction has declined by 8% in volume year on year.[99] The share of the nickel sector as a percentage of GDP fell from 8% in 2008 to 5% in 2009.[99] A trend reversal and a recovery in demand have been recorded early in the second half of 2009, allowing a 2.0% increase in the local metal production.[99]

Historically, nickel was transported by wire ropeway to ships waiting offshore.

Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes[102] is the only daily newspaper in the archipelago.[103][104] A monthly publication, Le Chien bleu, parodies the news from New Caledonia.[105]

There are five radio stations: the public service broadcaster RFO radio Nouvelle-Calédonie, Océane FM (the collectivity's newest station), the youth-oriented station NRJ, Radio Djiido (established by Jean-Marie Tjibaou), and Radio Rythmes Bleus.[104] The last two stations are primarily targeted to the various Kanak groups who are indigenous to New Caledonia ("Djiido" is a term from the Fwâi language, spoken in Hienghène in the North Province, denoting a metal spike used to secure straw thatching to the roof of a traditional Kanak house).

As for television, the public service broadcaster France Télévision operates a local channel, Réseau Outre-Mer 1re, along with France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5, France Ô, France 24 and Arte.[106] Canal Plus Calédonie carries 17 digital channels in French, including Canal+ and TF1.[107] Analogue television broadcasts ended in September 2011, completing the digital television transition in New Caledonia.[108] Bids for two new local television stations, NCTV and NC9, were considered by the French broadcasting authorities.[109] NCTV was launched in December 2013.[110]

The media are considered to be able to operate freely, but Reporters Without Borders raised concerns in 2006 about "threats and intimidation" of RFO staff by members of a pro-independence group.[111]

New Caledonian footballer Christian Karembeu, 1998 FIFA World Cup winner with France[112]

The largest sporting event to be held in New Caledonia is a round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).

The New Caledonia football team began playing in 1950, and was admitted into FIFA, the international association of football leagues, in 2004.[113] Prior to joining FIFA, New Caledonia held observer status with the Oceania Football Confederation, and became an official member of the OFC with its FIFA membership. They have won the South Pacific Games five times, most recently in 2007, and have placed third on two occasions in the OFC Nations Cup. Christian Karembeu is a prominent New Caledonian former footballer. The under-17 team qualified for the FIFA under 17 World Cup in 2017.

Horse racing is also very popular in New Caledonia, as are women's cricket matches.[114]

The rugby league team participated in the Pacific Cup in 2004.

New Caledonia also has a national synchronised swimming team, which tours abroad.

The "Tour Cycliste de Nouvelle-Calédonie" is a multi-day cycling stage race that is held usually in October. The race is organised by the Comite Cycliste New Caledonia. The race attracts riders from Australia, New Zealand, France, Réunion, Europe and Tahiti. Australian Brendan Washington has finished last three times in the race between 2005 and 2009, and is known in New Caledonia as "The Lanterne Rouge".

The New Caledonia Handball team won the Oceania Handball Nations Cup in 2008 held in Wellington, New Zealand. They beat Australia in the final.

The Internationaux de Nouvelle-Calédonie is a tennis tournament that is held in the first week of January. Since 2004, the tournament is part of the ATP Challenger Tour, and players usually compete as a preparation for the Australian Open. the first Grand Slam of the year.

Due to low levels of domestic horticulture, fresh tropical fruits feature less highly in New Caledonian cuisine than in other Pacific nations, instead relying on rice, fish and root vegetables such as taro.[115] One way this is frequently prepared is in a buried-oven-style feast, known as Bougna. Wrapped in banana leaves, the fish, taro, banana and other seafood are buried with hot rocks to cook, then dug up and eaten.

• Muckle, Adrian. Spectres of Violence in a Colonial Context, New Caledonia, 1917. University of Hawaii Press.
• Veracini, Lorenzo. "The Shadows of The Colonial Period to Times of Sharing History Writing in & About New Calidonia," Journal of Pacific History (2003) 38#3 pp. 331–352.