History Of Glorious Aotearoa

Pre 1900

The history of Glorious Aotearoa started tied into the history of the european colonial period. Throughout the 1700's european explorers came to the Pacific, and staking claims started the settlement of these territories.

The majority of Aotearoa's current possessions were claimed during this period. By early 1803, heavy investment into the development of British pacific colonies had occurred, given the rising tension between Britain and France, with fears colonial possessions would be fought over. In Aotearoa (then called New Zealand) the treaty of Auckland was signed in 1805. This treaty is one of the national documents of Aotearoa, and stated that (in a change from standard British colonial policy) that all Maori were to be granted full British citizenship, and entitled to live, and work in British towns. In return, they would allow settlement and ownership of any non settled lands in Aotearoa.

By 1830, the Maori way of life had all but integrated into the unique New Zealand culture. With the industrial revolution allowing faster and more productive exploitation of resources, exports of primary sector materials increased rapidly. The British empire was under severe stress, with almost constant war for thirty years. Shipments of beef, mutton, wood, wool and moa were drawn heavily upon by the British.

In 1849, due to pressure generated by the First Opium War and tension with Russia, the British Empire signed the Treaty of Aotearoa. Queen Victoria granted Aotearoa self governance, while still remaining a member of The Commonwealth of Nations. Other Pacific colonial possessions were given self governance, although separately and on less lenient terms. The First Feudal Government was formed in Auckland. The feudal progression was governed by merit, with input from the general public, the leaseholders (vassals) of that land and other nobility. The leaseholders had to pay a tax (Crown Rent) according to the size of the land they leased from the noble. The noble had to pay a majority of the taxes they collected to the government, keeping some for mainly local investment and costs.

After the Company Regulation Act of 1853, and the decline in the East India Trading Company, the creation of the South Pacific Trading Company (housed in Wellington) heralded a tenfold increase in trade volumes throughout the pacific, as Aotearoan goods found their way to europe, and were in great demand due their higher quality and lower price (due to low domestic demand relative to existing legacy colonial production capability). High trade surplus caused even more money to arrive in Aotearoa than at the heaviest point of British investment.

The Second Feudal Government was formed in Wellington 1860, where regulation of nobility started to occur. With the rise of powerful companies, such as the now renamed Aotearoan Trading company, nobility were barred from executive office within any companies as well as holding board of directors seats. They were limited to purchasing stock in smaller companies (with the limit subject to periodic review). In addition, the capital was moved to Wellington, as it was more easily defensible with concerns to growing pacific rim powers such as the rapid growth of the United States, and Oriental powers such as Qing Dynasty and the Tokugawa shogunate.

Heavy investment combined with high economic growth lead to the centralization of commercial shipping to the ports of Auckland and Christchurch. Wellington harbour was selected to the the sole naval base was unsuited for large commercial traffic, due to shallow depth and narrow entrance. With the investment in these cities, they quickly grew, resulting in higher and higher density living. Auckland and Christchurch soon overtook the capital of Wellington in population, although military and heavy industry centered on the Hutt Valley area.

During the years from 1873 to The Great War (1914) Aotearoa had several island groups join it, some in referendums, while others came under military rule after failure of self government. These included Fiji, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Tonga and Tuvalu.

During the 1880's Aotearoa fought a series of wars with France. The Aotearoan Colonial Wars were results in Aotearoan policy which resented european colonial presence in the Pacific. The New Caledonian War (First Aotearoan Colonial War) resulted in The Pacific Treaty, which ceeded New Caledonia to Aotearoa, and contained promises for the French to start its other colonies towards self governance. Failure by the French to do so to Aotearoa's satisfaction, and during the Second and Third Aotearoan Colonial Wars captured Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna from the French, and gave French Polynesia into self governance. French Polynesia would vote to merge with Aotearoa in 1893, extending Aotearoa's dominion much further east, and provoking the Chilean Conflict, a low level series of naval skirmishes which ended with ceeding of Easter Island to Aotearoa.

20th Century

Throughout 1904 and 1905, the Russo-Japanese War raised Pacific tensions, and caused a downturn in Aotearoan - Japanese relationships. Public pressure caused investment in a larger navy due to the spread out and oceanic nature of Aotearoa. Commission of light, fast, long ranged cruisers started, while other powers were concentrating on heavily armed and amoured battleships and dreadnoughts. These constructions may be seen as the start of Aotearoan Naval dominance in the Pacific. Several minor naval battles with Japanese and Russian Naval forces during this time showed that these ships were powerful but had to fight at distance or risk being destroyed through attrition.

With the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, British command asked Aotearoa to seize German Samoa. Occupation was acheived without fighting, although germany refused to officially surrender the islands. Diplomatic negotiations with the US resulted in the signing of a high level military treaty with Aotearoa in return for American Samoa.

During the Great War, Aotearoan soldiers fought on both the western front and middle eastern theatres. A failed assault on Gallipoli with Australian troops lead to many casualties, then the redeployment to the Palestine Campaign. With heavy fighting but few casualties, the Aotearoan soldiers helped capture all the campaign objectives. In France, the Battle of Messines, the Battle of Passchendaele and Operation Michael all had Aotearoan participants. Several minor skirmishes with German Asiatic fleet in the Pacific lead to strengthening Aotearoan naval development once more.

During the Interwar period, Aotearoa's growing strength lead to the trading of several British colonial possessions in return for stronger military and economic treaties. The Pitcairn Islands and parts of Kiribati were accepted into Aotearoan rule, but due to the Great Depression, were unable to be developed as wished.

With the outbreak of World War II, Aotearoa started to send small forces to Europe, and they participated in the North African Campaign but with the opening of the Pacific Theatre in 1941 following the successful attack on Pearl harbour and the destruction or crippling most of the US Pacific Aircraft Carriers, Aotearoa formally entered the war citing its military treaties with the US. With the US naval power reeling, Japanese landings in the Solomons, Kiribati and Norfolk Island lead to heavy infantry fighting, while Aotearoan naval forces clashed several times with Japanese forces, but were unable to prevent the occupation of Hawaii.

Continued war started to sap the Japanese forces, and with the construction of more aircraft carries and the turning point of the Battle of Midway, Japanese naval power was suppressed enough to allow Aotearoa to repulse attacks on its islands and to capture both Norfolk Island (previously australian) and the Hawaii islands. The US demanded control of Hawaii, but backed down when Aotearoa threatened non committal to any further offensive campaigns. A joint Australian / Aotearoan / US force engaged in the largest pacific battle space of the war so far, the Capture of the Marshall Islands.

Following the surrender of Japan after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Aotearoa formally integrated the occupied Pacific Islands it held, while offering monetary compensation for the loss of Hawaii, and other strategic islands. The US was allowed to hold Guam, as Aotearoan troops had not landed on it.

With the rise of the Cold War, Aotearoa was seen as an ally of NATO, but not an active participant. During the Vietnam War, Aotearoa offered medical aid, but did not commit any combat troops.

Aotearoa's nuclear weapon / power development yielded results in the mid 1960's, and lead to the creation of the nuclear powered Aotearoan Navy.

Apart from sending troops to the 1999 East Timorese crisis to work in coordination with INTERFET Aotearoa was not involved in any military conflict, but did send troops with UN peacekeeping deployments.