The Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The 15 small islands in this South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq. mi). It has maritime borders with ► Niue, ► American Samoa, ► Tokelau, ► Kiribati and ► French Polynesia. Defence is the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request. In recent times, the Cook Islands has adopted an increasingly independent foreign policy.
Ko ngā Kuki Airani he whenua i Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. I haere mai tēnei ingoa i te ingoa nō Kāpene Kuki. Ko Ipukarea tētahi atu ingoa nō taua whenua i te reo Māori Kuki Airani. Ko "te whenua tupu" te tikanga o tēnei kupu i te reo Māori nō Aotearoa.
Short name
Cook Islands
Official name
Cook Islands
Status
Country in free association with New Zealand since Associated state since 1965, New Zealandian since 1901
This section holds a short summary of the history of the area of present-day the Cook Islands, illustrated with maps, including historical maps of former countries and empires that included present-day the Cook Islands.
James Cook discovers in 1773 the Cook Islands (earlier seen by the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña) The islands become a British protectorate in 1888 and become a possession of New Zealand in 1901. In 1904 Niue island is separated from Cook to become a separate dependency.
Notes and references
General remarks:
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