History New Caledonia

 Historical dates

Around 1300 BC: New Caledonia is reached by people from south-east Asia.
Until the 2nd century AD: the Koné era, characterized by a sea-orientated culture and the making of the ?lapita' potteries, decorated with geometric patterns.
2nd century to the 18th century: New Caledonia enters the Naïa-Oundjo era. The populations settle further inland on the islands and the cultural traditions are different in the north and in the south of Grande Terre.
1774: James Cook discovers the territory during his first voyage on the Pacific ocean. He names it New Caledonia after Scottish Caledonia.
19th: whalers sail in the waters of the Loyalty Islands, then the sandalwood trade becomes important.
Towards the middle of the 19th century: the French government seeks new land to host a prison colony.
1853: Admiral Auguste Febvrier-Despointes takes control of New Caledonia in the name of Napoleon III. The territory is first annexed to the Etablissements Français d'Océanie (Settlements in Oceania), then becomes a distinct colony in 1860.
1878: the Kanaks rebel: the rebellion lasts for seven months and is finally repressed by the French forces.
During World War II, New Caledonia rallies the Free French Forces and plays an important role in the Pacific offensives.
1946: the colony becomes an Overseas Territory, a status reaching towards autonomy.
1985: serious fighting takes place between the Kanak socialist liberation front and the Rally for Caledonia in the Republic.
August 1988: an agreement is reached on national autonomy.
November 1998: the population approve by 70% the emancipation process which prefigures independence within fifteen to twenty years.
May 1999: Jean Lèques becomes president of the government.
April 2001: Pierre Frogier succeeds him.
June 29 2004: Marie-Noëlle Thémereau (from the party L'Avenir Ensemble [A future together]), a keen supporter of the Nouméa Accord, which has given the island a status of progressive autonomy since 1998 is elected at the head of the collegial government of New Caledonia.
January 2007: following the passing of the new bill on Overseas Territories, New Caledonia becomes a COM (Overseas Community) with the status of a POM (Overseas Country).