Kanaky

Republic of Kanaky

Nöje Kanaky (Drehu)

République du Kanaky (French)

Flag of Kanaky

9.6% Mixed

5% Polynesian

2.1% Asian

9.1% Other

5% Atheism

4.2% Animism

1.4% Hinduism

7.7% Other

**Kanaky**, officially the **Republic of Kanaky** (Drehu: *Nöje Kanaky*, French: *République du Kanaky*) is an island nation located in Oceania in the southern Pacific ocean. It shares a maritime border with Vanuatu, Aotearoa and Australia. It’s capital is in Nûmea, and it has a population of 0.6 million.

## Information

 File:King Jacques and his Queen.jpg
The earliest traces of human presence in New Caledonia date back to the Lapita period between 1600 BC to 500 AD. The Lapita were highly skilled navigators and agriculturists with influence over a large area of the Pacific. British explorer Captain James Cook was the first European to sight New Caledonia, on 4 September 1774, during his second voyage. He named it "New Caledonia", as the northeast of the island reminded him of Scotland.

From 1796 until 1840, only a few sporadic contacts with the archipelago were recorded. About 50 American whalers have been recorded in the region around Grande Terre, Loyalty Island and Walpole between 1793 and 1887. 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 (Modern day Nûmea) on 25 June 1854. A few dozen free settlers settled on the west coast in the following years. New Caledonia became a penal colony in 1864, and from the 1860s until the end of the transportations in 1897.

In 1864, nickel was discovered on the banks of the Diahot River; with the establishment of the Société Le Nickel in 1876, mining began in earnest. 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. The indigenous Melanesian population, the Kanak people, were excluded from the French economy and from mining work, and ultimately confined to reservations. 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 French and 1,000 Kanaks.

Between 1976 and 1988, conflicts between French government actions and the Kanak independence movement saw periods of serious violence and disorder. 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, though this faltered as violence continued to escalate.

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. The referendum was held on 4 November 2018, with independence being rejected. Another referendum was held October 2020, with voters this time choosing independence, as these elections restricted the voting power of people born in mainland France. After this, the country went through a 2-year transitional period in which it was known as the State of Kanaky-New Caledonia. It formally gained independence on June 17, 2023.

The country is governed as an unitary nation, being a presidential, constitutional republic. Before the 2020 independence referendum, the country acted as an overseas territory of France, which made it de-facto part of the European Union. So far, the first and only president of the country is Daniel Tutugoro of the FLNKS party, with Daniel Goa acting as his prime minister. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress of Kanaky. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

As of 2024, the population of Kanaky is 0.6 million, making it one of the most populous countries in Oceania. The majority of the population, at 53.7% is made up of the Kanak people. They are the country's indigenous population, who are of Melanesian origin. The European population is mostly comprised of French people, who are 20.5% of the population. Due to independence from France, their numbers have been slowly dwindling, though some, known as *Caldoches* choose to stay in the country. 9.6% is mixed race, 5% are immigrants from Polynesia, and 2.1% are Asians.

Kanaky is a multi-cultural society consisting of mainly Melanesians (Kanak) and European (French). The remainder are mainly Polynesian and Asian. The official language of New Caledonia is French while some English is spoken by those in the tourism industry. There are also an estimated 30 Kanak languages. traditional food includes fruit and vegetables such as banana, coconut, taro, sweet potato and yam. Sea food includes fish, lobster, crab, turtle, and dugong.

Common markers of national identity among the Kanak include the cultivation of yams and taros, a hierarchy that differentiates high-ranking persons (masters of the soil and chiefs) from lower status persons, kinship relations, the practice of nonmercantile ceremonial exchanges between clans and chieftainships for marriages and funerals, and belief in ancestors' presence among the living.