New Zealand was the last major landmass other than Antarctica to be settledby humans. In this new account of New Zealands history Philippa Mein Smithconsiders t... » 

New Zealand was the last major landmass other than Antarctica to be settledby humans. In this new account of New Zealands history Philippa Mein Smithconsiders this rugged and dynamic land from its break from Gondwana 80 millionyears ago to the beginning of the twentyfirst century. Mein Smith highlightsthe effects of the countrys smallness and isolation from late settlement byPolynesian voyagers very late colonisation and settlement by Europeans andthe interactions that made these people Maori and Pakeha to struggles overland and efforts through time to manage global forces. This is a history thatplaces New Zealand in its global and regional context linked to Britainimmersed in the Pacific and part of Australasia. Distinctively this bookunravels the ways in which key moments have contributed to the founding of thecountrys national myths.A Concise History of New Zealand places New Zealand in its global and regional context linked to Britain immersed in the Pacific and part of Australasia. It unravels the key moments the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi the Anzac leading at Gallipoli the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior showing their role as nationbuilding myths and connecting them with the less dramatic forces economic and social that have also shaped contemporary New Zealand. «