[ad_1]
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrived in Sydney on Monday to begin their first major overseas tour as a married couple. The trip is scheduled based on their participation in the Invictus Games, which will begin in Sydney next weekend, but its implications will certainly go beyond the sporting world.
The couple, married in May, will spend two weeks visiting Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, member countries of the Commonwealth, the association of territories formerly ruled by the British Empire, including Queen Elizabeth II. head of state. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex both stated that when it comes to defending causes that are important to them, they intend to pay particular attention to the work. which must be accomplished in this greater union of nations.
But this commitment comes at a time when the Commonwealth is increasingly tense. In Australia, the leader of the opposition Labor party has promised to hold a referendum on the abandonment of the Queen when he wins the next elections, which are to take place the year. next. And in neighboring New Zealand, Premier Jacinda Ardern said in 2017 that she advocated a form of republican government – without an unelected state leader – and that her country should have a public debate on the issue. 39 opportunity to maintain current relations with the Queen.
All this means that Harry and Meghan's visit comes at an important time for the royal family. But what they will encounter in Oceania will also be inextricably linked to the legacies of a sometimes painful past.
Here's a quick guide to the history of Britain in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.
First expeditions
The history of European tours to the antipodes goes back to the seventeenth century, when Dutch explorers first "discovered" this land that will later be known as Australia. The first landing took place in 1606, by Dutch sailor Willem Janszoon and his crew.
Over the next century, outings – mainly conducted by Dutch explorers, but also by their English and Spanish counterparts – mapped what was called the "southern continent". What would become Tonga was first sighted to the European eye in 1616, followed by New Zealand in 1642 and Fiji in 1643.
But it was only towards the end of the following century that the Europeans decided for the first time to colonize Oceania. In this company, it is not the Dutch but the British who have led the way.
Australia
The British Empire lost its territories in America in 1783, as a result of the American Revolution, considered by the British government as a threat to its empire. Five years later, on January 26, 1788, Australia Day, the first British settlers arrived in Australia. The moment was well chosen by those who were concerned about the fate of the Empire: an outpost could be established in this newly mapped country, which would show that the empire over the world was as powerful as ever.
The first settlers established a penitentiary colony on the continent in 1788 and many British convicts were sent to Australia to relieve pressure on their overcrowded prisons. Along with domestic expeditions, more prisoners were following – a process that lasted for about a century and would shape social tensions in British Australia and sow the seeds for the most recent transformation of a stereotype into a source of national pride. . Britain has claimed Australia for the crown and, over time, cities and towns have sprung up.
Yet, the Aboriginal people of Australia, commonly known as Aborigines, had a history that dates back well before the arrival of Europe. The British, in claiming Australia as a possession of the crown, did not recognize their existence as worthy of political representation. Some experts estimate that nearly 90% of the indigenous population was devastated by diseases and conflicts during the first ten years of British colonization.
In the mid-nineteenth century, democratic movements sweeping Europe were headed to Australia and London transferred some powers to the provinces. By 1901, Australia had declared independence, but remained a member of the Commonwealth. For example, he sent nearly a million soldiers fighting alongside the United Kingdom during the Second World War.
A 1942 map showing the Pacific battlefields from World War II shows the powers that control or occupy the islands of the region.
Bettmann / Getty Images
Today, the Australian Parliament uses the "Westminster system" – a parliamentary democracy inspired by the one established in London – and its currency always carries the image of the head of the queen.
The celebration of Australia Day is now a source of controversy, as many say that by celebrating the "discovery" of Australia, it is unfairly eliminating the indigenous people from its history. Aboriginal people still have a lower life expectancy and employment rate, the causes of which were attributed to the effects of colonization and marginalization. During their trip, Harry and Meghan will visit a school and social initiative to improve the lives of Aboriginal peoples.
New Zealand
New Zealand was charted and traveled by the famous British Captain James Cook in the late 1700s. Cook's travels were followed by other European expeditions. It was only after the British colonization in Australia that Britain decided to claim New Zealand as well.
In 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by representatives of Great Britain and Maori natives of New Zealand. The agreement gave the Maori the rights of British subjects and the ownership of their land – two conditions that were not extended to indigenous Australians.
This treaty did not work without a hitch. The English and Maori translations were different on the document and the disagreements led to the Maori-British wars between 1845 and 1872. After the war, much of the Maori land was seized. In the following decades, many Maori became impoverished in the same way as Australian Aborigines. But since the 1970s, a powerful Maori protest movement has been successful in bringing legal action to return lands to indigenous peoples.
Unlike Australia, New Zealand did not achieve independence from Britain in a single act. Instead, New Zealand moved away from its colonizer more gradually. In 1919, New Zealand was given its own seat at the League of Nations, but its defense was still controlled by Great Britain. A close relationship followed; New Zealand sent about 140,000 soldiers to fight in the Second World War alongside the United Kingdom.
However, when the United Kingdom joined the European Union in 1973, it decided to abandon its preferential trade relations with New Zealand in order to comply with European legislation. rules. But less than six months from the day Britain leaves the EU, the UK government is likely to hope that Harry and Meghan's visit will revive old loyalties and make the post-Brexit trade deal more likely.
Get your history in one place: subscribe to the TIME History Weekly Newsletter
Fiji
Fiji was administered as a British crown colony from 1874 to 1970, when they gained independence as a constitutional monarchy in the Commonwealth.
Fiji was ruled from the 1870s as part of a policy known as "Fiji for Fijians", which prohibited the sale of land to foreigners. The result is that the vast majority of land still belongs to Fijians, unlike Australia and New Zealand.
Because of relations with the British Empire and laws preventing Fijians from being exploited for labor purposes, sugarcane plantations often brought Indians to work in the fields. These Indo-Fijians, who often worked in conditions comparable to slavery, became more numerous than indigenous Fijians in the middle of the twentieth century. (They now make up 37.6% of the population). This is one of the reasons why many Fijians have refused British autonomy, with some believing that the London government was preferable to the local majority government of the Indo-Fijians.
Nevertheless, a system of autonomy and democracy developed at the beginning of the 20th century. While it was preparing to sever its ties with Britain, a system of parliamentary democracy was enshrined in the 1970 constitution. The system largely reflects Westminster with a significant difference: a fixed number of seats for each ethnic group.
Since then, the history of Fiji has been less stable than that of Australia and New Zealand. A coup d'etat in 2006 resulted in a military government, which was declared illegal by a high court in 2009. The last elections, in 2014, were widely regarded as free and fair.
tonga
Tonga became a protected British state in 1900. However, long before that, after contact with Captain Cook, Britain began to make its mark on the archipelago. The majority of Tongans converted to Christianity as a result of this contact.
But Tonga is unique in the region because it is the only country in the group that has never been colonized. On the contrary, its relations with Britain were based on protection – it was in Britain's interest to prevent other nations from establishing a base, but it never directly governed the archipelago himself.
Tonga are members of the Commonwealth, taking advantage of the brotherhood of the other nations of this group, but since it has its own monarch (King Tupou VI), the queen is not his head of state. However, he has long had a happy relationship with the British monarchy; his queen Salote Tupou III attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
He became an independent state in 1970, according to the wishes of his queen.
