Location
The Cook Islands are located in the South Pacific in the area of the world known as Polynesia. Hawaii lies 2600 miles to the north, Tahiti 700 miles to the east and Samoa and Tonga 1000 miles to the west. While only totaling 93 square miles, the 15 islands that make up the Cook Islands area spread across an area that is one-fourth the size of the continental United States. The Cook Islands are divided into two groups: the more populous Southern Group and smaller, less populated Northern Group.Southern Group
The main island and most populated one is Rarotonga where about 9,000 of the country's population of 15,000 lives, mostly along the coastal plain of this ancient volcanic island. The main population center is the village of Avarua which is located near the islands' only international airport.The other main islands of the Southern Group are Aitutaki known for its beautiful beaches and coral reefs and a popular destination for divers; the less visited islands of Atiu, Mangaia and Mitiaro; the uninhabited islands of Manuae and Takutea and Palmerston where the descendants of one English settler reside. Aitutaki will be featured prominently in Survivor: Cook Islands.
Northern Group
Located more than 700 miles from Rarotonga, the Northern Group are primarily small atols known for their beautiful lagoons. These island include Manihiki, Pukapuka, Rakahanga, Penrhyn, Suwarrow and tiny Nassau which has no lagoon at all.Pre-Contact History
The first settlers in the Cook Islands were Polynesians around 800 AD who migrated from Raiatea in what is now known as French Polynesia. Subsequent waves of settlers arrived through the 13th century. The main population center, as today, was on Rarotonga which was divided into three districts each ruled by a high chief, the ariki. Until the 1850's all ariki were male and the title generally passed to a son of the ruling chief. Since 1850, women have also held this exalted position of power.Prior to the arrival of missionaries in the 1820's, the Cook Island people were polytheistic with priests or ta'unga who held power almost equal to the ariki. The position of ta'unga was hereditary. Numerous temples or marae were built to honor each god. The people engaged in many wars, practiced cannibalism (defeated enemies were often eaten as a sign of revenge) and polygamy. Women were virtual slaves of their husbands.
European Contact
First European contact was in 1595 by Spanish Captain Alvaro de Mendana but then not again until 1773 when Captain James Cook "discovered" and mapped many of the islands. It was in 1824 that Russian cartographer Admiral Johann von Krusenstern named the islands "the Cook Islands" to honor Cook, who had been killed in Hawaii in 1779.European influence was, however, minimal until the arrival of native missionaries trained in French Polynesia by the London Missionary Society. The principal missionary was named Papeiha who arrived on Rarotonga on October 26, 1821. Today October 26 is celebrated as Gospel Day in the Cook Islands. Within just a few years Papeiha had converted most of the inhabitants of Rarotonga and with the later arrival of European missionaries in 1827 forever changed Cook Island society. Most of the old ways were abandoned and a "moral" society was imposed on the people much like what occurred in Hawaii when missionaries arrived.
Like in Hawaii, as more Europeans arrived, so did European disease to which the native islanders had no immunity. The pre-contact population of approximately 7000 dwindled to less than 2000. The native population was further decreased in raids by Peruvian slave traders.
Next Page > The People, Culture and Economy of the Cook Islands
