Tokelau

Tokelau (tōkulou', tōkelä'OO) [key]formerly Union Islands, island group (2005 est. pop. 1,400), c.5 sq mi (c.12 sq km), South Pacific, a territory of New Zealand. It is composed of three small atolls, Atafu, Nukunono (the largest), and Fakaofo. Apia is Tokelau's port of entry. The Polynesian inhabitants have a subsistence economy; the chief export is copra. The atolls are subject to occasional tropical cyclones, which did severe damage in 1966 and 2005.

Explored by British commodore John Byron in 1765, the group was made a British protectorate in 1877 and was included (1916–25) in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony. In 1925 Tokelau was mandated to New Zealand, and from 1926 to 1948 the islands were administered from the Territory of Western Samoa (now Samoa). In 1948 New Zealand acquired formal sovereignty, and in 1949 Tokelau officially became part of New Zealand. The islands were granted limited self-government in 1996; New Zealand statute law does not apply to Tokelau without its consent. The signing of the Principles of Partnerships with New Zealand in 2003 spelled out the relationship between two and furthered self government in Tokelau. A referendum (2006) on ending New Zealand's rule over Tokelau failed to win the two-thirds majority required for passage.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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