It's just
a pinprick on the Pacific map, and yet despite its size (259 km squared)
Niue has acquired a long list of nicknames - Rock of Polynesia, the Island
on its Own, Island of Secrets, Wild Island - and more infamously, Savage
Island.
Explorer
Captain James Cook who tried to land there three times in 1774 coined
the latter name. Upon arrival he was greeted by the terrible vision
of what he thought were savage cannibals fresh from a grisly meal. In
reality, his 'welcoming' party had blackened their faces with ashes
and painted their teeth red with berry juice to ward off the newcomers.
Today
most Niueans laugh at the term 'Savage Islanders'. Such survival tactics
were necessary they say, against enemy marauders and slave traders.
Not only was Niue subjected to Samoan and then Tongan rule in pre-European
times, but they were also the target of South American slave traders
in the mid-1800s.
Survival
tactics of a different kind are being employed by Niueans today. With
a sparse population of around 1800, Niue is now engaging in a war to
lure foreigners.
Tourism provides much needed money for the small economy, and as many
tourists are finding out, the country is not a hard proposition to sell.
Niue is an elevated atoll and one …MORE |
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Letele, Roshni, Sham, Teleiai Su’a
Edwin, Ruta & Olo Elise on arrival at Faleolo Airport. |
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