Mangaia: History
Excavation of the Tangatatau Rockshelter shows that Mangaia was first settled around 1000 CE. According to oral tradition, the island was not discovered, but emerged from the underworld of Avaiki already populated. It was later further settled from Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Atiu, Tonga and Tahiti. Adze heads and basalt tools show that trading contact was maintained with Rarotonga, Samoa, and Raiatea in the Society Islands. While sweet potato was likely grown as a crop earlier in the Pacific, the archaeological site at the Tangatatau Rockshelter is currently the earliest recorded location showing sweet potato cultivation in Polynesia. Initially settlement was focused on the coastal villages, but by the 16th century it had shifted inland and inter-island trade had virtually disappeared. Oral histories of this era are of chiefs competing for land and status.
Europeans first came to the island on 29 March 1777 with the arrival of Captain James Cook. It was visited by two more ships, one of which was possibly HMS Bounty, before the arrival of John Williams of the London Missionary Society in 1823. Williams was unable to land, but in 1824 he returned and left behind two preachers from Taha'a, who began to convert the islands to Christianity.
Before the arrival of the missionaries, Mangaian society was characterised by a violent struggle between war-leaders competing for the title of mangaia (supreme temporal power), with ariki serving as priests rather than hereditary chiefs. The last mangaia, Pangemiro, died shortly after the missionaries' arrival, and the abolition of war under Christianity effectively froze the power structure and the division of land and titles in the state they had been in 1823. The Numangatini Ariki became dominant, with the title alternating between two branches of the family.
In 1888 Mangaia became a British protectorate as part of the Cook Islands Federation. In 1901 it was annexed by New Zealand. Post-annexation the island exported citrus, bananas and coffee to New Zealand, but exports ceased during the First World War. In 1946 pineapple growing was introduced and in the 1960s and 1970s Mangaia had a thriving export industry. The collapse of this industry in the 1980s and a subsequent economic crisis in 1996 has led to the island's gradual depopulation.
Mangaia was severely damaged by Cyclone Trina in December 2001. The slow-moving cyclone delivered eight days of heavy rain, resulting in the worst flooding in 50 years. Parts of the island were inundated with up to 2 m (6.6 ft) of water, and 95% of the taro crop and 60% of the livestock were destroyed. The resulting food shortage saw the IFRC distribute food to all of the island's residents. Due to the severity of damage caused by Trina, its name was later retired.