History
Wikipedia’s History of the Cook Islands gives a good historical rundown of the Cooks.
Quick Timeline
• 900-1200 – settled by migrants from Tahiti.
• 1606 – first recorded European landing by Portuguese-Spaniard Pedro Fernández de Quirós.
• 1773 & 1777 – British navigator Captain James Cook visited and named the islands the 'Hervey Islands' to honour a British Lord of the Admiralty.
• 1888 – became a British protectorate due to fears that France might occupy the territory as it had Tahiti.
• 1901 – The islands were included within the boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand.
• 1965 – the Cook Islands became a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand.
Sights