History of the Cook Islands History of the Cook Islands The Cook Islands are named after Captain James Cook, who visited the islands in 1773 and 1777. The Cook Islands became a British protectorate in 1888. By 1900, the islands were annexed as British territory. In 1901, the islands were included within the boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand. The Cook Islands contain 15 islands in the group spread over a vast area in the South Pacific. The majority of islands are low coral atolls in the Northern Group, with Rarotonga, a volcanic island in the Southern Group, as the main administration and government
History of the Cook Islands landing in the islands when he set foot on Rakahanga. 1773 — Captain James Cook explored the islands and named them the Hervey Islands. Fifty years later they are renamed in his honour by Russian Admiral Adam Johann von Krusenstern. 1821 — English and Tahitian missionaries land in Aitutaki, become the first non-Polynesian settlers. 1823 — English missionary John Williams lands in Rarotonga, converting Makea Pori Ariki to Christianity. 1858 — The Cook Islands become united as a state, the Kingdom of Rarotonga. 1862 — Peruvian slave traders took a terrible toll on the islands of Penrhyn, Rakahanga and Pukapuka