By: Eris Lowdermilk
The president of the archipelago, Thierry Santa, desires for New Caledonia to remain a French territory.
The archipelago has a population of 270,000, including native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and extreme discrimination, aas well as descendants of European colonizers.
New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III, who was Napoleon’s nephew and heir and was recognized for decades as a prison colony. It became regarded as an overseas territory after World War II, and French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957.
Antoine-Perron, Charlotte. (2020, October 4). New Caledonia voters choose to stay part of France. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/new-caledonia-noumea-archive-france-eccc923e19bed8be79e62a7a76bbc693
