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NEW CALEDONIA By: sara
New Caledonia is located as a sub region of Melanesia in the southwest pacific. New Caledonia adopted the Kanak Flag; the adoption made new Caledonia one of the few countries in the world with two national flags. The country/ territory are made up of a main island called Grande Terre. There are many reefs surrounding this area & it is known as the largest & most mountainous island in the world. Europeans first sighted New Caledonia in the early 18 century. The British explorer James cook was the man who sighted Grande Terre and named it New Caledonia meaning Scotland in Latin. Later on sandalwood traders were welcomed. As supplies became scarcer and started to diminish, the traders became increasingly abusive. When the Europeans came along not to long after they brought their diseases along with them killing many native people who did not know what it was or how to treat it. The diseases some of the European settlers brought along where smallpox, the measles, influenza, and leprosy (a very bad skin disease). The people started to get angry with all of these new people coming in their home, messing things up and bringing their new influences and diseases in and did something about it. The next American ship that came wasn’t lucky. The people of the Pauma Clan attacked and ate the Americans adored the ship. Today New Caledonia is considered one of the world’s most critically endangered and botanically most important hot spots. There is another part to New Caledonia which is deeply submerged under water called Zealand. This island is an isolated region and said to be the Noah’s ark of all the other islands. They call it the Noahs ark because it is like a snapshot of prehistoric forests. The country still shelters an extraordinary diversity of unique plants and animals. Also has the second largest coral reef in the world.