French settlers arrive at Akaroa
- When
- 16 August 1840
- Where
- Akaroa
- Reach
- Local
Sixty-three French and German settlers landed on Banks Peninsula, days after a British warship had raised the flag to forestall exactly that.
The Nanto-Bordelaise Company’s venture arrived to find British sovereignty already proclaimed. The settlers stayed anyway, and Akaroa kept French street names and a distinct character. The episode is often told as a near-miss for a French New Zealand, though the settlement was small and the British claim was never realistically in doubt after May 1840.
Regions affected
Sources
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