Kanak people
The earliest history of Europeans arriving on these islands is when Captain Cook of the United Kingdom landed in these islands in 1775 at a time when there were reportedly 70,000 Kanaks living in the archipelago. Cook gave the name "New Caledonia" to these islands, after Caledonia, his Scottish highlands.
Kanak people
An agreement called the Matignon Accord followed on 6 November 1988 between the French and the Kanaks, which had the majority support of 80% of the French people. According to the Matignon Accord (or Matignon Agreement) a referendum on independence was proposed to be held by 1998. However, two of the Kanak leaders who had signed the agreement, Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Yeiwene Yeiwene, were assassinated on 4 May 1989 by a Kanak activist. The Kanak independence activists were unhappy with the situation as they felt that France would never allow them independence.