2018 New Caledonian independence referendum
New Caledonia was formally annexed by France in 1853, and Europeans and Polynesians, as well as other settlers, have since made the indigenous Kanaks a minority (27%, 11% and 39% respectively in the 2014 census). The territory was used as a penal colony from 1864 to 1897, and the Kanaks were "excluded from the French economy and from mining work, and ultimately confined to reservations". Between 1976 and 1988, conflicts between the French government and the independence movement saw periods of serious violence and disorder (culminating in the Ouvéa cave hostage taking in 1988), with the emerging Kanak independence movement gaining support from many Kanaks frustrated with their lower socio-economic status and lack of involvement in the economy, seen as problems caused by the French "exploitation". Though GDP per capita (nominal) is high at $38,921 and though New Caledonia is a major producer of nickel, there is significant inequality in income distribution, with many claiming that the mining revenue benefits people outside the territory and its (declining) mining communities.
Kanak people
The word 'Kanak' is derived from "kanaka maoli", a Hawaiian phrase meaning 'ordinary person' which was at one time applied indiscriminately by European explorers, traders and missionaries in Oceania to any non-European Pacific islander. Prior to European contact, there were no unified states in New Caledonia, and no single self-appellation used to refer to its inhabitants. Other words have been coined from "Kanak" in the past few generations: "Kanaky" is an ethno-political name for the island or the entire territory. "Kanéka" is a musical genre associated with the Kanak, stylistically a form of reggae with added flutes, percussion and harmonies. "Kaneka" often has political lyrics and is sung in Drehu, Paici or other Melanesian languages, or in French. The word "kanak" is grammatically invariable. The German racial epithet "Kanake" — which is now applied to all non-whites, even southern Europeans in some cases, and especially to Turkish immigrants — also derives from the same source, and was originally applied to people from German colonial possessions in Oceania.