In the Maori language, Akaroa means "long port". Nestled on the edge of the Banks Peninsula, on the shores of French Bay, this charming little place of 800 inhabitants is a must for any French visitor to the South Island. In 1838, the whaling captain Jean Langlois succeeded in negotiating with the local population to purchase 12,000 hectares for the sum of 1,000 francs. On his return to France, he founded the Compagnie Nanto-Bordelaise with the aim of colonizing New Zealand. He undertook to gather 57 people to accompany him, aboard the Comte de Paris escorted by the warship L'Aube, whose commander was Charles Lavaud. Upon arriving at Bay of Islands, Lavaud learned of the Treaty of Waitangi and had no choice but to face the facts: the country was now under British sovereignty. The HMS Britomart was immediately sent to erect the British flag in Akaroa, so that when the French arrived on August 17, 1840, the Union Jack was already flying in the harbor. The dispute for possession of the land lasted a long time, and eventually the Nanto-Bordelaise Company had to sell it to its competitor, the New Zealand Company. Despite the defeat, some Frenchmen decided to stay, and the village retains visible traces of this presence in its street names and general atmosphere. In 1991, a commemorative plaque was placed at the French Settlers Memorial by Michel Rocard, Prime Minister at the time under François Mitterand.

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