History
The Chatham Islands were formed aeons ago by volcanic upthrust and were first inhabited by the Moriori tribe, which arrived between 500 and 1100 years ago. Its distinctive Polynesian culture was mainly peaceful but the situation changed for the worse with the arrival of Europeans in 1791 and followed by groups of mainland Maori in the mid-1800s. By the beginning of the 20th century there were just 12 full-blooded Moriori left and, in 1933, the last full-blooded Moriori died.
