The British government laid claim to the Cook Islands. The British did not want the French to take the islands so New Zealand took control of the southern islands and the northern islands.The government of New Zealand had complete control of the islands until the 1960s. The Cook Islands began to govern themselves but New Zealand and the cook islands created a free association relationship ,
The people from the Cook Islands can live and work in New Zealand. Cook island depend on New Zealand to survive. The Cook Islands do not have many natural resources. They do not have resources to export to make money. Instead most of the things the people need to live have to be imported. Many of those imports come from New Zealand.
