Economic Determinism in the History of New Zealand

Condliffe's New Zealand in the Making (1930) is a classic economic history. To Condliffe, the shaping influences on New Zealand's development were those of international trade: "To state this coincidence of New Zealand development with the movements of the general level of world-prices is to do no more than draw attention to the fact that progress in New Zealand is largely dependent upon economic conditions in the outside world, and especially in her chief market, Great Britain. . . . The organisation of her economic life, therefore, is most conveniently and profitably studied in the setting provided by her place in a world-economy." (And Condliffe implies that other historical factors—social, political, and so on—are dependent on the economic factors.)

Condliffe's Periods in New Zealand History
Period: Beginning Date	Economic Causes	NZ Developments
Settlement: 1840	Attempt at self-sufficient colonization and farming	Economic distress, unemployment, beginnings of pastoralism
Gold Discoveries: 1851	Discoveries of gold in OZ and NZ, opening markets close at hand	Immigration, influx of capital, prosperity for pastoralists and farmers
Borrowing, Boom, and Depression: 1870	Germany adopts gold standard, prompting falls in prices worldwide	Vogel program of public works creates artificial boom, followed by depression, with political sentiment building toward Liberal-Labour reforms
Prosperity and Rising Prices: 1895	Gold discoveries in Transvaal prompt rise in prices worldwide	Exploitation of refrigeration for development of meat and dairy industries, land boom, population growth
Falling Prices: 1921	Fluctuations, and general downward spiral	Agricultural depression, moves toward agrarian socialism, unemployment, strains on public finance

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