By 1861 residents of New Zealand had been dealing with Americans for years, and they recognized that the United States was already an important power on the Pacific Rim. Thus, when the American Civil War broke out, people in New Zealand paid careful attention. Newspapers, private papers, and official records reveal the war's effect in New Zealand. Although New Zealanders opposed slavery, they supported the South's right to secede. Indeed, several provinces were advocating "separation" in 1861 and saw the Civil War as a cautionary tale demonstrating the danger of waiting to address irreconcilable differences. As the war unfolded, editors and government officials throughout New Zealand also worried about the wider economic effect of the war and the threat of American privateers attacking shipping and cities in the British colony.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.