Zealanders took pride that a countryman, Edmund Hillary, gave Queen Elizabeth II a coronation gift by reaching the summit of Mount Everest. From the 1890s, the economy had been based almost entirely on the export of frozen meat and dairy products to Britain, and in 1961, the share of New Zealand exports going to the United Kingdom was still at slightly over 51%, with approximately 15% going to other European countries. The 1960s was a decade of rising prosperity for most New Zealanders, but from 1965 there were also protests – in support of women's rights and the nascent ecological movement, and against the Vietnam War. New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam War signalled a major breakaway from British influence even though it was brought about primarily because of New Zealand's obligations under the ANZUS Treaty and growing concerns about Communist influences in the Asia-Pacific region. As a result, the United States pressured the governments of Australia and New Zealand to contribute to the war in Vietnam, eventually resulting in both nations sending forces, with New Zealand's first troops arriving in 1965. The Vietnam War was the first conflict that New Zealand entered that did not involve Britain or any other Commonwealth nations other than Australia. Although the war was largely unpopular in New Zealand, the conflict brought closer ties between New Zealand and the United States militarily, at least until 1986 when New Zealand was suspended from ANZUS due to its anti-nuclear policy. Irrespective of political developments, many New Zealanders still perceived themselves as a distinctive outlying branch of the United Kingdom until at least the 1970s. In 1973 Britain joined the European Community and abrogated its preferential trade agreements with New Zealand, forcing New Zealand to not only find new markets but also re-examine its national identity and place in the world. Māori urbanisation Māori always had a high birth rate; that was neutralised by a high death rate until modern public health measures became effective in the 20th century when tuberculosis deaths and infant mortality declined sharply. Life expectancy grew from 49 years in 1926 to 60 years in 1961 and the total numbers grew rapidly. Many Māori served in the Second World War and learned how to cope in the modern urban world; others moved from their rural homes to the cities to take up jobs vacated by Pākehā servicemen. The shift to the cities was