European discovery of New Zealand


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Early Pacific journeys

Early Pacific journeys

Early Pacific journeys

In the 16th and early 17th centuries the central Pacific Ocean became well known to Spanish and Portuguese navigators. This map shows the paths travelled by Fernão de Magalhães (Ferdinand Magellan, 1521) and Pedro Fernandes de Queirós (1605–6). The first Englishman to cross the Pacific was Francis Drake, who sailed around the globe between 1577 and 1580. His path in the Pacific is also shown. It was not until Abel Tasman’s voyage (1642) that two islands in the far south-west of the Pacific – today’s New Zealand – were discovered.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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