Story: Law of the sea
New Zealand was one of the last places in the world to be discovered and colonised by Europeans. It is the southernmost habitable land mass. Until Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand in 1642, it was usually marked on maps as ‘terra australis incognita’ (unknown southern land). This isolation and dependence on the maritime powers of Britain and the United States has had a strong influence on New Zealand's attitude towards international management of the oceans. For many years, New Zealand favoured the concept of freedom of the seas.
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