filming location for movies from 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord
of the Rings' series. But the real history of New Zealand is older and more fascinating than anything you'd see in the movies!The First New Zealanders
The Maori people first arrived in New Zealand over 700 years ago. Maori are Polynesian people; they settled in New Zealand after traveling well over 1,000 miles of open ocean in large canoes. Europeans first made contact with the Maori in 1642. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman first sighted New Zealand. But when he and his crew tried to go ashore, the Maori resisted. A fight ensued and Tasman fled. Now that Europeans were aware of it, New Zealand found its way onto Dutch maps as New Zeeland,named after the Dutch province of Zeeland.
It wasn't until 1769 that Europeans returned. Captain James Cook (from Britain) mapped the coast, and more Europeans followed, bringing new trade items (including metal tools, weapons, and crops such as potatoes) as well as diseases. Just like in the Americas, European diseases killed many native inhabitants. Because of these diseases (and warfare), the Maori population dropped by roughly half by the end of the 1800s.
