History of New Zealand
The history of New Zealand dates back at least 700 years to when it was discovered and settled by Polynesians, who developed a distinct Māori culture centred on kinship links and land. The first European explorer to sight New Zealand was Dutch navigator Abel Tasman on 13 December 1642. The Dutch were also the first non-natives to explore and chart New Zealand's coastline. Captain James Cook, who reached New Zealand in October 1769 on the first of his three voyages, was the first European explorer to circumnavigate and map New Zealand. From the late 18th century, the country was regularly visited by explorers and other sailors, missionaries, traders and adventurers. In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British Crown and various Māori chiefs, bringing New Zealand into the British Empire and giving Māori the same rights as British subjects. There was extensive British settlement throughout the rest of the century and into the early part of the next century. War and the imposition of a European economic and legal system led to most of New Zealand's land passing from Māori to Pākehā (European) ownership, and most Māori subsequently became impoverished.
Ireland–New Zealand relations
Both Irish and New Zealand soldiers fought side-by-side for the British Empire during the Second Boer War from 1899–1902 and World War I from 1914–1918, especially during the Gallipoli Campaign. During the Easter Rising in 1916 and when Ireland declared its independence from the United Kingdom in 1919, many Irish-New Zealanders became involved in the Irish cause, however, their numbers were never great which may have been attributed to the fact that most of those with Irish origins in the country were already second generation New Zealanders with loose connections with Ireland. By 1947, New Zealand essentially became an independent nation after accepting the Statute of Westminster Adopting Act.