THE COLONISATION OF NEW ZEALAND

Under the leadership of Briti sh statesman Edward Gibbon Wakefi eld, the fi rst Briti sh
colonists to New Zealand arrived at Port Nicholson on North Island.

In 1642, a Dutch navigator Abel Tasman became the fi rst European to discover the South
Pacifi c Island group that later became known as New Zealand. While att empti ng to land,
several of Tasman’s crew members were killed by warriors from the nati ve Maori people,
who interpreted the Europeans’ exchange of trumpet signals as a prelude to batt le. The
islands, which were named aft er the Dutch province of Zeeland, did not att ract much
additi onal European att enti on unti l the late 18th century, when English explorer Captain
James Cook traveled through the area and wrote detailed accounts of New Zealand.
Whalers, missionaries, and traders followed, and in 1840 Britain formally annexed the
islands and established New Zealand’s fi rst permanent European sett lement at
Wellington. That year, the Maori signed the Treaty of Waitangi, by which they recognized
Briti sh sovereignty in exchange for guaranteed possession of their land. However, armed
territorial confl ict between the Maori and white sett lers conti nued unti l 1870, when
there were a few Maori people left to resist the European encroachment.

Originally part of the Australian colony of New South Wales, New Zealand became a
separate colony in 1841 and was made self-governing in 1852. Dominion status was
att ained in 1907, and full independence was granted in 1931 and rati fi ed by New Zealand
in 1947.

WILLIAM WALLACE

Sir William Wallace was a Scotti sh knight who became one of the main leaders during the
First War of Scotti sh Independence.

Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Batt le of Sti rling
Bridge in September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served unti l his
defeat at the Batt le of Falkirk in July 1298. In August 1305, Wallace was captured in
Robroyston, near Glasgow, and handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him
hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians.

Since his death, Wallace has obtained an iconic status far beyond his homeland. He is the
protagonist of Blind Harry's 15th-century epic poem The Wallace and the subject of
literary works by Jane Porter and Sir Walter Scott , and of the Academy Award-winning
fi lm Braveheart.