Abel Tasman sights New Zealand (1642)
On December 13, 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight the islands that would later be known as New Zealand. While exploring the South Pacific, his expedition encountered the Māori people, resulting in a brief, hostile encounter. Tasman named the land "Staten Landt," believing it was connected to Staten Island near Cape Horn, before it was later renamed "Nova Zeelandia" by Dutch cartographers.
Source: gemini