Polities
New Zealand
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New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean comprising the North Island and the South Island plus over 700 smaller islands, lying east of Australia across the Tasman Sea. Polynesians began to settle the islands between about 1280 and 1350 and developed a distinctive Maori culture; in 1840 representatives of the United Kingdom and Maori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which paved the way for Britain's declaration of sovereignty later that year and the establishment of the Colony of New Zealand in 1841. New Zealand became a dominion in 1907, and it gained full statutory independence in 1947 while retaining the monarch as head of state. A developed country of around 5.3 million people, New Zealand was the first country to introduce a minimum wage and to give women the right to vote.
Facts
Start YearThe lead also states New Zealand gained full statutory independence in 1947, still retaining the monarch as head of state; 1907, the year New Zealand became a dominion, is recorded here as the country's own founding date, with 1947 as a further constitutional milestone rather than a competing founding. Sources
1. Wikipedia: New Zealand
WikipediaIntroductionQuote, Introduction
New Zealand became a dominion in 1907; it gained full statutory independence in 1947, retaining the monarch as head of state.
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