Pre-independence relations During his
first voyage, British navigator
James Cook reached New Zealand on 6 October 1769. Secret directives had been supplied to Cook for this portion of his expedition, instructing him to search firstly for the fabled
Terra Australis and, if unsuccessful, to make instead as extensive an exploration of the New Zealand coast as resources allowed. The document that Cook was given declared that these missions were intended to further demonstrate
Great Britain's maritime prowess, to bring honour to the
Crown and to explore new opportunities for trade and navigation. For almost sixty years, the country remained under no sovereign rule; however, the British made claims to areas of the country where significant trade between New Zealand and Australia existed to be part of the
Colony of New South Wales. Formal British representation in New Zealand began with the posting of
James Busby from Australia to the islands in 1833 as the
British Resident, who was sent in response to the concerns of several northern
Māori leaders over the lawlessness of local foreign settlers. Since 1816, several Māori chiefs had travelled to England and the colonies to explore options for the establishment of a Māori government, and in 1834, Busby drafted the
Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand, ratified by several northern chiefs in 1835. As part of this process, King
William IV recognised and agreed to act as protector for the newly formed state. The
Treaty of Waitangi was formed, which was signed by several Māori chiefs and representatives of the
British Crown on 6 February 1840. The British also knew of
French intent to colonize New Zealand, and British sovereignty was hurriedly declared later in May of that year, just before the first French colony ships arrived in
Akaroa. New Zealand became a
British Colony in 1841 and, eleven years later, the
British Parliament passed the first fully implemented
Act to grant self-governance to the new colony. Formal British influence gradually diminished, as the power of successive
Governors waned with respect to that of the nascent
New Zealand Parliament. Dominion status followed in 1907, providing almost complete independence from the government of
Britain, and New Zealand separately joined the
League of Nations in 1926. The
Balfour declaration of 1926 emphasised the equal status of members of the
British Empire and their free association in the British Commonwealth (since 1949 the
Commonwealth of Nations). With the 1931
Statute of Westminster, the complete independence of the Dominions was confirmed by the
British Parliament, though this was not adopted in New Zealand until sometime later, through the
Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1947.
Settlers Much of the migration to New Zealand took place from the constituent countries of the British Isles. This was facilitated from 1839 by the
New Zealand Company, founded for colonization. The work of the
Otago Association and
Canterbury Association in establishing the primarily
Scottish settlement in
Dunedin and the primarily
English settlement in
Christchurch, respectively, encouraged further New Zealand-bound emigration from Britain. Around 80% of New Zealanders are of at least partially British ancestry, and an estimated 17% are entitled to British passports. == Toponymy ==