Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 5.1 million is of European descent the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. New Zealand became a dominion in 1907 it gained full statutory independence in 1947, and the British monarch remained the head of state. Subsequently, a series of conflicts between the colonial government and Māori tribes resulted in the alienation and confiscation of large amounts of Māori land. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which in its English version declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. Between about 12, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. Owing to their remoteness, the islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable landmass to be settled by humans. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand is about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering 268,021 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi). It consists of two main landmasses-the North Island ( Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island ( Te Waipounamu)-and over 700 smaller islands. New Zealand ( Māori: Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
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