New Zealand - Where is old Zealand? how did it get it's name?

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alanwoollcombe

Zeeland (not Zealand) is a province in Holland, a coastal strip bordering Belgium. It contains a number of islands and about half of its area is water - hence the name, meaning sea-land.

How New Zealand got its name: In 1642 the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman became the first European to discover New Zealand, which he named 'Staten Landt' on his maps, thinking it was an island off Chile sighted in 1616. When it was realized that they were two different places, the Dutch mapmakers gave the archipelago the Latin name 'Nova Zeelandia' after the Dutch province. The Latin became the Dutch 'Nieuw Zeeland', which was in turn misspelled 'New Zealand' by the English explorer Captain James Cook.

Abel Tasman also discovered an island off Australia which he named Van Diemen's Land, but was later given the more appropriate name of Tasmania.

the-exile

The first Europeans known to have reached New Zealand were led by Abel Janszoon Tasman, who sailed up the west coasts of the South and North Islands in 1642. He named it Staten Landt, believing it to be part of the land Jacob Le Maire had seen in 1616 off the coast of Chile. Staten Landt appeared on Tasman's first maps of New Zealand, but this was changed by Dutch cartographers to Nova Zeelandia, after the Dutch province of Zeeland, some time after Hendrik Brouwer proved the supposedly South American land to be an island in 1643. The Latin Nova Zeelandia became Nieuw Zeeland in Dutch. Captain James Cook subsequently called the archipelago New Zealand (a slight corruption, as Zealand is not an alternative spelling of Zeeland, a province in the Netherlands, but of SjÃ¦lland, the island in Denmark that includes Copenhagen), although the MÄori names he recorded for the North and South Islands (as Aehei No Mouwe and Tovy Poenammu respectively[1]) were rejected, and the main three islands became known as North, Middle and South, with the Middle Island being later called the South Island, and the earlier South Island becoming Stewart Island.

clairekell

Zeeland is in the Netherlands, Abel Tasman - dutch, was the first westerner to discover New Zealand (Aotearoa). He named it after Zeeland.

John A

I have always thought that Old Zealand is the present day Dutch province of Zeeland.

imdashti

Zealand is the largest Island of Denmark where the country's capital Copenhagen is located. In English, it is spelled also as Seeland. In Danish, it is spelled as Sjaelland.

doglas p

I do not know but Zeeland,MI is only 30 miles from here.

jayktee96

Well there's probably no connection , but Zealand (english) is the largest of the Danish islands on which Copenhagen lies. The Danish name is SjÅ“lland.

sarahlouu13

Zeeland is a part of the Netherlands - who stumbled on New Zealand and liked what we had done with New York and copied the idea!!

GANJI

its in holland

donua1022

New Zealand is where i am writing this from, new Zealand is a country in the South -western Pacific Ocean, consisting of two Large Island (north island the South Island.New Zealand is also known as Aotearoa, which means the land of the Long White Cloud, and think that it was named by captain cook, not to sure of that, our population is 4,147,972 Million, so that is just a bit of information on N.Z. cheers

IloveMarmite

Is there such a place !!!

Pauline

It is just south of Antarctica

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