May 10, 2016
Ministry opens Spanish door for conspiracy theorists
AUT history professor Paul Moon is slamming a decision by the Minstry for Culture and Heritage to update its website to include the possibility Spanish or Portuguese reached New Zealand before Abel Tasman.
The Te Ara history site says ships out of Callao in Peru, Acapulco in Mexico, or from the East Indies may have reached, or become wrecked on the New Zealand coast.
Dr Moon says while the site's language is cautious, there should be no such admission without tangible evidence – and no such evidence has ever turned up.
He says the ministry’s action could be used by conspiracy theorists to boost claims New Zealand was settled prior to the Maori arrival.
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