The French exploration of New Zealand has been overshadowed by the achievements of British navigator Captain James Cook (1728-1779), but French navigators who visited Aotearoa's (New Zealand) shores named over 100 geographical places and significantly contributed to European knowledge about New Zealand. The honour of sailing the first French vessel into New Zealand waters in 1769 goes to Jean-François Marie de Surville (1717-1770).
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2006/the-french-exploration-of-new-zealand/.