What if There Was An Eighth Continent? (Zealandia) 

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There's a hole continent under water... **Dutch immigration overflows**

Every nationalist kiwi is now teary eyed, sad at what could have been: their long dreamt desire of being above Australia.

Is it just me or does Zealandia look like somebody absolutely just McFreaking losing it on the dance floor?

0:09 Says New Zealand Is Forgotten on Map Doesn't realize he Forgot to Add Sri Lanka

I think we all know what your next video is: What if Super Kiwis existed???

I feel like the Dutch may have decided to colonize New Zealandia and Australia if this timeline existed. The Dutch mainly avoided colonizing the region due to a lack of resources, however with Zealandia there'd be two viable places for colonization that are near one another.

It's okay New Zealand. Australians always remember you even if other people forget.

Kiwis are just emus friendlier and smaller little brother *Change my mind*

Holy shit. Super kiwis. Life on Earth would have so different...

What if Zelandia and Atlantis went to war with each other long ago that resulted in the destruction and sinking of both civilizations?

So, there's one quibble I have with this: The East Australian Current runs further west than you have it running in this vid, pretty much down the coast of Queensland to Byron Bay, where it then heads out into the Pacific, past Lord Howe Island and eventually hitting the North Island of New Zealand. With the above land mass, you'd still have warm water heading south through the gap and the west coast of Zealandia, with a confluence where this warmer water meets the cold waters of the Southern Circumpolar Current is turned north by the southernmost tip of Zealandia. Amongst other things, this means you'd have one heck of a fishery off of the coast of New South Wales/Western Zealandia, because you'd have cold nutrient rich water meeting warm water (a real-world example of this is where the Labrador Current meets the Gulf Stream around Newfoundland, which made the Northwest Atlantic Cod Fishery). I don't know if it would be as big as said industry, but it would still probably be pretty impressive. It would also mean that Eastern Australia would probably be about the same temperature-wise as in real life, but really importantly, it would likely be wetter along the Southeast coast. You could end up with temperate rainforest all the way down to Melbourne. Another effect of all this is that when Federation comes up in the late 19th century, it's going to change everything. New Zealand very nearly ended up a state of Australia IRL, and if it's a more fertile land than Australia is, then it may end up being populous enough that when the arguments for Federation start, it's New Zealand arguing about if Australia should join their federation instead of the other way around. And if you do end up with the two as one state, it changes everything for the First Australians. The Treaty of Waitangi gives a legal precedent for a similar treaty to be made with the First Australians, so they don't get treated as wildlife until 1963, they would have had recognised land rights nearly 100 years before they got them IRL, and so many other cruelties and privations that were legitimised in Australia would not have happened. I'm not saying it would have made racism magically disappear from Australia, but it would have improved matters a lot.

What if all oceans become land, and all land become oceanes

6:20 "most warmest"

The way you pronounced Maori was priceless my family wouldn't be happy

Meanwhile in an alternate timeline: “What if New Zealand was an island?”

what if india was still an island? what if all the water and land swapped? what if the sea level dropped by 100 feet? What if the taliban took over pakistan? what if the ottomans conquered europe? What if the stock market crashed again? What if the sea level rose by 20 feet?

Did anyone else think Zealandia's shape looked like someone jumping in joy?

"May-or-ee" haha, it's "Mao-ree" Also we Aussies like to think of Kiwis as being closer than you make out to be at the end; we are pretty close! :)

Tiny? Well, its alot bigger than UK.

Gonna summarise: Not much would happen really, New Zealand would just be bigger

Plot twist. WHAT IF ZEALANDIA IS ATLANTIS??? edit: holy sh*t you guys

I'd feel like the Maori would have been very powerful in this timeline, since they would have access to ores and other resources that are far scarcer on the smaller islands, so it could have happened that they put up enough of a fight to still be a majority population on Zealandia and subsequently, Australia would have been overrun less. I'd also think that this ethnical divide would pretty much be the mountains, with the europeans being better equipped to withstand cold environments.

New Zealand: *exists* Britian: Hippity hoppity this land is now my property.

Really interesting video when you come from New Zealand.

Wouldn't it be more likely to be named New Zealand as it was named by the Dutch *WHO FIRST DISCOVERED IT (NOT COOK)* for Zeeland (a province of the Netherlands). So it wouldn't be Zealandia because that was already a place.

"Cooke discovered Australia and new Zealand" *cries in tasman*

I got worried for a second that he'd somehow found out about our super kiwis but it was just a sarcastic joke lol. Don't worry guys, Project Flying Kiwi is still a go. Repeat, Flying Kiwi is still a go. Actually this interests me. New Zealand doesn't have native terrestrial mammals and so with a larger landmass a much more diverse and resilient ecosystem may have appeared. With the arrival of the Maori, rats, and pigs and such, I still think the ecosystem would have been damaged but perhaps some now extinct species like Moa and Haast's Eagle would be alive today. Regarding the wars. Despite the Maori being technologically outgunned they were not fools, and had a long established warrior culture with many wars against other tribes. The larger landmass could have lessened the warrior nature of the Maori- with resources being more plentiful- as easily as it could have increased it- with more room for more people. Overall, the larger land area, combined with the Maori being one of the quicker peoples to adapt to european colonialism, could well mean the Maori wars may have been longer and harder than they were.

"Super-kiwis" I don't why but I laughed at that part.

What if Jimmy ran AlternateHistoryHub instead of you?

What if the nuclear bomb was never invented?

Zealandia look like some kid trying to high-five mid-air

Okay. But doesn't Zealandia look like an upright dancing cat? With it's left arm and left leg in the air?

The thought of Zealandia and Australia being like twins and getting along brings a tear to my eye.

Anyone Get it why The country name is New Zealand Uhh anyone??? Zealandia goes underwater Thus, New Zealand Was Born

Glad to see New Zealand is getting noticed for once. But Honestly I think the continent would just end up being part of Australia.

Don't worry NZ, UK will always remember you

Zelandia looks like a man with a skirt trying to do the whip and nae nae with confetti flying out of his hand.

but hey that's just history a ALTERNATE history

AHH: May-or-ee Me: TRIGGERED

New Zealand is to Australia what Canada is to the United States

As an Australian I really liked this

It's a bird It's a plane It's Super Kiwi

"Let your imagination run wild on that one." Me: *inhales* *UNICORNSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS*

Wow, this is fantastic, especially the last photos showing a fictional night-view on Zealandia. I heard of this lost continet, but had no idea that it existed until so recently.

The way he pronounced "Maori's" Mayories??

Australia and Zealandia would join forces to become the South Pacific Empire and we would rule the earth with millions of maori warriors

God, I wish this was real. It would be well wicked.

What if USA never bought Alaska?

What if George Washington became King of America?

MOW-REE NOT MAY-ORI REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

When Zealandia exists. Australia: GETS TRIGGERED.

Hmmm, because I am "that guy", I'd like to point out that Australia had been colonized for 40,000 years before New Zealand by the aboriginals. Given that the Zealandian continent would be much closer to Australia, wouldn't there be a pretty high chance of aboriginals populating the continent first? Especially if the land is much more fertile than Australia's, that could have changed the development of civilization in the South Pacific...

'Let your imagination run wild on that one' I imagined unicorns.

For those of you that actually care, Maori is not pronounced "may-or-ee", it's pronounced "mah-oree" roll the "r".

2:39 God Dammit Zealandia!

do a what if the British isles where connected to mainland Europe

I'm just saying Australia was colonised by its aboriginal natives 100 000 years ago and with Zealandia being that close it would be colonised by natives Australians though

If Zealandia became more populated than Australia (as it probably would), then would that mean that Australia and New Zealand's roles would be swapped?

4:59 highly inaccurate ! New Zealand was discovered by the Dutch in 1642 (Abel Tasman) and Australia even before that !!! By the way still a good video

“Unknown lands” What a very imperial way to describe a place where people already live.

Time to drain the ocean

now scientists need to rise Zealandia out of the water

Pls don't say it like May Ori. Say it like M-Ow-Ri. Sorry it was annoying me.

I think that you underestimate the Maori. The Maori were the only natives to defend large part of their country or countries in the armed conflict. Moreover, the Maori relatively quickly find their way around the courts of law.

Zealandia looks like a wizard bowling playing Cricket

I've always wondered with sea explorers, especially in the East; what drove them to sail huge distances without knowing anything about other islands or landmasses? Why would they do it? It just seems surreal to me. Also I really wish Zealandia existed as in not (almost) drowned by the sea

00:10 Sri Lanka: Ishtar imma head out

New Zealand has a fairly grand vacation and wold attract pion sites, so chances are, this number would largely increase, and with the cold, as well as the mountains that would grow from the Pacific and Australian plates, making for a much more glorious ski and winter season, as well as much easier access to Antarctica, for A)trips, for the public (possibly expensive as it is cold) and B)a lot more, and easier science expeditions, which might also bring in more income for New Zealand/Zealandea.

Anyone else from New Zealand

As a half Australian and half Kiwi, I love this video, keep it up :)

in what alternate history does james cook discover new zealand (named after dutch province) find new zealand first and not the dutch

If Mexico won the American and Mexican war

am i the only one who gets triggered every time he pronounces Maori may-your-ree.

The Dutch discovered Australia and New Zealand, Australia was once called New Holland and New Zealand is called after Zeeland and discovered by Willem Janszoon

Im sorry but new zealand was discoved by abel tasman and willem janszoon made the first documented discovery of australia in 1606 before cook was born

What makes you think that the Polynesians would find Zealandia in 1200 BC? In our timeline, they got there in 1200 AD. In 1200 BC, the polynesian people didn't exist.

I have a question, Is it still drifting and if yes will New Zealand be underwater? in the future

I'm pretty sure that Dutch discovered New Zealand, or Zeeland, as they called it.

*_Zealandia is the next Canada_*

What if the United States had annexed Canada during the war of 1812?

I'd love to see a video on "what if the Gallipoli landings were successful in 1915" that could have completely changed the First World War and in turn potentially our whole reality.

I am pretty sure that Cook didn't discover Australia and new Zealand.

As an Australian, I would be so happy if Zealandia existed and stopped the East Australian Current. Because it would be freezing cold here instead of boiling fucking hot, and being cold is better than being hot.

that pronunciation of Maori... ugh.... kill me

Wouldn't it make more sense that Zealandia is populated by Aboriginal people from Australia? Polynesians were the best sailors in the world which is why they migrated to New Zealand so late, but in this timeline Zealandia is about as close to the east coast of Australia as Australia is currently to Indonesia on the north coast, and Australia and Indonesia had trade dating back ages. In this timeline surely Aboriginals would have moved to Zealandia much earlier, especially if the climates were better?

"The anglosphere" art was perfect

As an Australian this is particularly interesting. The Dutch actually reached Australia in the early 1600s, and New Zealand in 1642. They didn’t take a huge amount of interest though, and I wonder if they would have in this situation. I imagine though that it would still have been the British who first tried to colonise. The Chinese probably reached Aus much earlier but they had little interest in colonisation and it would be unlikely that they would have found Zealandia in this scenario. I think you would be right in saying that Zealandia would be the greater focus for colonisation, though I wouldn’t imagine the overall migration to Aus/Zealandia to be much higher, just more focused on the latter. Given the presumably much larger population of Maori (MOW-ri), and the real-life history of war with the colonisers (as opposed to in Australia where conflict was largely very localised), the colonisers of Zealandia would probably have much greater difficulty displacing the locals, and should they eventually reign supreme, the country would be much more evenly split between the two ethnicities.

It is obvious United Kingdom would have colonized all one continent or share with France and Portugal.

What if Rome didn't fall so the dark ages wouldn't happen

4:31 Rebel Alliance Starbird! Star Wars was real!CONFIRMED 2017

Finally, Old Zealand.

Cook didn't discover New Zealand, Able Tasman did.

So your saying Australia and New Zealand swap places

FACKEN KEEWEES. jk, you know we brits love you (don't tell the Australians) :*

There may be 3 countries on Zealandia as the Dutch and French may have tried to colonise there as well as the British.

Woah Woah Woah. Hold up. When Zealandia and Australia were connected it looked like Skull Island. I knew the map of Skull Island looked familiar to me.

Having been to New Zealand, I must say the native/Polynesian-based culture is pronounced "Mow-ree," not "May-or-ee." Also, what's keeping the Ausie Aborigines from colonizing Zealandia in this scenario?

as a kiwi my self i approve this. hopefully now ppl will stop calling us aussies :P

Zelandia: *exists* British empire: *commits an even bigger genocide*