before 1858, when the island was therefore territorium nullius, and the French occupation then was sufficient and legally continuing. South Island of New Zealand In 1840, the newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, Captain William Hobson of the Royal Navy, following instructions from the British government, declared the Middle Island of New Zealand (later known as the "South Island") as terra nullius, and therefore fit for occupation by European settlers. Hobson's decision was also influenced by a small party of French settlers heading towards Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula to settle in 1840. South America Patagonia Patagonia was according to some considerations regarded a terra nullius in the 19th century. This notion ignored the Spanish Crown's recognition of indigenous Mapuche sovereignty and is considered by scholars Nahuelpán and Antimil to have set the stage for an era of Chilean "republican colonialism". Limits of national jurisdiction and sovereignty View the following chart as if it was a "cross-section" of Earth, stretching from underground to outer space. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" cellpadding="5" |+Limits of national jurisdiction and sovereignty |- |style="background:#ff9090;color:black;border:3px dashed red;"colspan="8"| Outer space (including Earth's orbits; the Moon and other celestial bodies, and their orbits) |- |style="background:#90ff90;color:black;border:2px solid black;"colspan="2"| national airspace |style="background:yellow;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| territorial waters airspace |style="background:yellow;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| contiguous zone airspace |style="background:#ff9090;color:black;border:2px solid black;"colspan="4"| international airspace |- |style="background:#90ff90;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| territorial land surface |style="background:#90ff90;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| internal waters' surface |style="background:#90ff90;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| territorial waters' surface |style="background:yellow;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| contiguous zone surface waters |style="background:yellow;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| exclusive economic zone waters' surface |style="background:#ff9090;color:black;border:2px solid black;"colspan="3"| international waters' surface |- style="color:black;" |style="background:#90ff90;border:2px solid black;"colspan="2"| internal waters |style="background:#90ff90;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| territorial waters |style="background:yellow;color:black;border:2px solid black;"colspan="2"| exclusive economic zone |style="background:#ff9090;color:black;border:2px solid black;"colspan="3"| international waters |- |style="background:#90ff90;color:black; border:2px solid black;"colspan="2" rowspan="2"| under ground surface in land territory |style="background:#90ff90;color:black; border:2px solid black;"| surface waters overlying continental shelf |style="background:yellow;color:black;border:2px solid black;"colspan="2"| surface waters overlying continental shelf |style="background:yellow;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| surface waters overlying extended continental shelf |style="background:#ff9090;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| international waters' seabed surface |- |style="background:#90ff90;color:black;border:2px solid black;"colspan="3"| beneath continental shelf seabed |style="background:yellow;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| beneath extended continental shelf seabed |style="background:#ff9090;color:black;border:2px solid black;"| international waters beneath seabed |} See also Appropriation concepts Footnotes References Sources book info here. svenlindqvist.net (author's website). Further reading External links – Governor Burke's 1835 proclamation of terra nullius. – analysis of Michael Conner's denial of terra nullius (The Invention of Terra Nullius). . . . Common law Constitutional state types International law Legal fictions Latin