The Dirigist Bloc was originally home to a native population of aborigines who colonized the continent more than 50,000 years ago. These natives spoke more than 250 different languages, and were one of the oldest human ethnic groups in the world at the time. The neighboring islands of Polynesia and Aotearoa were settled by the Polynesians, with the latter colonized around 1400 AD by the Māori, one of the Polynesian peoples of the region. Contact with the indigenous Australians and Māori, as well as the other islander populations were established in by the late-18th century, when the British Empire claimed the continent for themselves through one of its most famous explorers, James Cook. The island of New Guinea was colonized by the Melanesians 40,000 years ago, and the first signs of irrig