Territorial claims in Antarctica south of the Straits of Magellan (Terra Australis, and Tierra del Fuego and by extension the entire continent of Antarctica). This grant established, according to Argentina and Chile, that an "animus occupandi" existed on the part of Spain in Antarctica. Spain's sovereignty claim over parts of Antarctica was, according to Chile and Argentina, internationally recognized with the "Inter caetera" bull of 1493 and the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494. Argentina and Chile treat these treaties as legal international treaties mediated by the Catholic Church that was at that time a recognized arbiter in such matters. Each country currently has claim
Antarctica New Zealand permanent base in Antarctica. From 1965 to 1988 the person responsible for much of Scott Base development as head of the Antarctic Division of the DSIR was Bob Thornton. A 1994 review recognised Antarctica as strategically important to New Zealand as a Southern Hemisphere nation. This resulted in the establishment of the New Zealand Antarctic Institute, known as Antarctica New Zealand, on 1 July 1996. The Institute reports to the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) Antarctic Policy Unit. It is a Crown entity, and has a CEO and a Board. Members of the Board are appointed for three