Today I read an article about the treaty of Waitangi (Te tiriti o Waitangi). All of the information in the article was written by Ross Calman, Mark Derby, and Toby Morris.
The first Polynesians settled into Aotearoa in 1250 - 1300, and for almost half a century more and more Polynesians settled into the land of Aotearoa. They had Aotearoa all to themselves for around 570 years - nearly 5-6 centuries - before Captain Cook and his crew arrived to Aotearoa.
In the 1790's, Pakeha came to hunt seals and whales, Missionaries from England and later France, followed to spread Christianity, and traders also arrived to load timber and flax to sell overseas.
By the 1830's, several hundred Pakeha - mostly British - were living in what called New Zealand.
Far from Britain, the Pakeha could do whatever they liked. Many missionaries thought that the British government should take control and enforce law and order in New Zealand, and some Maori agreed. They wanted protection, especially from those unruly Pakeha who would do the most cruel deeds.
Some Maori were worried so in 1831, 13 chiefs wrote a letter to the King of England for protection over them and their people. In response, the British government sent James Busby to represent him.
On the 28th of October, 1835 he presented a document to 34 of the chiefs in Waitangi. The documented was titled He Whakaputanga, The Declaration of Independence. It stated that New Zealand was a self-reliant country that is protected by the King of England, and in return Maori would show good-will and give protection to the Pakeha settlers and traders.
By 1840, fifty-two chiefs had signed the declaration.
Back in Britain, many people had interests in New Zealand, and many people wished to start their lives there.
A company in London had made plans to buy land in New Zealand to sell to settlers for profit. This forced the British government to take further action.
At the time, the British ruled of a large and powerful empire. The empire decided to add New Zealand to the empire, so that way Britain could make laws to control the growing Pakeha population, but these laws would also protect Maori.
In late January 1840, a British official named William Hobson arrived in the Bay of Plenty. He had been sent to get Maori to sign a treaty.
Very few Maori spoke English so a missionary named Henry Williams, with the help from his son Edward translated the treaty into Te Reo. They did this in one night.
Hobson told the chiefs to sign Te Tiriti because soon more Pakeha would arrive.
But there was a lot of debate.Some chiefs like Rewa said that he wanted his land back from the missionaries, and he didn't believe that having a foreign governor would change anything.
But two chiefs Hone Heke Pokai and Tamati Waka Nene believed a treaty would end wars between tribes. Tamati said that things were bad enough in the North island because the Pakeha wouldn't listen, and that doing nothing could mean the British taking further control over their land.
That evening, the chiefs discussed Te Tiriti late into the night.
The next morning, some chiefs were all ready to sign. A hui was called and Williams read the treaty aloud once more before getting the chiefs to sign. Over 40 chiefs signed the treaty that day. Some chose not to.
Many chiefs weren't in Waitangi so Hobson had to make copies of it and deliver them around New Zealand.
Not everyone got to see Te Tiriti, and some chiefs didn't sign it. Some were concerned about what Te Tiriti might mean but signed anyway.Over the next seven months, over five hundred chiefs signed Te Tiriti (Mainly the Maori versions but some signed the English version of Te Tiriti).
Most of the chiefs signed the Maori version of Te Tiriti, but the explanations about how Te Tiriti would affect the chiefs and the people weren't properly translated. Some think that the Pakeha did it on purpose. For example sovereignty was translated as 'kawanatanga' meaning governorship. This didn't very much capture the meaning of sovereignty.
Before the signing of Te Tiriti almost all of the land and resources belonged to the Maori. Chiefs who signed were told by the Governor and officials that if they decided otherwise, this wouldn't change.
The treaty said that Maori were guaranteed tinorangatiratanga meaning absolute authority, but it didn't turn out that way.
After Te Tiriti was signed, the Governor and his officials encouraged Maori to sell their land to The Crown. Then they resold it to Pakeha settlers to make profit.
More and more Pakeha arrived in New Zealand, and there was a lot of emulation about land sales.Eventually the situation broke out into a war. From 1845-1872 the British and Maori fought a series of battles which we know as The New Zealand Wars. The British said that it was punishment for going against the government.
They also took millions of hectares away from some iwi. Pakeha called it confiscation. Maori called it raupatu meaning taken by force.
Maori also lost land through the Native land court system set up in 1865. It changed the way the land was owned to make it easier for Pakeha settlers to buy. Maori called it "te koti tango whenua" (The land taking court).
Without land, many Maori found it hard to feed their families and earn money.
By the 19th century, the promises made in Te Tiriti had been well and truly broken. Over time politicians started to acknowledge this. In 1906 James Caroll - The Native Minister at the time - gave a speech saying that it was time to help those Maori who had lost land to The Crown.
Not much land was given back to Maori through out the following decades, so many Maori protested about the matter. They were tired of the way the government treated them. They were tired of being ignored. It took quite a while but then the government finally started to listen.
In 1975 the government set up the Waitangi tribunal. The tribunal is like a court. It investigates claims from Maori and promises to take action for what's happened, but only present-day issues. Then in 1985, they changed that rule ad made it so that they investigate claims from the past as well.
During a hearing, the tribunal members write a report, that is sent to the government which they use to make a settlement. Each settlement is different, but always includes:
- An agreed account of what happened in the past
- An apology
- And some form of compensation
Some Maori feel a great sense of achievement when a settlement is finally signed. Settlements can lead to a new future full of opportunities.
It was quite a informative article because I didn't know that there was a war in New Zealand or that Maori had lived in Aotearoa in peace for over 500 years. This is probably one of my favourite articles I've ever read.
