Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Timeline of Te Tiriti o Waitangi  

1642: Abel Tasman was recorded as the first European known to reach Aotearoa New Zealand. This ended in deaths for both Māori and Pākehā, and as a result, Abel Tasman left. Following this incident no contact was recorded to have been made between Māori and Pākehā until 127 years later. 

1769: The history of the Treaty of Waitangi begins with the arrival of British explorer James Cook. After receiving guidance from Tupaia; a Pacific Navigator from Tahiti, Cook was able to travel to Aotearoa New Zealand. Tupaia held a crucial role in Cook’s voyage, as Tupaia was able to help establish relationships through mediating and communicating between Indigenous people and Cook. Thus, following Cook’s arrival a relationship between the two peoples began as Māori established a barter trade relationship with Pākehā. 

1814: Samuel Marsden and the Christian Missionary Society (CMS) arrived and settled in NZ with the intention of converting Māori to Christianity and teaching British customs. This period also saw an increase in European settlers such as whalers, sealers and other Tauiwi (foreigners).  

1820-1835: Within Māori communities intertribal warfare continued with tewhatewha, kotiate, taiaha, mere, patu, and wahaika. Each weapon was crafted from environmental resources and natural resources. However, a shift in war tactics arose as Māori trade establishment with Europeans led to Māori acquiring muskets.  

By 1820, Hongi Hika had established a firm relationship with Marsden and the church, aiding his travel to England. He travelled with Waikato and a missionary Thomas Kendall to meet with King George IV. During this visit to England, he acquired over 500 muskets. It was not long after this acquisition of muskets that led to the musket wars which spanned 15 years (1820-1835). These wars resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1/5 of the Māori population. Around the same time the Māori population also saw a rapid decline due to exposure to foreign diseases which came with the arrival of Europeans.  

1829-1835: After a ship was seized, cargo was impounded due to ships built out of New Zealand sailing without a flag representing the nation. Busby organised a hui a few years after the incident on the 20th of March 1834, in which he invited 25 northern Rangatira to choose a flag, which came to be New Zealand’s first flag, the flag of the United Tribes.

Following this Busby called a second hui with 34 Rangatira, and on the 28th of October 1835 New Zealand's first official legal document was signed and recorded, the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was written by James Busby (British resident) and the agreement was signed between King William IV and the 34 northern chiefs. The document declared and acknowledged the independence of Aotearoa New Zealand, with guaranteed sovereignty and authority residing within the powers of the chiefs and tribes of the motu (country). 

1837: As the number of settlers increased so did the fighting amongst the settlers and Māori. These ongoing conflicts were significantly contributed to by the 500 convicts who had escaped from Australia and were staying in the Bay of Islands. These convicts were able to remain free as the crown did not hold jurisdiction in New Zealand at the time. 

Governor Richard Bourke sent navel captain William Hobson and asked James Busby to send a report of the occurrences happening in New Zealand at the time. Hobson suggested establishing a treaty between Māori and the crown. He insisted on the idea of taking over several sites to replicate the trading lines England established in India but allowing Māori to have control of the remainder of New Zealand. He aimed to acquire resources from New Zealand and send them back to England.  

Busby opposed his idea of establishing trading lines and opted for a different option; he suggested establishing a protectorate over New Zealand with the Crown having control over the affairs in trust for all people living in the country. He suggested that the protectorate be established gradually, with Māori chiefs assisting the crown and continuing to lead their people and deal with European settlers. However, it would be under the guidance of British officials. Busby argued that these officials in many ways would be the rulers in control of the country. These reports were supported by petitions and letters from traders.

1839: It was recorded that officials in England debated over claiming sovereignty over the entirety of New Zealand for eight months. The officials were also concerned with the growing powers of the French and Americans. They pondered how they would be able to get Māori to sign the treaty which would cede their sovereignty over the country to the crown. Thus, in August 1839, Hobson set sail to New Zealand after he was given the power to speak on behalf of the crown. He was tasked to make a treaty with Māori which would be signed by all Māori chiefs that they were ceding their sovereignty over New Zealand to the crown.  

1840: Hobson arrived in New Zealand on the 29th of January to have all chiefs sign the Treaty of Waitangi. Busby drafted and made two versions of the treaty, one in Te Reo which was signed by over 500 Rangatira in total after it was later taken around the country. The other treaty in English was signed by only 39 chiefs in total.  

The Treaty of Waitangi was officially signed and dated on the 6th of February 1840 and became the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Problems arose shortly after as the treaty had very distinct differences which argued the state of who held sovereignty over the country. In article 1: as there was no word for it in the Māori language; Busby adapted the word kawanatanga from kawana which meant governor thus, kawanatanga better translated into governorship.  

In article 2: The word rangatiratanga was also used to describe possession, which meant that Rangatira maintained chiefly authority which was not the intention of the crown. Another difference was the understanding of the crown’s right to purchase land from Māori. This had been subjected to intense debate as many Māori disagreed with this understanding as it is believed that this was not explicitly implicated within the article three text.  

Information compiled and written by Ngaki Te Kare - Ruaine