Te Tiriti o Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi is an agreement between the British Crown and Maori Chiefs. The treaty promises to protect the Maori culture and to enable the Maori to live in New Zealand as Maori. This treaty was signed in 1840. The treaty was created to call a truce. 

The treaty established a British Governor of New Zealand, considering the Maori having ownership of their lands and other properties, and giving Maori the rights of British subjects.

The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty that was signed on 6 February, 1840, by representatives of the British Crown and the Maori Chiefs of the Northern Islands of New Zealand. More then 40 chiefs signed the treaty with the British Crown in the Bay of Islands. The Treaty of Waitangi remains controversial. 

Colonists believed that the Treaty of Waitangi was fair because it offered Maori the rights of British citizens. The signing of the treaty made it easier for settlers to acquire land. The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document.

The purpose of the treaty was to allow British citizens and Maori settlers to live together in New Zealand under a set of laws and agreements. Taria Ngakuti was one of the chiefs that refused to sign the treaty. It took 4 months to collect over 500 signatures. Hobson declared British sovereignty over Aotearoa on 21 May 1840.

If the treaty hadn’t been signed, Hobson would’ve arrived back to Britain empty handed and Maori would have left Waitangi. But luckily they had a heart and all agreed to sign, well most of them. The treaty protects the Maori culture from the Pakeha taking control over their land.

: We had to write an explanation writing about Te Tiriti o Waintangi, Our goal was to write over 250 words, my max was 276 :