Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi (Māori: Te Tiriti o Waitangi) was signed on {{event|1840|2|6|region=NZ|category=treatie}} at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. It was signed by representatives of the British Crown, and chiefs from the Northern North Island including the handful of chiefs the British Resident, James Busby had earlier induced to claim independence as the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand.

Related Topics:
Māori - Waitangi - Bay of Islands - New Zealand - British - Crown - North Island - United Tribes of New Zealand

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From the British point of view, The Treaty, as New Zealanders often call it, justified making New Zealand a British colony. Today it is generally considered the founding point of New Zealand as a nation. However, there have been major issues concerning the original translation of the treaty from English to Māori. An example is kawanatanga, a cognate transplanted from the English, which appeared in the Māori language for the first time in the Treaty. It was used there to translate the concept of sovereignty, for which there was no existing suitable word in the Māori language at the time. The word is made up of kawana, a transliteration into Māori of the English word governor, and the existing Māori suffix -tanga, similar to the English -ship or -dom. A literal translation of the word, therefore, would be governorship. Other Māori words with the suffix -tanga include rangatiratanga, "chieftainship", and kingitanga, "kingship".

Related Topics:
Colony - Cognate - Governor

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The meaning attached to this word, and in particular how it relates to rangatiratanga, is vital to discussion of the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty is still vitally important in modern New Zealand, and remains the object of much controversy and political debate, (see tino rangatiratanga).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~