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.

Meaning and interpretation

The Treaty itself is short, consisting of only three articles. The first article of the English version grants the Queen of the United Kingdom sovereignty over New Zealand. The second article guarantees to the chiefs, their continued chieftainship, and ownership of their lands and treasures (taonga). It also specifies that Māori will sell land only to the Crown. The third article guarantees to all Māori the same rights as all other British subjects. Significantly, the English and Māori versions are not identical. This has caused difficulty in interpreting the Treaty and continues to undermine its effect.

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The most critical difference revolves around the interpretation of two Māori words, kawanatanga (literally governorship) which is ceded to the Queen in the first article and rangatiratanga (literally chieftainship) which is retained by the chiefs in the second. Many Māori at that time had little understanding of either sovereignty or 'governorship' and because of this translation difficulty some question whether they fully understood what they were signing. Furthermore, kawanatanga is transliterated from 'governorship' and was not part of the Māori language per se. A more appropriate word to convey sovereignty would have been mana (prestige, authority).

Related Topics:
Kawanatanga - Rangatiratanga - Mana

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Māori beliefs and attitudes towards ownership of land were not the same as those of the British and this was also to cause problems later on. Māori chiefs saw themselves as `kaitiaki' or guardians of the land, and would traditionally grant permission for the land to be used for a time for a particular purpose. It is possible that some may have believed that they were selling permission to use the land rather than selling the land itself.

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