1840Reputable sourceWell documented
The Treaty of Waitangi and New Zealand
On the timeline · around 1840 ·
What happened
On 6 February 1840 representatives of the British Crown and more than 500 Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, bringing New Zealand into the empire. Crucially, the English and Māori texts differed: the English version ceded full sovereignty to the Crown, while the Māori version granted it only a lesser 'governorship,' a discrepancy that has been disputed ever since.
Why it matters
Waitangi is regarded as New Zealand's founding document, but the gap between its two versions sowed generations of conflict over land and sovereignty between Māori and the Crown that the country still works to resolve.
Sources
- Waitangi Tribunal (New Zealand). About the Treaty · Reputable source