The historical setting
The Treaty of Waitangi (Māori: Te Tiriti o Waitangi), sometimes referred to as Te Tiriti (lit. 'The Treaty'), is a document of importance to the history of New Zealand, and its national identity. The cornerstone legislative recognition of the Treaty in the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 represented a paradigm shift and a radically altered official discourse, relating to Māori rights and the relationship between Māori and the Crown. The role of the Treaty in the relationship between Māori and the Crown has become more prominent from the late 20th century. Although the Treaty of Waitangi is not incorporated as a binding international treaty within New Zealand's domestic law, its status as international law is debated. It was first signed on 6 February 1840 by Captain William Hobson as consul for the Crown and by Māori chiefs (rangatira) from the North Island of New Zealand.
Text and interpretation
The Treaty includes a preamble and three articles. There are two texts of the Treaty, one in English and one in the Māori language. The two texts differ, particularly in relation to the meaning of having and ceding sovereignty, with Donald Francis McKenzie viewing its interpretation as the contrast between a literate culture and one that was wholly oral. The rangatira may have initially viewed it as an agreement to share power and authority on equal terms; the Crown has always viewed it as the acquisition of Māori consent to cession of sovereignty.
These differences created disagreements in the decades following the signing, eventually contributing to the New Zealand Wars of 1845 to 1872 and continuing through to the Treaty of Waitangi settlements starting in the early 1990s. In the period following the New Zealand Wars, the New Zealand government mostly ignored the treaty, and a court judgement in 1877 declared it to be "a simple nullity". As some words in the English treaty did not translate directly into the written Māori language of the time, the Māori text is not a literal translation of the English text.
Paul Moon and Sabine Fenton claimed that Henry Williams, the missionary entrusted with translating the treaty from English, was fluent in Māori and that, far from being a poor translator, he had in fact carefully crafted both versions to make each palatable to both parties without either noticing inherent contradictions.
Drafting and translating the treaty
Without a draft document prepared by lawyers or Colonial Office officials, Hobson was forced to write his own treaty with the help of his secretary, James Freeman, and British Resident James Busby, neither of whom was a lawyer. Historian Paul Moon believes certain articles of the treaty resemble the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), the British Sherbro Agreement (1825) and the treaty between Britain and Soombia Soosoos (1826). The entire treaty was prepared in three days, in which it underwent many revisions. There were doubts even during the drafting process that the Māori chiefs would be able to understand the concept of relinquishing "sovereignty".
Assuming that a treaty in English could not be understood, debated or agreed to by Māori, Hobson asked CMS head missioner Henry Williams, and his son Edward Marsh Williams, who was a scholar in Māori language and custom, to translate the document overnight on 4 February. Henry Williams was concerned with the actions of the New Zealand Company in Wellington and felt he had to agree with Hobson's request to ensure the treaty would be as favourable as possible to Māori. Williams avoided using any English words that had no expression in Māori "thereby preserving entire the spirit and tenor" of the treaty.
Debate and signing
Bishop Pompallier, who had been counselling the many Catholic Māori in the north concerning the treaty, urged them to be very wary of the treaty and not to sign anything. For Māori chiefs, the signing at Waitangi would have needed a great deal of trust. Nonetheless, the expected benefits of British protection must have outweighed their fears. In particular, the French were also interested in New Zealand, and there were fears that if they did not side with the British that the French would put pressure on them in a similar manner to that of other Pacific Islanders farther north in what would become French Polynesia. Most importantly, Māori leaders trusted CMS missionary advice and their explanation of the treaty.
The missionaries had explained the treaty as a covenant between Māori and Queen Victoria, the head of state and Church of England. With nearly half the Māori population following Christianity many looked at the treaty as a Biblical covenant – a sacred bond. Hobson had planned for the signing to occur on 7 February however on the morning of 6 February 45 chiefs were waiting ready to sign.