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Te matawai i te TiritiThe Treaty of Waitangi up close

British representatives wrote the Treaty in a hurry, then spent seven months working to get as many rangatira to sign it as possible. But the Treaty meant different things to different people.

Find out what the Treaty said, and see why it has caused so much debate – both in 1840 when it was signed and now.

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Nā ngā māngai o Ingarangi te Tiriti i tuhi i runga i te horo, kātahi ka oke mō te whitu marama kia hainatia e te tokomaha ka taea o ngā rangatira Māori. Engari he rerekē te tikanga o te Tiriti ki tēnā, ki tēnā.

Kei pātata mai ngā kupu o te Tiriti e whakaatu ana he aha i nui ai ngā tautohetohe i te hainatanga i 1840 – me nāianei.

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This content was originally written for the Treaty2U website in partnership with National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa and Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o Te Kāwanatanga in 2008, and reviewed in 2020.

The making of the Treaty of Waitangi

The British government appointed William Hobson as consul to an independent New Zealand. It sent him here with one goal – to get Māori to sign over sovereignty of all or part of New Zealand to Britain.

The Treaty of Waitangi trail

Over 40 rangatira signed the Treaty at Waitangi, among them many who had signed the Declaration of Independence. Their agreement was important, but Hobson wanted a lot more signatures so he could confidently claim British sovereignty over New Zealand. To get those signatures, he took the Treaty on the road.

The content of the Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty is an agreement between the British Crown, represented by William Hobson, and iwi and hapū in New Zealand represented by rangatira. But who agreed to what?

Two parties, two understandings: What does the Treaty of Waitangi mean?

For many reasons, what Māori and British actually agreed to in the Treaty has been unclear.

The full text of Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi

Read the original English and te reo Māori texts of Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi, and a contemporary translation of the te reo Māori.