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Friday, February 17, 2012

The Treaty Of Waitangi

This was going to be a historic day, on the 6th of February 1840 the Maori and Pakeha were going to come together in peace to sign a treaty. The signing was about the three P's protection,partnership, and participation. The treaty of Waitangi is a agreement between the British crown and the Maori. The treaty introduced a foreign British law into the country. To remember the day the treaty was signed, there is a public holiday in New Zealand called “Waitangi day”.

The Maori chiefs and all the British people participated an agreed on the document. The missionary Henry Williams translated both the Maori and English versions of the treaty, allowing the natives and the overseas people to understand the writing.

Over 500 Maori signed the treaty writing the names their moko onto the document. From between February and October the European missionaries, traders, and officials took the treaty all over the north island of New Zealand resulting in 50 or so treaty meetings. Some chose not to sign. 9 copies of the treaty were made because they were afraid that they might lose the original. The reason the treaty was needed in the first place was because of the three P’s.












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