Waitangi Agreement New Zealand

Te Tiriti o Waitangi – The Treaty of Waitangi is not a single large piece of paper, but a group of nine documents: seven on paper and two on parchment. Together, they constitute an agreement drawn up between the representatives of the British Crown on the one hand and the representatives of the iwi and hapū Maori on the other. Named after the place in the Bay of Islands, where it was first signed on February 6, 1840, the treaty was also signed in locations across the country over a period of seven months. As British colonization increased, the British government decided to negotiate a formal agreement with maori leaders to become a British colony. A contract was drafted in English and then translated into Maori. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. Forty-three Northland Chefs signed the contract that day.