Treaty of Waitangi Claims and Settlements - History of The Treaty

History of The Treaty

The Treaty of Waitangi is often considered to be the founding document for European (Pākehā) settlement in New Zealand. It guaranteed to Māori the right to keep their lands, forests, fisheries and all their treasures, but they would hand sovereignty in the English version, and governorship in the Māori version, over to the Crown and would also be able to sell only to the Crown. Initially, there was little dispute, as the settlers were able to buy land from the Māori through legal channels. However, after a while, Māori became disillusioned and less willing to sell, while the Crown came under increasing pressure from settlers wishing to buy. Consequently, government land agents were involved in a number of dubious land purchases. Agreements were negotiated with only one owner of tribally owned land and in some cases land was purchased from the wrong people altogether. Unrest and rebellion caused by these actions were met with further punitive land confiscations. Eventually this led to the New Zealand Wars, which culminated in the confiscation of a large part of the Waikato and Taranaki.