The English text of the Treaty of Waitangi / Ned Fletcher ; [foreword by the Hon. Justice Sir Joe Williams]

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fletcher, Ned, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Treaty of Waitangi (1840 February 6).

Treaty of Waitangi.

Māori (New Zealand people)--Government relations--History.

Māori (New Zealand people).

New Zealand--History.

New Zealand.

Māori (New Zealand people)--Government relations.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

736 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Wellington, N.Z. : Bridget Williams Books, 2022.

Summary:

"How was the English text of the Treaty of Waitangi understood by the British in 1840? That is the question addressed by historian and lawyer Ned Fletcher, in this extensive work.With one exception, the Treaty sheets signed by rangatira and British officials were in te reo Māori. The Māori text, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, was a translation by the missionary Henry Williams of a draft in English provided by William Hobson, the Consul sent by the British government to negotiate with Māori.Despite considerable scholarly attention to the Treaty, the English text has been little studied. In part, this is because the original English draft exists only in fragments in the archive; it has long been regarded as lost or 'unknowable', and in any event superseded by the authoritative Māori text. Now, through careful archival research, Fletcher has been able to set out the continuing relevance of the English text.The English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi emphasises that the original drafting of the Treaty by British officials in 1840 cannot be separated from the wider circumstances of that time. This context encompasses the history of British dealings with indigenous peoples throughout the Empire and the currents of thought in the mid-nineteenth century, a period of rapid change in society and knowledge. It also includes the backgrounds and motivations of those primarily responsible for framing the Treaty: British Resident James Busby, Consul and future Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson, and Colonial Office official James Stephen.Through groundbreaking scholarship, Fletcher concludes that the Māori and English texts of the Treaty reconcile, and that those who framed the English text intended Māori to have continuing rights to self-government (rangatiratanga) and ownership of their lands. This original understanding of the Treaty, however, was then lost in the face of powerful forces in the British Empire post-1840, as hostility towards indigenous peoples grew alongside increased intolerance of plural systems of government.The English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi enriches our understanding of the original purpose and vision of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi and its foundational role in Aotearoa New Zealand."--Publisher's website.

Contents:

Part three: Making a Treaty (15. The Consul ; 16. Normanby's instructions to Hobson ; 17. Sydney interlude, December 1839

January 1840 ; 18. Drafting the Treaty ; 19. Signing the Treaty)

Foreword / Justice Sir Joe Williams

Introduction: Understandings of the Treaty.

Part one: The British Empire (1. Governing Empire ; 2. Ethics of Empire ; 3. British sovereignty and native government: Canada and Australia ; 4. British sovereignty and native government: other territories ; 5. British sovereignty and native land ; 6. The Colonial Office)

Part two: The path to British intervention in New Zealand (7. New Zealand, 1769-1832 ; 8. The British Resident arrives, 1833 ; 9. A dependency 'in everything but the name' ; 10. Busby's ideas for government ; 11. Verdicts on Busby's Residency ; 12. Debates about colonisation ; 13. Political manoeuvres ; 14. The Colonial Office acts)

Part four: Contesting the Treaty (20. Waiting for the Treaty: Sydney ; 21. American precedents ; 22. Waiting for the Treaty: London ; 23. The Land Claims Act 1842 ; 24. Responses to the Act ; 25. The Treaty under attack ; 26. Shifting ground: The undermining of Māori property rights ; 27. The Queen's sovereignty and Māori sovereignty after 1840)

Conclusion: The meaning of the Treaty.

Appndices (1: The Freeman draft ; 2: Busby's first draft ; 3: Busby's fair copy ; 4: Hobson's preamble)

ISBN:

9781990046537

1990046533

OCLC:

1344403931