He Whakaputanga and te Tiriti o Waitangi: two agreements, two texts

By the 1830s, Aotearoa was changing fast. Hundreds of traders, whalers and settlers lived here, some of them lawless. A Frenchman called Baron de Thierry claimed he would set up his own state. Rangatira wanted to protect their authority and their trade.

He Whakaputanga, 1835

On 28 October 1835, 34 northern rangatira signed He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni, the Declaration of Independence, at Waitangi. By 1839, 52 had signed. It declared that all mana and authority in the land belonged to the rangatira, and it asked the British King to be a friend and protector. Britain formally acknowledged it.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi, 1840

Five years later, Britain sent Captain William Hobson to make a treaty. The English draft was translated into te reo Māori overnight by the missionary Henry Williams and his son. On 6 February 1840 more than 40 rangatira signed at Waitangi. Copies then travelled around the coast for seven months. About 540 rangatira signed, almost all of them the te reo Māori text. Some, such as Te Wherowhero of Waikato, refused, and many areas were never asked.

Three articles, two meanings

Why it matters

People who signed different texts could honestly believe they had made different agreements. In 2014 the Waitangi Tribunal found that the northern rangatira who signed in 1840 did not give up their sovereignty; they agreed to share power with the Governor. The Crown still claims sovereignty, so the argument continues. Te Tiriti is now seen as a founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand, and many laws refer to its principles.