He Whakaputanga — Declaration of Independence
He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni
- When
- 28 October 1835
- Where
- Waitangi
- Reach
- Nationwide
Rangatira of the Confederation of United Tribes declared New Zealand an independent state, with all sovereign power residing in the assembled chiefs.
He Whakaputanga asserted that mana and kīngitanga rested with the rangatira, that no foreign power could make law here, and that the chiefs would meet annually in congress. It was acknowledged by the British Crown. Its existence complicates any claim that New Zealand was ungoverned in 1840, and the Waitangi Tribunal’s Te Paparahi o Te Raki report leaned heavily on it in concluding that the northern signatories of 1840 did not cede sovereignty.
Regions affected
Sources
Written for this project from these references rather than copied from them. Follow a link to check the account against the original.
Related
Northern chiefs petition King William IV
Thirteen rangatira asked the King to be a friend and guardian of these islands, worried by lawless traders and by rumours of French designs.
KerikeriWilliam Hobson is sent to negotiate a treaty
The Colonial Office instructed Hobson to obtain the free and intelligent consent of Māori to British sovereignty — the brief that produced Te Tiriti six months later.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is signed
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Around 540 rangatira signed Te Tiriti at Waitangi and at more than 50 meetings around the country. The English and te reo Māori texts do not say the same thing, and never have.
WaitangiThe Native Land Court is established
The court converted customary communal title into individual freehold — the mechanism by which most remaining Māori land was lost, without a shot fired.