Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand
| Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga |
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|---|---|
| Created | 28 October 1835 |
| Ratified | 1836 |
| Author(s) | James Busby and 35 northern Māori chiefs (including Tāmati Wāka Nene and Bay of Islands brothers; Te Wharerahi, Rewa, and Moka Te Kainga-mataa) |
| Signatories | United Tribes of New Zealand |
| Purpose | Proclaimed the sovereign independence of New Zealand |
In New Zealand political and social history, the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand (Māori: He Wakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga) was signed by a number of Māori chiefs in 1835, proclaiming the sovereign independence of New Zealand prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
In 1834 James Busby, the official British Resident in New Zealand, drafted a document known as the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand which he and 34 northern Māori chiefs (including Tamati Waka Nene and Bay of Islands brothers; Te Wharerahi, Rewa, and Moka Te Kainga-mataa) signed at Waitangi on 28 October 1835. By 1839, 52 chiefs had signed.
The chiefs signed this declaration of independence and in the process established themselves as representing a confederation under the title of the "United Tribes of New Zealand". Henry Williams and George Clarke, (missionaries) translated the Declaration and signed as witnessesJames Clendon and Gilbert Mair (merchants) also signed as witnesses.
The Declaration of Independence arose in response to concerns over the lawlessness of British subjects in New Zealand and in response to a fear that France would declare sovereignty over the islands. At this time a Frenchman, Charles de Thierry, who titled himself as 'Charles, Baron de Tierry, Sovereign Chief of New Zealand and King of Nuku Hiva' (in the Marquesas Islands) was seeking to establish a colony on 16,000 hectares (40,000 acres) he claimed to have purchased in the Hokianga. The document also arose from movements in Māori society where from 1816 onwards a number of Northern Māori chiefs had made visits to the colonies in New South Wales and Norfolk Island as well as to England leading to discussions about unifying the tribes and formation of a Māori government.
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