what is its importance?
It established a British Governor of New Zealand and gave the Māori the rights of British subjects.
Treaty of Waitangi
he treaty was written at a time when the New Zealand Company, acting on behalf of large numbers of settlers and would-be settlers, were establishing a colony in New Zealand, and when some Māori leaders had petitioned the British for protection against French incursions. It was drafted with the intention of establishing a British Governor of New Zealand, recognising Māori ownership of their lands, forests and other possessions, and giving Māori the rights of British subjects
who wrote the english version of the treaty of waitangi William Hobson, with the help of his secretary James Freeman and the British Resident James Busby. when was this treaty first signed? 6 February 1840. and by whom? Representatives of the British Crown and Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand.
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Treaty of Waitangi [SEP] Introduction
Around 530 to 540 Māori, at least 13 of them women, signed the Māori language version of the Treaty of Waitangi, despite some Māori leaders cautioning against it. An immediate result of the treaty was that Queen Victoria's government gained the sole right to purchase land. In total there are nine signed copies of the Treaty of Waitangi, including the sheet signed on 6 February 1840 at Waitangi. The text of the treaty includes a preamble and three articles. It is bilingual, with the Māori text inaccurately translated from the English.