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The Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand (Māori: He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni), sometimes referred to as He Whakaputanga, is a document signed by a number of Māori chiefs in 1835, proclaimed the sovereign independence of New Zealand prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
In February 1840, a number of chiefs of the United Tribes convened at Waitangi to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. [3] During the Musket Wars (1807–1842), Ngāpuhi and other tribes raided and occupied many parts of the North Island, but eventually reverted to their previous territorial status as other tribes acquired European weapons.
One of the foundational examples of Māori assertions of sovereignty is He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (The Declaration of Independence, 1835). Signed by northern Māori chiefs, this document affirmed Māori sovereignty over New Zealand and continues to be referenced, particularly by Ngāpuhi, as a basis for Māori independence.
In 1834 Busby drafted a document known as the He Whakaputanga (in the Māori language) and the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand (in English) which he and 35 northern Māori chiefs signed in 1835, establishing those chiefs as representatives under the title of the "United Tribes of New Zealand".
Waitangi Day (Māori: Te Rā o Waitangi), the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing—on 6 February 1840—of the Treaty of Waitangi.The Treaty of Waitangi was an agreement towards British sovereignty by representatives of the Crown and indigenous Māori chiefs, and so is regarded by many as the founding document of the nation.
Under International Law only a sovereign state can sign an international treaty – although New Zealand and the other Dominions signed as part of a "British Empire Delegation", and their names were indented in a list following that of Britain. The significance of the indentation was perhaps deliberately left unclear.
The treaty entered into by the rangatira and the Crown — Te Tiriti o Waitangi — followed on from He Whakaputanga, establishing the role of the British Crown with respect to Pākeha. The treaty delegated to Queen Victoria ’s governor the authority to exercise control over hitherto lawless Pākeha in areas of hapū land allocated to the Queen.
The Tribunal, Te Paparahi o te Raki inquiry (Wai 1040) [26] is in the process of considering the Māori and Crown understandings of He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga / The Declaration of Independence 1835 and Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi 1840. This aspect of the inquiry raises issues as to the nature of sovereignty and ...