Treaty of Waitangi

127 years after Abel Tasman and his directors christened the islands New Zealand after
their home province in the Netherlands, English navigator James Cook landed at Poverty
Bay. While he had a bad first encounter with the Maori (the people who had been living in
New Zealand long before European exploration) he wrote about them nonetheless. In 1840,
Britain had annexed the islands and Wellington (New Zealand's modern day capital city) was
established as the first permanent European settlement in New Zealand.
That year, the Maori signed the Treaty of Waitangi in Waitangi in the Northland Region of
New Zealand. The document saw the Maori recognise British sovereignty in exchange for
guaranteed possession of their land. Waitangi means noisy or weeping water in the Maori
language and indeed this event that occurred on 6 February 1840 didn't stop armed
territorial conflict between the Maori and white settlers which continued until European
encroachment became too much for the Maori to resist in 1870.
Originally, New Zealand was part of Australia's New South Wales colony but it became a
separate colony the year following the Treaty of Waitangi's signing and self-governing was
granted in 1852 followed by Dominion status in 1907. Dominion status is where the British
monarch is recognised as head of state of the country. In 1947, independence was ratified
despite being granted in 1931. The Treaty of Waitangi is seen as the founding document of
New Zealand and thus Waitangi Day was made a public national holiday in 1974.