Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand
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This article discusses the Declaration of 1835. For information on the process of New Zealand's gaining independence during the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, see Independence of New Zealand.
In New Zealand political and social history, the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand, as signed by a number of Māori chiefs in 1835, proclaimed the sovereign independence New Zealand prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
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[edit] Background and signing
In 1834 James Busby, the official British Resident in New Zealand, drafted a document which he and 35 northern Māori chiefs signed as A Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand at Waitangi on October 28, 1835. The chiefs signed this declaration of independence and in the process established themselves as representing a proto-state under the title of the "United Tribes of New Zealand". Prior to the signing of the Declaration, the chiefs had selected a flag for use on ships orginating from New Zealand — the first distinctively New Zealand flag.
The document arose in response to concerns over the lawlessness of British subjects in New Zealand and to a fear that France would declare sovereignty over the islands. It also arose from a desire in Māori society to establish a form of Māori government.
[edit] The Declaration and after
The hereditary chiefs and heads of the tribes of the Northern parts of New Zealand declared the constitution of an independent state. They agreed to meet in Waitangi each year to frame laws, and invited the southern tribes of New Zealand to "lay aside their private animosities" and join them.
The signatories sent a copy of the document to King William IV of the United Kingdom (reigned 1830 - 1837), asking him to act as the protector of the new state. The King had previously acknowledged the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and now recognised the Declaration of Independence, in a letter from Lord Glenelg (the British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies) dated 1836-05-25.
[edit] Legal effect of the Declaration
Some commentators state[citation needed] that the claim to independence lasted only until the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) in 1840; others dispute this.
Article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi guarantees to the chiefs their continued chieftainship, and ownership of their lands and treasures (taonga). It also specifies that Māori could sell land only to the Crown. Most New Zealanders consider the Treaty of Waitangi as the founding document of the nation of New Zealand/Aotearoa, with formal sovereignty vested in the British crown, but the existence of different versions of this treaty, in both Māori and English, and its brevity, leave this subject to arguments over the preferred interpretation.
De facto however, the federation of independent tribes became subsumed into a new political body after 1840, regardless of the legality or legitimacy of this process. The Treaty of Waitangi thus voided the "Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand" for all practical purposes; and the Treaty rather than the Declaration provides the legal foundation of claims for the redress of historical wrongs. For this reason, constitutional lawyers regard the Declaration of Independence as an historical document that no longer has legal force.
