Te matawai i te TiritiThe Treaty of Waitangi up close

British representatives wrote the Treaty in a hurry, then spent seven months working to get as many rangatira to sign it as possible. But the Treaty meant different things to different people.

Find out what the Treaty said, and see why it has caused so much debate – both in 1840 when it was signed and now.

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Nā ngā māngai o Ingarangi te Tiriti i tuhi i runga i te horo, kātahi ka oke mō te whitu marama kia hainatia e te tokomaha ka taea o ngā rangatira Māori. Engari he rerekē te tikanga o te Tiriti ki tēnā, ki tēnā.

Kei pātata mai ngā kupu o te Tiriti e whakaatu ana he aha i nui ai ngā tautohetohe i te hainatanga i 1840 – me nāianei.

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This content was originally written for the Treaty2U website in partnership with National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa and Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o Te Kāwanatanga in 2008, and reviewed in 2020.