By this treaty concluded between the British consul, William Hobson, and the Maori chieftains of the north island, the Maoris ceded sovereignty to the British crown, in return for 1) full rights as British citizens, 2) guarantees of their lands and privileges, 3) restriction of future land sales only to the Crown in order to protect the Maori from exploitation. In the event, the colonial government bought too little land from the Maori and resold it at a profit, irritating the Maori, with the result that in 1842 the First Maori War broke out. Among the motivations for the treaty were the desire to curtail the aggressive tactics of the New Zealand Association, and the need to outflank French colonial interest in the islands: in 1834 a C…

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Treaty of Waitangi". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 June 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1493, accessed 23 November 2024.]