What I already know about Waitangi day -
On the 6th of February chiefs from all over met to sign a treaty of peace between new Zealand and the British crown in 1840. To this day we celebrate the treaty by making it a public holiday for everyone in New Zealand.
What I now know -
Waitangi day commemorates the day when the first Maori chiefs signed the treaty between the Maori and the British crown, the treaty being written in both Maori and English. The British arrived in 1830 Although most British migrants arrived in New Zealand in the late 1830s, Already they had plans for extensive settlement. Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson had the task of securing British sovereignty over New Zealand. The settlement was written over a few days and Missionary Henry Williams and his son Edward were in charge of translating the treaty into Maori. The Maori spent a day debating the document and then the first signature was signed on the 6th of February by Hōne Heke followed by another 39 chiefs. By September another 500 chiefs had signed the copies of the treaty that had been sent around new Zealand. Later the colonial office in England declared that the treaty would apply to everyone whether or not their chiefs had signed the treaty or not. British sovereignty over the country was proclaimed on 21 May 1840.
The Treaty is a broad statement of principles on which the British and Māori made a political compact to found a nation-state and build a government in New Zealand. Although Henry Williams's son Edward translated the English draft into Māori overnight on 4 February a few errors occurred with the translation, most significantly, the word ‘sovereignty’ was translated as ‘kawanatanga’ (governance). This created a lot of issues as the British believed that they had total control over the country whereas the Maori had signed to governance, and still believed that they had control over their lands and people. Different understandings of the Treaty have long been the subject of debate. Now the 6th of February is recognized as New Zealand's national day and marks the most important event in New Zealand history and is a public holiday.
Goverment Source -
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-brief
Another source
https://www.waitangi.org.nz/whats-on/waitangi-day/
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