Waitangi Day

Today is Waitangi Day in New Zealand.

On February the 6th 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.  The Treaty was between the Queen of England - Queen Victoria, and the Maori Chiefs.

It was only signed by some 40 Chiefs on the 6th of February, and many many more signatures were obtained after this.  There were also many Chiefs who did not sign the Treaty.

There is a lot of drama (for the lack of a better word) over the Treaty as there were many different translations and it's likely that those signing it didn't know what they were agreeing to.  But as Rocket Boy is only 6 I kept it really simple, over the years he can learn more.

It's also been a great starting point for our unit study on New Zealand which I imagine will take up a large chuck of the start of this year.

Here's what Rocket Boy wrote about the Treaty.

 

"Treaty of Waitangi They let the Queen become the Master of New Zealand and they agreed they would only sell their land to her. They got to keep their land, and their fishing rights and their forests"