MAORI LANDS

Maori gifted Land

Maori gifted Land

Overview

Through the annals of history, there have been countless events that have gone largely unexplained due to a lack of substantial credible facts and references. The gifting of Maori lands to Queen Victoria is among such unexplained events that remains a topic of much controversy and political debate even today. The Maori did not dispute transferring ownership of their lands to the Crown colony as long as they were allowed to continue living on them (Boast, 1999, pp. 49). Apart from being promised the right to occupy the lands, Maori were also promised protection. Hence, they were compelled to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. However, significant arose when the treaty was eventually translated to Maori from English. At the time of signing the treaty, the terms were not explained clearly to the Maori so that a cultural misunderstanding resulted in misinterpretation of the terms. One major example of this cultural misunderstanding was the interpretation of the Maori word 'kawanatanga' which stands for governorship when literally translated. However, Maori tribesmen lacked the appropriate frame of reference to comprehensively make sense of either governorship or sovereignty. As a result, they had little idea of what terms they were agreeing to in the first place.

Introduction

When compared with other developed countries of today, the country of New Zealand has what may seem to some as one of the shortest human histories. Although the exact date when settlements were established here is still a widely debatable subject, existing understanding of the history strongly suggests that the region was first discovered by visitors from Eastern parts of Polynesia as early as the 13th century (Boast, 2008, pp. 35).

These Polynesian visitors happened to stumble upon the land during extensive exploratory expeditions that were guided by the winds, stars and the ocean currents. One navigator in particular, who goes by the name of Kupe, is credited for discovering what is now called New Zealand. Soon after the discovery of the land, the first group of setters began to arrive to the region from Polynesia (Brooking, 2004, pp. 38). The tribes quickly became accustomed to the lands and established vast settlements in the region.

At this particular time, the tribe did not assign itself a name. This was to change soon however. In the year 1642, a Dutch explorer by the name of Abel Tasman first confirmed to have discovered New Zealand. Tasman charted the west coast of the country covering the area between Hokitika and Cape Maria van Diemen. Not late after that, the land that Tasman had discovered was given the name New Zealand by a Dutch map maker.

Nearly 127 years later, New Zealand was visited by another European named James Cook who made the first of what were three voyages in the year 1769. After circumnavigating around the islands, Cook drew elaborate and detailed maps of both the main islands, returning back to Britain soon afterward to give a report of the inhabitants of the country as well as its ...