Treaty of Waitangi

★ Henry Williams ★




　Henry Williams took an important role in the Treaty of Waitangi. He had translated the English document of the Treaty into Maori with his son.

The Treaty of Waitangi was considered New Zealand's founding document. It was prepared over just a few days in February 1840. The translation was key to getting Maori agreement. The job of translating the document was an important task, but it had to be rushed. They received the document on the evening of 4 February, and it was needed for the meeting of the chiefs on the next day.


Henry Williams used a dialect known as “Missionary Maori”, which was not traditional Maori. He invented some new words to put the ideas into Maori. For example he used the word kawanatanga to describe the British government ruling over New Zealand. The English word is sovereignty. But the Maori were confused by some of the differences of interpretation.

Henry Williams was also involved in explaininf the Treaty to Maori leaders at the meetings with William Hobson at Waitangi.