Sparkler Snapshots

XLI | Into The Shire

"New Zealand is not a small country but a large village." – Peter Jackson

Date: February 6th, 2018

Occasion: Waitangi Day

Country: New Zealand

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XLI | Into The Shire

In a land far, far away, you will find the place which shall not be passed, and where the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe reside.

That wonderful place? It's called New Zealand, and no, the things listed above are not the only factors which define us as a country. Let me tell you about the time a bunch of white guys made a pact with some Māori natives, and how the exchange miraculously did not end in bloodshed.

Shall we visit the Shire and see the real history behind the land where it's located?

I liked my description about the white guys meeting natives more, but the document is formally called the Treaty of Waitangi. It's the reason why people like me can live on this luscious, green land today. Well, actually, some of the land is a bit yellowed now. Too much sun exposure.

So, pre-1840 was a wild ride for New Zealand residents. Aotearoa, which is the Māori name for New Zealand, was the largest habitable land mass to be discovered in recent times. We're a hella young country. Captain James Cook, one of the aforementioned white guys, was the first person to discover this land mass on what was probably considered the edge of the world.

I mean, some people still thought the earth was flat at the time. I'm sure the only reason why they didn't sail further to hang with the Antarctic penguins was because they thought they'd fall right off the edge.

So, Captain Cook discovered these two islands about a century before the treaty was signed, but it took these British guys several decades to figure out everything about New Zealand. Most of the land was occupied by wildlife, but there were also tribes of natives who had distinctly darker skin, and in those times, that was not usually not taken well.

However, this story doesn't take a dark turn. Unlike the founding stories for some other countries, discrimination was actually not much of an issue here. Of course, there were some Europeans who shied away from the Māori, but most of them had taken a liberal view, due to the worldwide reduction of slavery at the time, and accepted the Māori with open arms.

Well, sort of. Even though the Europeans had no issue with their skin colour, there were disagreements about land ownership. Once Brits began to invade, uh, I mean, settle in New Zealand, they needed more land. But, the Māori became less willing to give away the land they'd found, fair and square. I don't blame them. It's like, get out of my private space, right?

So came the Treaty of Waitangi, a signed document that secured British sovereignty over New Zealand. Ugh, I'm having flashbacks about learning this in social studies. If only someone could put Waitangi Day into a rap musical format and make it easier to learn. There's only so much history I can take before I want to stomp on my brain. I suppose that's what this article is for, to take boring history and twist it until it becomes interesting.

Anywho, back to the 1840s. One of the Europeans, William Hobson, was tasked with preparing the treaty and writing it out so it looked official. Another Brit, Henry Williams, translated the document into Māori overnight, with the help of his son. The Māori debated the treaty for a day or so before signing it on February 6th, which, you guessed it, is Waitangi Day in the present.