Friday, 31 January 2025

No, It Wasn't!

 I read once again today the assertion that "The Treaty" (I assume the 1840 one) was between Queen Victoria (on behalf of Britain) and approx 500 Maori chiefs.

The signatories of the treaty were about 500 strong, this is correct. It is the "chiefs" bit that needs to be checked.

The 500 included, despite New Zealand law specifically excluding them, 13 (according to Wikipedia) women.

Basically the treaty crowd toured the treaty around New Zealand getting anyone with a brown skin and a heap of vowels to "sign" it.

The "Treaty" is nothing more than a curio from 1840 and should be sent to a museum where it belongs.

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