United Tribes of New Zealand

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Declaration of Independence, printed by the Anglican Mission Press , Paihia (1836)

The United Tribes of New Zealand or Confederation of United Tribes ( United Tribes of New Zealand or Federation of United Tribes ) was a temporary association founded in 1834 of Māori tribes in the north of the North Island of New Zealand . Its members signed the New Zealand Declaration of Independence on October 28, 1835 .

history

The founding of the United Tribes of New Zealand was initiated by James Busby , sent to New Zealand by the Colonial Office (British Colonial Office ) with the status of British Resident . He managed to unite the northern Māori tribes .

This followed the 1818 beginning were Musket Wars among Māori strains, the landing of the French warship La Favorite in the 1831 Bay of Islands to France to demonstrate entitlement to New Zealand, the efforts of Charles de Thierry on Hokianga Harbor to declare the colony New Zealand and the British Crown's lack of interest in New Zealand. In addition, the British traders, whalers and settlers were dissatisfied with the conditions of those days and some settlers left New Zealand because of the armed conflicts of the Māori .

Busby was sent to New Zealand in 1833 to pacify the Māori and support the British settlers. The Māori respected him, but not the settlers, who saw in him a “man of war without weapons”.

Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand

But Busby used the rumors of a possible annexation by France to convince the Māori leaders that only the unity of the tribes and a declaration of independence for New Zealand would help them. So Busby was able to gather twenty-five chiefs of the northern tribes in Waitangi on March 20, 1834 to choose a flag under the name " United Tribes of New Zealand ", which should stand for New Zealand. Settlers, missionaries and the commanders of ten British and three US ships were present alongside the Māori chiefs. The flag of the Church Mission Society (Kirchliche Missionsgesellschaft) was determined by majority vote and hoisted under 21 rounds of salute.

In October 1835, the meeting led by Busby of the 53 heads of the various tribes, some of them coming from the south, followed to sign the declaration of independence. They agreed to meet annually to make laws and regulations and to keep peace. The tribes asked the British Crown for protection.

For the Māori , more than the Declaration of Independence, the flag was erroneously the symbol that Great Britain accepted and recognized New Zealand as an independent nation, as was the Treaty of Waitangi , which was later concluded . None of the Māori had foreseen that the tribes would be gradually expropriated .

The flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand is still considered a symbol of tribal independence, as demanded by individual political groups of the Māori .

literature

  • Arthur Saunders Thomson : The Story of New Zealand: Past and Present, Savage and Civilized . J. Murray , London 1859 (English).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christina Anette Dölling: New Zealand - A Nation of Immigrants . Deutscher Wissenschafts-Verlag (DWV), Baden-Baden 2008, ISBN 978-3-935176-85-9 , p. 49 .
  2. ↑ Musket Wars . In: New Zealand History . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , September 11, 2015, accessed March 13, 2016 .
  3. ^ Thomson : The Story of New Zealand . 1859, p.  270 .
  4. ↑ JD Raeside : Thierry, Charles Philippe Hippolyte de . In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , September 1, 2010, accessed August 20, 2012 .
  5. ^ Thomson : The Story of New Zealand . 1859, p.  269 .
  6. ^ Thomson : The Story of New Zealand . 1859, p.  271 .
  7. ↑ a b United Tribes flag . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , December 5, 2015, accessed March 13, 2016 .
  8. ^ Thomson : The Story of New Zealand . 1859, p.  276 .