Treaty of Waitangi signed granting British sovereignty in New Zealand

Background. The Treaty was drafted amidst pressure from the New Zealand Company and French colonial ambitions. The Colonial Office shifted from a 'Māori New Zealand' plan to a settler colony, accelerating plans due to the New Zealand Company's hurried dispatch of the Tory to purchase land and French plans for settlement at Akaroa. Hobson was appointed lieutenant-governor on 30 July 1839 under Governor Gipps, and consul on 13 August 1839.

Signing. Captain William Hobson, as Crown representative, signed the Treaty on 6 February 1840 at Waitangi with Māori chiefs from the North Island. Approximately 530 to 540 Māori, including at least 13 women, signed the Māori language version. The event was preceded by Hobson's arrival in the Bay of Islands and public proclamations at Kororareka.

Aftermath. Following the signing, copies were circulated, and many other chiefs signed over subsequent months. Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty over New Zealand on 3 May 1840, with the North Island claimed by treaty and the South Island and Stewart Island by discovery. New Zealand was constituted as a separate colony by a Royal Charter signed on 16 November 1840, effective from 3 May 1841. The treaty's status remained contested, with its constitutional importance limited by Crown refusals to recognise it for over a century.