Post by Kiwi Frontline on Feb 18, 2024 8:50:27 GMT 12
Gerry Eckhoff: WAITANGI - TREATY OR TANIWHA.
One of the most significant events which led to the need for a treaty here in NZ was inter-tribal warfare. Historical estimates of 20,000 Maori deaths due to fighting between Iwi was reason enough for a Treaty. The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi turned Maori attention from fighting each other to fighting the Crown - the NZ wars. Some might suggest the battles haven’t stopped since.
So where does that leave the Treaty of Waitangi? The colonization of NZ has delivered so much more than just a peaceful multi-cultural country where practises and people can rely on the greatest of all gifts – one law for all. We live in a country which effectively outlawed the common practise of inter-tribal slavery with the signing of the Treaty. Prior to 1840, fighting was commonplace in the North Island, as was slavery, which was not even mentioned in the Treaty of Waitangi yet one of the greatest achievements of the British was the ban of slavery in 1833. Little is ever made of that reality by academia who prefer to focus on who said what to whom in 1840. It is this feigned, yet persuasive academic speak that prolongs continuing debates on what went wrong rather than what went right. It brought about civilization and a 1st world status to this island country in the South Pacific…
breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2024/02/gerry-eckhoff-waitangi-treaty-or-taniwha.html
One of the most significant events which led to the need for a treaty here in NZ was inter-tribal warfare. Historical estimates of 20,000 Maori deaths due to fighting between Iwi was reason enough for a Treaty. The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi turned Maori attention from fighting each other to fighting the Crown - the NZ wars. Some might suggest the battles haven’t stopped since.
So where does that leave the Treaty of Waitangi? The colonization of NZ has delivered so much more than just a peaceful multi-cultural country where practises and people can rely on the greatest of all gifts – one law for all. We live in a country which effectively outlawed the common practise of inter-tribal slavery with the signing of the Treaty. Prior to 1840, fighting was commonplace in the North Island, as was slavery, which was not even mentioned in the Treaty of Waitangi yet one of the greatest achievements of the British was the ban of slavery in 1833. Little is ever made of that reality by academia who prefer to focus on who said what to whom in 1840. It is this feigned, yet persuasive academic speak that prolongs continuing debates on what went wrong rather than what went right. It brought about civilization and a 1st world status to this island country in the South Pacific…
breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2024/02/gerry-eckhoff-waitangi-treaty-or-taniwha.html