Originally Posted by
Blue Skies
That's based on a misunderstanding of the situation at the signing of the treaty, which is not surprising the way NZ history was taught in schools the 1960's.
In 1840 the English settlers were heavily outnumbered by Māori.
Secondly have you ever wondered why the English signed a treaty with Māori when in other countries they colonised they just conquered & subjugated the indigenous populations?
What made NZ different ?
The English who at that time were one of the worlds great military powers, saw that Māori like themselves, were also formidable military strategists well versed in the art of warfare.
The English needed a treaty as much if not more than Māori at that time.
Regarding slavery, remember England only legally abolished slavery ( excluding territories in possession of the East India Company) in 1833 & same with Child Labour prohibiting exploitation of children under 9 years.
And in the America it was much later, December 1865 - 25 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi officially outlawed it here.
However, early settlers to NZ speculated that slavery must be extremely rare or non existent by the time they arrived as there was no evidence of it.
England & America are still dealing with their own histories of slavery.