Seven facts about Christianity and the Treaty

There is a saying; Those who control the present, control the past.

It’s easy for a people to lose the true perspective of their history – because the stories they hear are inevitably told through the lens of those with the most power. Power corrupts narratives. Those who control the present, control the past. What people are led to believe as a result then shapes their thinking, their activism, and their behaviour.

There is a clear anti-Christian sentiment in our culture. There is also a pain felt by many regarding our nation’s failures – with the story of our Māori being betrayed through an abandoning of the Treaty of Waitangi widely told. However, when religious prejudice is added to that story, aligning Christianity with colonisation in a dishonest way, a potent and toxic vapour is created. Those who believe that story then begin to hold unfair judgements and prejudices –  while unaware how significantly this is so.

In view of this, here are seven facts related to the Treaty of Waitangi / Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Christian faith.

Concise points from history will be included to illustrate – while wider reading is always encouraged. The goal is something brief, to share stories that can aid a balanced perspective.

FACT 1:

The treaty was only possible because there was an existing trust and also shared vision of a brighter future held by both Māori and a specific group of non-Māori. How and why?

The fact that there was hope of a brighter future doesn’t need mention. Māori were benefitting from wider trade and many civilisational benefits. They were also greatly benefitting from the peace Christian values had enabled. What they and the missionaries didn’t want was for them (Māori) to lose everything – by way of being colonised. The Treaty represented a future hope.

The significance of Christianity is in its connection to the bicultural partnership that existed. A contrast would be to mere trade partnerships with the Whalers, Sealers and Traders – with concurrent (and deserved) mistrust toward the foreigners. The different nature, character and goals of sincere Christians explains why they were invited to live amongst Māori by chiefs Te Pahi and later Ruatara. The first invited NZ Pākehā settlement resulted in late 1814 at Rangihoua Bay next to Ruatara’s Pā (30 minutes North-East of Kerikeri).

Marsden’s personal charity and vision for Māori was generous in the highest order. He went as far as personally purchasing a ship (The Active) to enable the mission, because the Whalers, Sealers and Traders were so notoriously dishonest. He gifted sheep (having been one of two people who were foundational to the Sheep and wool industry in Australia – before becoming the the same for New Zealand), cows, the farming of wheat and other grains, woodwork skills and tools, blacksmithing – and a multitude of other skills, trades and civilisational benefits to Māori. It was generosity to the extreme – serving the interests of others. As another storytelling direction (with no space to tell the stories here), Henry William’s peace-making is another easy example of significant Christian engagement, creating a platform for trusted relationship. Traders didn’t risk their lives to stop battles. There was no harm to Pākehā interests if Māori were killing Māori. However, missionaries did stop battles. These Christians – who we call ‘missionaries’ – had a faith that affirmed the belief that all are equal before God. Other faiths do not affirm this in the same way. To them, Māori lives therefore mattered. Henry Williams walked upright across Māori battlefields, with muskets fired around him, instructing Māori to stop their infighting and killing, to instead embrace the ways of peace. He had enormous success – with a legacy of peace-making taking root amongst Māori as a result. This pattern was then replicated by them throughout the full length of our nation.

This trust is the reason the Treaty was possible.

 

FACT 2: 

The treaty was only possible because Māori had been helped to create the perception of their national unification as a nation. How, and by whom?

He Whakaputanga / The Declaration of Independence is an agreement amongst Māori chiefs signed in 1835. It affirmed the unity and therefore nationhood of the Māori as one people – in contrast to their being a divided peoples made up of many independent and warring tribes. The significance is that this meant that New Zealand wasn’t ‘no man’s land’ for any person or nation to take in the manner it was still being taken. He Whakaputanga is called the Tuakana (older brother) of Te Tiriti  – which is the Teina (younger brother). Without the first we could not have had the second.

Both Busby and Henry Williams were directly involved with He Whakaputanga / The Declaration of Independence – acting to protect Māori from wider harm. This included establishing a national flag to enable Māori ships to sail and trade overseas as was required by international law – without which a ship would be confiscated (and a Māori ship had already been confiscated).

Eruera Pare Hongi translated of the agreement. He had been an orphan, educated in a mission school in Northland, then given an education in Sydney. This resulted in his bilingual literacy. At age 20 he helped with the scribing of He Whakaputanga before tragically dying a year later in 1836. Having embraced Christianity he had been baptised by missionary Yates in 1831, and had also helped to translate some of the Scriptures into Te Reo Māori before his passing.

While many tribes were actually still at war with each other at this time – the impression created by He Whakaputanga of a single people, in a single nation, protected Māori – and while there was some agency from some Māori chiefs in this, it was significantly a work of charitable love and care from Busby and Williams also. It’s a significant detail.

 

FACT 3:

The Treaty was backed by Christian involvement and motivations. By whom, and how?

The DNA of our Treaty stands in contrast to the spirit of domination common to practically all people groups prior to Christ’s influence. This was as true of Māori who would conquer and dominate each other, as of practically all other peoples and nations internationally.

The generous ideas found in the Treaty had specifically Christian origins.

Britain was like all other nations – conquering and expanding. It was Christian influence within Britain that pushed against this, and eventually stopped it. This was a heroic effort – and a ‘world first’!

To note what is commonly missed: Who do we have to thank for stopping the internationally prevalent culture of domination, conquering and even colonising? In truth, Christianity is to be thanked. Concurrently, where did this first and most significantly take place? In Britain!

The Clapham Sect (think William Wilberforce and the battle against slavery) applied Christian values to public life. Beyond battling slavery they were anti-colonialistic. Lord Glenelg in the Colonial Office in Britain was disgusted at Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s plans to buy and sell of large areas of land in New Zealand – opposing it. James Stephens Junior later penned ideas of a radical treaty.  (His father was a friend and contemporary working alongside William Wilberforce.) Lord Normanby of the Colonial Office then commissioned Hobson because of Hobson’s resolute and tough character. He was to travel to New Zealand to investigate the situation. After returning with a report, he was sent a second time to ‘stop this disaster’ [of colonisation], ‘but if not possible to mitigate [soften] it.’

If not for long-term Christian activism challenging the natural human cultural ways of power and domination – and if not specifically for Christian activism in New Zealand at that time, in service to the welfare of Māori, there would have been no Treaty at all!

 

FACT 4:

Christian involvement in the negotiation is the only reason it was widely signed. Why, and how?

Māori generally didn’t trust most Pākehā, and with good reason.  Most people are only looking out for themselves and their own tribe or group.

The contrast is that Māori did generally trust the missionaries – who sought to represent a sincere Christian faith, even if at times imperfectly.

It was the presence of the missionaries at the Treaty discussions that helped Māori perceive the benefits and importance of this agreement as a protection. It was discussions on the grass late into the evenings between Māori chiefs and missionaries that helped them to consider and understand the implications of the Treaty – and the alternative of having no such Treaty. This catalysed their participation, which absolutely did result in their protection – even if that sadly came with gross injustices later on, which we rectify in the best way possible in present times by way of apology and token remuneration.

When travelling wider to get signatures from other chiefs throughout New Zealand, even the great Hobson struggled to get signatories if he didn’t travel with a missionary to help him negotiate. An Australian official who came over to help similarly failed to get Māori chiefs to sign – because he travelled without a missionary. It was only the missionaries they trusted.

The missionaries were uniquely able to bring the two parties together. They were like the ‘pastors at a wedding’ – though they were more than that, because the couple would never have come together if not for that ‘pastor’ too.

 

FACT 5:

Māori unification only took place to the extent that happened because of Christianity. How, and why?

This story is an important part of the context of the Treaty.

Britain couldn’t create a workable treaty with a people who were fragmented, warring and killing each other. There is nothing trustworthy about such a people – to make an agreement with. While Māori had been like that, by 1840 they had demonstrated that they no longer were. Why, and how?

The primary factor is the nation-wide embrace of Christianity among Māori. Studies go has high as suggesting that 90% of all Māori had embraced the Christian faith by the 1860s, attending weekly church services (in Te Reo, and led by Māori). In 1840 numbers weren’t so high, but there was by then a clear and spreading change taking place in beliefs about the value of human life, and behaviour as a result.

There were maybe 50,000 Māori at this time – with only 2000 Pākehā – and only about 36 CMS missionaries. It is not only ironic, but appalling that a narrative has developed, and been spread, that blames this small group for colonisation.

In the years following 1840 Māori became identifiably more Christian than non-Māori. This is a sad irony. Being from a ‘Christian culture’ and being actually ‘Christian’ are different things.

This embrace of Christianity by Māori had quelled a pattern of war, superstitions that ended in death, human sacrifice, cannibalism, and a long-standing culture of revenge. The benefits to Māori were clear. With faith in a God who is above all, loving and good, they were freed to enjoy a new way of peace.

Of course, many Māori were still fighting each other at this time. (I would be accused of dishonesty if I did not note this.) However, a change in beliefs about God and therefore human value, which changes our behaviour, was clearly taking root.

A prominent story was of a chief, Ngākuku from Ngāti Haua (Waikato region) who’s daughter was murdered by enemy raiders. A Gospel of Luke he owned was taken on the same occasion. Having considered the Christian faith he decided it was a better way for his people. He broke protocol, and decided to forgive those who had killed his daughter. Those who had done the killing were then helped to read the Gospel of Luke. It’s message impacted their thinking. They decided to go to see Ngākuku – and the two made peace. This is an example of a significant story that then echoed through the motu/land.

Beyond the first preaching of missionaries, it is therefore of note that the spread of the faith took place not as a missionary work, but more-so at the hands of Māori themselves. They were the ‘evangelists’ to their own people. The way the faith was expressed also took place within the Māori context, the Māori way. The release of Ngāpuhi slaves was significant – many having embraced Christianity, then taking it home. Piripi Taumataakura took the gospel to the Gisborne region. Ripahau features in two places – having been released from slavery, and being literate, he is know to have explained the faith in Rotorua because he later could tell others that a copy of the Gospel of Luke could be found there. Katu (son of Te Rauparaha) and Te Whiwhi in the Kapiti Coast were the ones who had asked about this. Incredibly, it was Ngākuku’s gospel, stolen from his murdered daughter, Tarore’s, body. Ngākuku had forgiven the attackers because he’d embraced Christianity. The attackers later embraced Christianity. Katu and Te Whiwhi had this Gospel of Luke retrieved, read it, and then embraced the same faith – then taking the same message to those they had attacked and lorded over in the South Island. Some South Island revivals followed – like amongst workers at Whaling stations out from Picton, where there were workers from Taranaki, Wellington and the West Coast. Finding new hope, joy and faith, when the Whaling station was closed they took this hope-filled idea of a good and loving God home with them.

The above took place prior to Te Tiriti / The Treaty being signed.

Certainly there is a lot more that could be said.

 

FACT 6:

A uniquely Christian voice sought to defend Māori through the betrayal of Te Tiriti in the years following. Furthermore, the betrayal of Te Tiriti by non-Māori reflected their betrayal of sincere Christian beliefs. How, and why?

Both the Treaty and Christian values were compromised when the Treaty was betrayed. To blame Christianity is to misunderstand almost everything about religion, faith, beliefs and moral obligation.

The scope of the Māori embrace of the Christian faith cannot be understated. The Ngāti Ruanui (southern Taranaki region) ‘martyrs’, Te Mani’era (Manihera) and Kerehopa took the gospel message to Tuwharetoa (Taupō region). Killed during their attempt, the Ngāti Ruanui Iwi decided to forgive their killing. An end to their warfare resulted, with the faith subsequently embraced among the Tuwharetoa.

Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitāke was already soundly Christian before his lands at Waitara (northern Taranaki) were attacked and unjustly stolen by the Crown. Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu were also soundly Christian, leading a pacifist ‘caring ministry’ at Parihaka (western Taranaki). There Māori gathered not only to escape the encroaching Pākehā. They were concurrently trying to reconcile what faith in Creator God might look like in the face of gross injustice – just as their Saviour, Jesus, had also suffered.

Both before and after the signing of Te Tiriti, the Christian faith was fundamental to what happened.

During these times, missionaries commonly worked alongside Māori – while never really very many in number, This is important to remember. While the Māori population stayed at around 50 to 55,000 throughout, from 2000 Pākehā in 1840 there were maybe 50,000 Pākehā by about 1855, and 500,000 by 1880.

For the timeline, the invasion of Parihaka was 1882 – with 10 times as many non-Māori here as Māori.

Octavius Hadfield stood with Wiremu Kingi, defending him in the face of the unjust attack and taking of his lands. He campaigned via public media in both New Zealand and England. This led to Browne losing his job as Governor. Interestingly, even ‘regular clergy’ in Taranaki supported Kingi at that time – even while their work and service was to a Pākehā audience (unlike the missionaries).

The great failure is that the Christian spirit with which the Treaty had been formed was abandoned by the New Zealand Government. Without firm adherence to those Christian (missionary) values, the Treaty had lost its actual foundation. This is a fundamental point if we are to understand the Treaty, and also our own nation. (We are ‘Christian secular’. Both are concurrently true, though true in that order. One is the belief and value system that enables our freedoms, while the other is an expression of that freedom, allowing for all faiths – even while still within the specifically Christian cultural context that has created this freedom.)

As the Pakehā population exploded, a smear campaign against Māori via public media was undertaken, and it worked. This was motived by a desire for land. People often believe their public media – just as many do today.

Some will feel uncomfortable at these stories only because public media hasn’t told them. “How could these stories be true? This isn’t what I was led to believe!”

The missionary voice then fell silent. Some missionaries failed. Some were overwhelmed. Some were demoralised. Some were confused – not knowing what to do. And they were directly maligned. There were public smear campaigns against them – like Henry Williams. It worked. And they also were dying out from old age at this time – because a few decades had now passed.

What remains is unique efforts in defence of Māori. It’s just a tragedy that these efforts, as also those by Māori at this time, failed.

 

FACT 7:

The very humble endorsing of the Treaty of Waitangi in our own times, in recognition of its betrayal, was equally a product of the Christian faith which gifted us the cultural values that achieved this.

Some may struggle at first to perceive this point – because it wasn’t clergy who led the charge (though many were decidedly Christian, like Dame Whina Cooper who led a hikoi / march on Parliament at this time).

Here I refer to the 1975 Act of Parliament and its 1985 amendments, which empowered the Waitangi Tribunal to investigate historical claims dated back to 1840. These types of governmental actions are extremely rare in all of human history. Where comparisons are found (which is difficult to do), it is of note that they will likely be directly reflective of the same Christian faith and values as was happening here. Who else but a ‘Christian’ people (culturally speaking) would reconsider a 130 year old abandoned agreement with a people who were now small in number, and conveniently integrated into a larger cultural group – even if not perfectly so?

Where else has something like that ever happened?

It is only the Judeo-Christian ethic (Jewish-Christian belief system with the values that arise from it) that compels that kind of action.

Even while not formally a Christian nation – we are by values, and any failure to recognise this again fails to understand who we are as a people. Much more needs to be said – as I feel sure many readers will not yet understand this point. However, enough has maybe been said for this article and time.

A closing illustration

Like a marriage, the Christian faith was the pastor of Te Tiriti – which was an agreement between two peoples to become as-one.

However, unlike a Christian marriage, the Christian faith is also what enabled these two parties to come together as part of a wider effort to avoid something worse.

What are the unique dynamics of a Christian marriage covenant in contrast to what we might call a ‘civil union’? The agreement is like a TRIANGLE. There are three parties to a covenant – not just two. The two who are getting married are at the bottom two corners of the triangle, while God is at the top. If both parties keep trying to move closer to God, they unavoidably move closer to each other – where they might otherwise not. This is the distinction.

Te Tiriti was certainly understood as a spiritual covenant by Māori who had a clear trust in the missionaries, while also recognising the Queen of England to be the head of the Anglican Church. What could go wrong?!

To note it, many Europeans present there in 1840 understood it the same way – but certainly not all.

I conclude by stating that, just as Christianity and its values have been foundational to Te Tiriti, they are also needed for its future. This is because human nature will otherwise turn efforts at reconciliation to a basis for reviving of hurt, a holding onto bitterness, a desire for power and even for some revenge.

That third point of the triangle is the vital one for our future. This is more true than most realise. Only the grace of God in our hearts can remedy a past wrong.

The story of the Christian foundations of our Treaty must be told, for it is the true spirit of the Treaty, and this agreement will stand no other way.

DAVE MANN. Dave is a networker and creative communicator with a vision to see an understanding of the Christian faith continuing and also being valued in the public square in Aotearoa-New Zealand. He has innovated numerous conversational resources for churches, and has coordinated various national nationwide multimedia Easter efforts purposed to open up conversations between church and non-church people about the Christian faith and its significance to our nation’s history and values. Dave is the Producer of the ‘Chronicles of Paki’ illustrated NZ history series created for educational purposes, and the author of various other books and booklets including “Because we care”, “That Leaders might last” and “The Elephant in the Room”. Married to Heather, they have four boys and reside in Tauranga, New Zealand.