Notes

Contents: Deep history -- Worlds in collision -- Imperialism and its leakage -- A declaration of independence -- The 'artful humbug' and others at work -- Signing the treaty -- Spreading the word -- 'Little more than a legal fiction' -- Shadows on the land -- Assertions of empire -- Maoriland -- 'Look to the sun' -- 'The treaty is a fraud!' -- A revolution from below -- Judgements of history.
Summary: Historian Matthew Wright explores the evolution of New Zealand's most historically significant document, the Treaty of Waitangi, from its origins to its place in the present day. From the early cultural collisions between Māori and Pākehā that led to this landmark agreement, to the many reinterpretations that have followed, Waitangi : a living treaty brings the story and concepts of the Treaty to life in this revealing and thought-provoking read. (Back cover)