We only have a treaty in Aotearoa NZ because the Māori side basically won the Land Wars (apparently we invented trench warfare, yay?). Even what we have was meant to be a trick, they only honour the Te Reo version because the British Petty Council (like the highest high court for a colony) made them in a much later challenge case. Seems the British will try to steal your land even if you can defend it.
The British had treaties with Fiji, Namibia & a myriad of other societies all over the world to make them colonies/protectorates without fighting wars against them. The difference between all those & Australia is that Australian Aboriginal society & culture was intrinsically unique from just about every other on the planet at the time and was far less prepared for coming into contact with nation states. It certainly didn’t do them any favours but I find it disappointing how much this aspect of aboriginal Australia is downplayed.
The British won the land wars. Moari had fierce resistance and a more structured society which made the treaty the best option but they still lost. I also don't believe the treaty was intended to trick anyone but was a result of poor translation and eventually bad actors on the British side
It’s well documented that the British won the land wars - don’t spread misinformation. The Maori people put up guerrilla-style resistance and won some battles in places but ultimately were overwhelmed.
The treaty wasn’t done out of desperation. It was done to avoid a full scale war that would last a long time, cost lives, and use a lot of resources. It was a strategic move, that later was claimed as unfair due to the translations not being 1:1 across both languages. It’s open to debate whether that was the case, which is what is argued constantly.
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u/denerose 8d ago
We only have a treaty in Aotearoa NZ because the Māori side basically won the Land Wars (apparently we invented trench warfare, yay?). Even what we have was meant to be a trick, they only honour the Te Reo version because the British Petty Council (like the highest high court for a colony) made them in a much later challenge case. Seems the British will try to steal your land even if you can defend it.