David Farrar: New Zealand Emancipation Day

Today we celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi – a day which should be called Emancipation Day. For on the 6th of February 1840, slavery became illegal in New Zealand. The granting of British citizenship to Maori freed the slaves in law (the practice took a while longer to end)

Slavery was not a fringe part of New Zealand prior to 1840. To quote NZ Geographic:

In 1836, the missionary William Yate told a House of Commons select committee that about half of the Māori population in northern New Zealand were slaves, but that in the South Island it was more like one in 10. Samuel Hinds, who had never set foot in the country, told an 1838 select committee that by his estimate, 90 per cent of the population were enslaved.

We should celebrate 6 February 1840 as the day slavery was made illegal in New Zealand and tens of thousands of Maori slaves gained the rights of British citizens.

The proportion of the population who were slaves was very high in New Zealand. Even if you accept the lower estimate of around 50%, here is what other countries were at their max:

• Brazil 35%
• Roman Republic 15% to 30%
• United States 13%
• Spain under 10%
• Ottoman Empire 5% to 10%
• UK around 1% to 5%

So the Treaty of Waitangi was, as a proportion of the population, one of the greatest emancipations in history. We should celebrate and honour it.

David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders