Waitangi: A living treaty

I’m pleased to announce the release of my latest major history title today – a book on the Treaty of Waitangi, which is published by Bateman Books and available from all good bookstores in New Zealand or online.

The book explores the concept that the Treaty is a living document, its meaning and purpose evolving with society and thus making it as current in today’s context as it ever was. To show that, I’ve explored how its meanings have changed over time with changing society. Just to give that a bit of context for my readers outside New Zealand, this Treaty – signed in February 1840 – is one of New Zealand’s key founding documents, essentially as important to New Zealand as the Constitution is to the United States, although the Treaty itself is not a constitution.

There’s going to be more here and elsewhere about the book in coming days I’ve got a book signing this week and some mainstream media interviews lined up. And it is, I believe, already picked up as a university text.

Click to buy direct. Or check out any good NZ bookshop.

Here’s the blurb: “Acclaimed 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 Maori and Pakeha 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 live in this revealing and thought-provoking read.”

To check it out, go to any good New Zealand bookshop – or click on the cover above to go direct to the publisher’s website. More soon.

Copyright © Matthew Wright 2019