Editing William Hobson (section)

=== Treaty of Waitangi ===
{{Main|Treaty of Waitangi}}
[[File:NZ Retro Pattern Crown 1840 Victoria Waitangi.jpg|thumb| Retro Pattern Crown: [[Tāmati Wāka Nene]] shaking hands with Hobson at Waitangi on 6 February 1840]]
[[File:Treatyofwaitangi.jpg|thumb|An extant copy of Hobson's treaty]]
The Treaty of Waitangi was first proposed by Hobson on his return to Britain from his first visit to New Zealand. Upon arrival in New Zealand, Hobson almost immediately drafted the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] together with his secretary James Freeman and James Busby. Busby had previously drafted the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand.

Hobson headed the British signatories. Of the 40 or so Māori chiefs, the [[Ngāpuhi]] chief [[Hōne Heke]] was the first to sign the treaty. As each chief signed, Hobson said "''He iwi tahi tātou''", meaning "We are [now] one people".<ref>{{cite book |last=Orange |first=Claudia |title=An Illustrated History of the Treaty of Waitangi |year=2004 |publisher=Bridget Williams Books |location=Wellington |isbn=1-877242-16-0}}</ref> To enhance the authority of the treaty eight further copies were made and sent around the country to gather additional signatures. After obtaining signatures to the Treaty at the Bay of Islands (6 February 1840), he travelled to [[Waitematā Harbour]] to obtain more signatures and to survey a suitable location for a new [[Capital of New Zealand|capital]] (he also sent the Deputy Surveyor-General, [[William Cornwallis Symonds]], to other areas to obtain more signatures). After suffering a [[stroke]] on 1 March 1840, he was taken back to the Bay of Islands, where he recovered sufficiently to continue work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.govt.nz/provenance-of-power/te-tiriti-o-waitangi/view-te-tiriti-o-waitangi-online|title=View Te Tiriti o Waitangi Online|publisher=[[National Archives of New Zealand]]|access-date=6 April 2019}}</ref>

On 21 May 1840, in response to the creation of a "republic" by the [[New Zealand Company]] settlers of [[Port Nicholson]], who were laying out a new town under the flag of the [[United Tribes of New Zealand]],<ref name="flag">{{cite web|url=https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/62255|publisher=[[Te Papa]]|access-date=6 April 2019|title=New Zealand Company / United Tribes flag}}</ref> Hobson asserted British sovereignty over the whole of New Zealand, despite the incompleteness of the treaty signing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/NZConLRes/1840/9.html|title=Proclamation of Sovereignty over the North Island 1840 [1840] NZConLRes 9|date=21 May 1840|access-date=6 April 2019|publisher=New Zealand Legal Information Institute}}</ref> He sent [[Willoughby Shortland]] and some soldiers to Port Nicholson on 25 May 1840, and the council of the settlers was disbanded. Their leader, [[William Wakefield]], later travelled to the Bay of Islands to pledge allegiance to the Crown. His suggestion to make Port Nicholson the capital was rejected in favour of Hobson's plan for a new town on Waitematā Harbour, to be named [[Auckland]] after the [[Baron Auckland|Earl of Auckland]].
[[File:Grave_of_Captain_William_Hobson_(20477925434).jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Grave of Captain William Hobson]]
On 11 July 1840, the French frigate ''L'Aube'' arrived at the Bay of Islands on its way to [[Banks Peninsula]] as part of the settlement plan of the [[Nanto-Bordelaise Company]]. Hobson immediately sent two magistrates to [[Akaroa]] to establish the British claim to sovereignty by holding courts. Near the end of 1840, the Port Nicholson settlers sent a petition to [[Queen Victoria]] calling for Hobson's dismissal over his treatment of them. Hobson responded on 26 May 1841 to the Foreign Secretary.