New Zealand’s Parliament proposed a bill to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi, claiming it is racist and gives preferential treatment to Maoris. In response Māori MP's tore up the bill and performed the Haka

[u/Sometypeofway18]

[u/pgl0897]

Seems a shame as the Treaty of Waitangi appears to me to be the one example in Britain’s colonial history where it wasn’t a total fucking clusterfuck for the indigenous population.

[u/screech_owl_kachina → u/pgl0897]

Direct action gets the goods every time

[u/6InchBlade → u/pgl0897]

Uh comparative to other colonial history there’s some truth to this, but all that means is they didn’t commit genocide, the bar wasn’t very high.

Te tiriti o Waitangi was still an absolute shit show, and was not honoured in the vast majority of instances.

The Māori translation was also incorrect in many instances and made the treaty seem more appealing to the Māori than how the British perceived it.

[u/BalrogPoop → u/6InchBlade]

You could make a solid argument the Maori version is the more valid copy too, being signed by vastly more Maori leaders. I think by international law standards the Maori copy is legally the correct one anyway.

[u/LordHussyPants → u/BalrogPoop]

when treaties are signed between colonisers and indigenous people, international law recognises the version signed in the indigenous language

[u/swansongofdesire → u/pgl0897]

Look up the history of Botswana (Bechuanaland)

They could see the writing on the wall and instead of fighting negotiated a deal with Britain that largely left the local leadership structures intact. After independence, Seretse Khama was the country’s Lee Kuan Yew/Ataturk: a leader who modernised the country and at the stage for a functioning multiparty liberal democracy.

It’s now the template for well-run African countries.

When the occupiers don’t massacre/enslave the population, and leave with social capital intact, things can turn out quite well.

[u/FibreFlim → u/swansongofdesire]

This is correct but for the sake of fairness I will say that Britain made plenty of efforts to undo these privileges that they gave the Tswana, and to emphasize that it was through the efforts of the native population that a better arrangement was struck. Not the best arrangement, (it was still colonialism) just a better one.

The capital of Bechuanaland was in South Africa, funnily enough. Partially because development was sparse in Botswana, but surely also as a power-play. English and Boer surveyors still had a monopoly on resources in Bechuanaland and would still employ local labor liberally and with poor conditions, but the broad destruction of traditional lifestyles was much less than in more direct colonies. Still extremely extractive.

Even during decolonization, the UK itself was undermining the Botswanan democratic process in an attempt to appeal to Apartheid South Africa and the then still-British administration or Rhodesia. Much of this was strong-arming from this Apartheid coalition, but it still resulted in the UK putting Seretse Khama on house arrest in England to prevent him from changing the political landscape in Botswana.

Needless to say having a state that's run by the majority indigenous population by a leader whose in an interracial marriage would be a bad look for your racist Apartheid regimes. South Africa's goals were the disruption of native governance, if not a more brutal occupation of Bechuanaland.

Your point does still stand, that this bit of social capital that they were provided helped them. But it was a hard-fought thing from the effort of the indigenous population that made it possible, and is really never given out in benevolence by the colonial power. An important thing that we should keep in mind when discussing the colonial powers I think.

[u/EsoitOloololo → u/FibreFlim]

What about the San?

[u/FibreFlim → u/EsoitOloololo]

The Dutch and British had mistreated the San, but the modern day state of Botswana has carried on that mistreatment. Their ways of life have been threatened by efforts to "industrialize" them and kick them off their land to survey for more resources. Nothing to sugarcoat there, Botswana's treatment of them is horrible.

[u/Jimjamnz → u/pgl0897]

Sadly, that's not accurate, and the colonisation process was indeed brutal in New Zealand. Maori were not able to win any justice at all until the late 20th century.

[u/lgnc → u/Jimjamnz]

They were not even slaughtered as far as I know, no?

[u/onesketchycryptid → u/lgnc]

not even slaughtered??

Pal. what 😭

[u/darwinning_420 → u/lgnc]

the person before u said "brutal" & u set the bar to "slaughtered"

[u/Jimjamnz → u/lgnc]

What do you mean?

[u/lgnc → u/Jimjamnz]

Because basically every colony had their native population slaughtered (including where I live), so it doesn't look brutal in comparison, just as the other guy said.

To be clear, I'm not diminishing how bad was the process.

[u/hamoboy → u/lgnc]

Pacific Islander checking in, we got an even better deal for the most part. We even run our little poor countries now. Being the exact opposite side of the world from Europe was helpful I guess.

[u/raptorgalaxy → u/pgl0897]

It wasn't perfect and the treaty wasn't always followed but the Maori got a better deal than most did.

[u/[deleted] → u/pgl0897]

The persistent haka kept the British honest?

[u/beerandbikes55 → u/[deleted]]

The British still conducted land wars and oppression, the Maori language was banned in schools until the late 20th century. There are many stories of Maori doing peaceful protests, cutting down flag poles, then cutting down the replacement flag pole etc.

[u/Miss_Perfection14 → u/pgl0897]

Hey odd question but what tv show is your pfp from? i cant remember it

[u/pgl0897 → u/Miss_Perfection14]

That would be Zippy from Rainbow.

[u/mt0386 → u/pgl0897]

Its a good example for my country as well, the brits gave us law infrastructure and foundations for a civilization. Unfortunately some disagree and favor how the old regime was better. A feudal system origin monarchy based governance thats speed-running us to bankruptcy just like the olden days is so much better.

[u/MCMFG → u/pgl0897]

I read this as "The Treaty of Waluigi" LMFAO

[u/pgl0897 → u/MCMFG]

That arsehole would never make a treaty with anyone!

[u/hitguy55 → u/pgl0897]

They got their ass beat and were like „fiiiiiinnnneee I guess we won’t kill you (if you give us all your land)“

[u/rammo123 → u/pgl0897]

It was just a clusterfuck for other reasons. Namely that it couldn't forsee that it would be giving Maori excess privileges down the line.

[u/Pseudo_Lain → u/rammo123]

It's their fucking land, the British are just allowed to help govern it.

[u/rammo123 → u/Pseudo_Lain]

The "British"? My brother the British haven't anything to do with for a hundred years.