Samuel D Carpenter

NZHistorian: a blog about Aotearoa New Zealand history in global contexts

Can te Tiriti-the Treaty be reconciled? A review of Ned Fletcher’s The English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi – by S. Carpenter

Just published in the last week or so: Samuel Carpenter, ‘Review of The English Text of the Treaty of Waitangi, by Ned Fletcher. Bridget Williams Books, 2022′, in New Zealand Journal of History 57/1 (2023): 93-94.

May 25, 2023
from the lecture room #2

Below is a second lecture segment that highlights two of the most significant Māori political speeches and correspondence of the mid-nineteenth century: Rēnata Kawepō’s critique of the Waitara transaction, and Wiremu Tamehana’s defence of the Kīngitanga. (Another segment from my lecture series at Laidlaw College for the level 600 and 700 paper Te Harinui: Christianity…

April 27, 2023
treaty stories #2

This is the second in a series of conversations with a few old friends and colleagues in the treaty sector to raise awareness of the kinds of issues, challenges and opportunities faced in that world. And really just to shine some light (māramatanga) on what goes on “on the inside” of the process – whether…

April 25, 2023
Williams Family Reunion 200th anniversary, 1823-2023.

This coming weekend will see a significant family gathering take place in Waitangi, Bay of Islands, when descendants of Henry and Marianne Williams, and William and Jane Williams, will gather to mark 200 years of living in and contributing to this land of Aotearoa New Zealand: https://www.williams2023.co.nz/. The event will be hosted by the hapū…

April 12, 2023
treaty stories #1

This is a series of conversations with a few old friends and colleagues in the treaty sector to raise awareness of the kinds of issues, challenges and opportunities faced in that world. And really just to shine some light (wētahi mārama) on what goes on “on the inside” of the process – whether Waitangi Tribunal…

April 3, 2023
What I’m Reading – VLOG#6

This week I revive my “What I’m Reading” blog. I highlight an amazing text that forces us to dive into the complicated picture of customary land interests and the questionable progress of colonial settlement into the Rangitikei-Manawatū region in the late 1860s. Text highlighted: Thomas C. Williams, The Manawatū Purchase Completed, or, the Treaty of…

March 26, 2023
from the lecture room #1

I have been enjoying creating content for my course on the history of Christianity in AotearoaNZ. The week before last I touched on the amazing life of Tama-ki-Hikurangi Kawepō – baptized Rēnata (Leonard) at the Church Missionary Society in Northland in the early 1840s. I discussed Rēnata Kawepō in relation to his CMS colleague, the…

March 20, 2023
Teaching #AotearoaNZhistories

While preparing lectures to teach an amazing course on Christianity in Aotearoa, there is no shortage of phenomenal books and resources (including online) now available. New Zealand authors and publishers have done fantastically well in recent times re Aotearoa NZ history. Here’s just a snapshot of a few – on my desk today:

March 6, 2023
#From the Archives, no. 3

Henry Williams’ account of the spread of Christianity like wildfire along Kāpiti Coast under teacher Ripahau; and the challenge of working in parallel with Wesleyan missionaries! Henry Williams to CMS, 23 January 1840, Paihia, CMS CN/O94, NLA (original and typescript):

March 1, 2023
Some brief notes on Christianity and te Tiriti o Waitangi

3 February 2023 Christian (Protestant Evangelical) missions to New Zealand began with Samuel Marsden and chief Ruatara in 1814. By the late 1830s, Europeans were trying to purchase large tracts of land, and colonization companies were sending ships of settlers to the country. The British Government stepped in, with James Stephen at the Colonial Office…

February 3, 2023