The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document of New Zealand, a subject of endless discussion and controversy, and is at the centre of many of New Zealand's major events, including Waitangi Day celebrations held on 6 February every year. This book is an easy-to-understand introduction to the basic details about the Treaty, which was signed in 1840 between Maori and the British government. The Treaty is unique in the world in that it is one of the few treaties raised between indigenous and colonising peoples that has stood the test of time and remains a legal and binding document for relations between the two cultures.