- This article discusses the Declaration of 1835. For information on the process of New Zealand's gaining independence during the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, see Independence of New Zealand.
In
New Zealand political and social
history, the
Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand , was signed by a number of Maori chiefs in 1835, proclaimed the
sovereign independence of New Zealand prior to the signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.