Page "Treaty of Waitangi" Paragraph 13

Without a draft document prepared by lawyers or Colonial Office officials, Hobson was forced to write his own treaty with the help of his secretary, James Freeman, and British Resident James Busby, neither of whom was a lawyer.

Historian Paul Moon believes certain articles of the Treaty resemble the Treaty of Utrecht ( 1713 ), the British Sherbo Agreement ( 1825 ) and the Treaty between Britain and Soombia Soosoos ( 1826 ).

The entire treaty was prepared in four days.

Realising that a treaty in English could be neither understood, debated or agreed to by Māori, Hobson instructed missionary Henry Williams and his son Edward to translate the document into Māori and this was done overnight on 4 February.