“To His Majesty, King Edward the Seventh”

Abstract

At the turn of the twentieth century, Māori had given up the gun and turned to politics and petitions to Parliament to get resolution for the unjust, often illegal actions of the Crown. This essay discusses the evolution of a petition from Māori in the early twentieth century, which was originally addressed to King Edward VII, outlining a number of grievances with the settler government regarding their treatment of Māori in violation of guarantees made under the Treaty of Waitangi.