James Busby

James Busby ( born February 7, 1802 in Edinburgh, Scotland, † July 15, 1871 in Penge, Surrey, England), was wine expert, author of several publications, British Resident in New Zealand politician and 1840 participated in the conclusion of the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand.

Life

James Busby was the second son of Mr and Mrs Sarah Kennedy and John Busby, a civil engineer and expert on minerals. Before he emigrated with his parents in 1824 to New South Wales, he studied viticulture in France.

He bought in New South Wales around 2,000 acres of land in the Hunter River district and began to experiment with the wine. In 1825 he published in Sydney for the first time on wine culture. It was followed by other releases in the following years. Around the same time he took on the job of the superintendent of a school farm orphanage for boys in the city of Cabramatta, near Liverpool. When the Church and School Corporation in 1827 took over control of the school, Busby lost his position. Then he got a job transition mediated, in which he had to collect taxes.

Frustrated by the loss of his employment and the transition job he started in February 1831 on his way back to England to be able to perform well for his case to the Colonial Office. In September 1831, he traveled for four months, Spain and France, visited vineyards and worked on the publication of his travel experiences. Impressed by his speech before the Colonial Office, he was seen as the right man to solve the emerging problems in New Zealand for the British Crown and appointed him to the British Resident in New Zealand. On October 16, 1832 Busby came back to Sydney and married on November 1, his wife Agnes of Dow Segenhoe. Of the six children who emerged from their marriage, survived him only three.

Political action

In the 1820s the Māori of New Zealand led their Musketenkriege, 1823 presented the British crown New Zealand under the control of the Court of Justice of New South Wales and in 1831 put a French warship in the Bay of Islands on to France's claim towards annexation of New Zealand documented. The British government, which had hitherto shown only moderate interest in New Zealand, now changed their attitude. In this situation situation James Busby was sent by the Colonial Office to New Zealand on the one hand to show official British presence and the other hand to maintain order in the center of the settlement of the Europeans, the Bay of Islands and the surrounding area. Equally important was his job to ensure the safety of the British settlers and to convince the Māori for civilized by British government ideas. It should also support missionaries and prove the warships on their arrival assistance services.

Busby had no real power, no soldiers or warships that could rush him to the emergency to help. But he was widely accepted by the Māori to play a mediating role. On 20 March 1834 gathered the Māori chiefs of the region, to select one of three he designed flags that should stand for the union of all Māori tribes. Furthermore, he brought on October 28, 1835 34 northern Māori chiefs to an alliance, as the Confederation of United Tribes ( Confederation of the United Tribes ) to sign the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand ( Declaration of Independence ). Although Māori had no say in the preparation of this document, but signed in the following years further Chiefs, so Busby to 1839 got a total of 52 signatories together. For the Māori did not change much, nor did the Declaration, the British government on them a special effect, but against France could now make their claims in foreign policy better law.

1839 William Hobson was sent to New Zealand to make with the help of Busby Māori under the protection of the British Crown and to the same time annexing New Zealand can. On February 6th, 1840, signed under Hobsons negotiations least 43 Māori chiefs in Busby's house in Waitangi to become known as the Treaty of Waitangi Treaty. James Busby had worked with James Freeman the contract itself.

In March 1840 Busby had to travel with his wife and children to Sydney to fight for the legality and recognition of its land acquisition in 1834, but who was then in charge of New Zealand Governor George Gipps had on 29 January 1840 even before the signing of the contract, declared all land purchases null and void and ordered its review. When Busby returned in November 1840, he found his house and his land repossessed and its acquisition in exam. He tried to establish a livestock on his land anyway, but had no luck with it. In June 1841, he traveled back to Sydney to raise money for further investment and bring his wife and children back to New Zealand. However, the following years were more difficult than I thought and so Busby saw in the late 1840s in serious financial difficulties.

Busby spent after 1840 a ​​long time of his life recognized his purchase of land and thus get justice. In addition to his commitment as a farmer, he worked from 1861 to 1863 as editor of the twice -weekly Aucklanders and sat twice as representatives of the Bay of Islands from 1853 to 1855, and from 1857 to 1863 in the provincial government of Auckland.

1871 Busby traveled with his wife because of an eye operation to England. There he died on July 15 at a congestion in the lungs. His wife Agnes went back to New Zealand, where she died in 1889.

Works

• A Treatise on the Culture of the Vine, and the Art of Making Wine, R. Howe (Government Printer ), Sydney, Australia, 1825.
• A Manual of Plain Directions for Planting and Cultivating Vineyards and for Making Wine in New South Wales, Sydney, 1830.
• Journal of a Tour Through Some of the Vineyards of Spain and France, Sydney, 1833.
• Journal of a Recent Visit to the Principal Vineyards of Spain and France, London, 1834.