Charles Philippe Hippolyte de Thierry (April 1793 – 8 July 1864) was a nineteenth-century adventurer who attempted to establish his own sovereign state in New Zealand in the years before the Treaty of Waitangi between the British Crown and the Maori chiefs in 1840.
Charles de Thierry
A photograph of Charles de Thierry, probably taken after he had returned to Auckland in 1853
Attempt to establish his own sovereign state in New Zealand in the years before British annexation
Biographyedit
Page one of a manuscript entitled 'Historical narrative of an attempt to form a settlement in New Zealand' by Baron de Thierry.
De Thierry was from a French family that had fled to England following the revolution. He claimed to have been born in 1793 while his parents were fleeing, probably in Grave in the Netherlands. Upon reaching England, his father Charles Antoine de Thierry, claimed the title of Baron Nasher.[1]
De Thierry was enrolled at Magdalen College, Oxford, and claimed to have transferred to a college of the University of Cambridge. There, he met Hongi Hika, the Ngāpuhi chief who was visiting England, and the missionary Thomas Kendall. De Thierry subsequently arranged a purchase of 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) at Hokianga, in Northland, through Kendall while at Cambridge.[1] The land was bought for the price of about 500 muskets plus powder and ball which de Thierry sent to Sydney, Australia. Hongi Hika uplifted the weapons on his return to Sydney. It was this act that ignited the inter-iwi and inter-hapu Musket Wars in New Zealand, which continued until about 1842.[2]
After travels in North America and the Caribbean, de Thierry came to the Pacific in 1835. In the Marquesas Islands, he announced himself King of Nuku Hiva[1] and wrote to James Busby, the British Resident in New Zealand, of his intentions to land there and establish himself as "sovereign chief". His kingdom would embrace free trade and medicine, and share its "occasional bounties" with local chiefs.[3] In Sydney 1837 he recruited some locals to join his adventure, but when he arrived in the Hokianga, rangatira (chiefs) Tāmati Wāka Nene and Eruera Maihi Patuone repudiated his claims. He was allowed to settle at a smaller, 800-acre plot by Nene and Te Taonui. The settlement was a failure, however, as de Thierry's followers rioted and abandoned him, and he was dependent on Māori charity. Despite his failures, he continued to exaggerate his successes to France and agitate for the establishment of a French colony led by himself. Any possibility of this was finally curtailed with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.[1]
De Thierry subsequently moved to Auckland, where he worked as a piano teacher until his sudden death on 8 July 1864.[1]
Footnotesedit
^ abcdeRaeside, J. D. (1 September 2010). "Thierry, Charles Philippe Hippolyte de – Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
charles, thierry, charles, philippe, hippolyte, thierry, april, 1793, july, 1864, nineteenth, century, adventurer, attempted, establish, sovereign, state, zealand, years, before, treaty, waitangi, between, british, crown, maori, chiefs, 1840, photograph, proba. Charles Philippe Hippolyte de Thierry April 1793 8 July 1864 was a nineteenth century adventurer who attempted to establish his own sovereign state in New Zealand in the years before the Treaty of Waitangi between the British Crown and the Maori chiefs in 1840 Charles de ThierryA photograph of Charles de Thierry probably taken after he had returned to Auckland in 1853BornApril 1793Grave Dutch RepublicDied8 July 1864 aged 71 Auckland New ZealandResting placeSymonds Street CemeteryKnown forAttempt to establish his own sovereign state in New Zealand in the years before British annexationBiography edit nbsp Page one of a manuscript entitled Historical narrative of an attempt to form a settlement in New Zealand by Baron de Thierry De Thierry was from a French family that had fled to England following the revolution He claimed to have been born in 1793 while his parents were fleeing probably in Grave in the Netherlands Upon reaching England his father Charles Antoine de Thierry claimed the title of Baron Nasher 1 De Thierry was enrolled at Magdalen College Oxford and claimed to have transferred to a college of the University of Cambridge There he met Hongi Hika the Ngapuhi chief who was visiting England and the missionary Thomas Kendall De Thierry subsequently arranged a purchase of 40 000 acres 16 000 ha at Hokianga in Northland through Kendall while at Cambridge 1 The land was bought for the price of about 500 muskets plus powder and ball which de Thierry sent to Sydney Australia Hongi Hika uplifted the weapons on his return to Sydney It was this act that ignited the inter iwi and inter hapu Musket Wars in New Zealand which continued until about 1842 2 After travels in North America and the Caribbean de Thierry came to the Pacific in 1835 In the Marquesas Islands he announced himself King of Nuku Hiva 1 and wrote to James Busby the British Resident in New Zealand of his intentions to land there and establish himself as sovereign chief His kingdom would embrace free trade and medicine and share its occasional bounties with local chiefs 3 In Sydney 1837 he recruited some locals to join his adventure but when he arrived in the Hokianga rangatira chiefs Tamati Waka Nene and Eruera Maihi Patuone repudiated his claims He was allowed to settle at a smaller 800 acre plot by Nene and Te Taonui The settlement was a failure however as de Thierry s followers rioted and abandoned him and he was dependent on Maori charity Despite his failures he continued to exaggerate his successes to France and agitate for the establishment of a French colony led by himself Any possibility of this was finally curtailed with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 1 De Thierry subsequently moved to Auckland where he worked as a piano teacher until his sudden death on 8 July 1864 1 Footnotes edit a b c d e Raeside J D 1 September 2010 Thierry Charles Philippe Hippolyte de Biography Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Retrieved 27 December 2013 Moon 2012 pp 65 78 Sinclair Keith 1986 A History of New Zealand 3rd ed Auckland New Zealand Pelican Books pp 52 53 ISBN 0 14 020344 3 References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles de Thierry Moon Paul 2012 A Savage Country The Untold Story of New Zealand in the 1820s Penguin Books NZ ISBN 978 0 143567387 Raeside J D 1977 Sovereign Chief Christchurch a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles de Thierry amp oldid 1155137026, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
