What was the name of the 1835 declaration asserting Māori sovereignty over the country, signed by 52 northern chiefs and recognised by the British Crown before the Treaty of Waitangi?

• A The Kotahitanga Proclamation
• B The Treaty of Kohimarama
• C He Whakaputanga / Declaration of Independence ✓
• D The Proclamation of Sovereignty

He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni was drafted at Waitangi in 1835 at the instigation of James Busby, the British Resident, and declared that sovereign power in the land resided with the United Tribes of New Zealand.