New Zealand became a part of the British Empire in 1840 after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Accordingly, British nationality law applied to the colony. All New Zealanders were British subjects, including the indigenous Māori, who were extended all rights as British subjects under the terms of the treaty. Because ambiguous wording in the treaty raised uncertainty as to whether the Māori were actually granted subjecthood or merely the rights of that status, the Native Rights Act 1865 was later passed to affirm their British subject status.