Ko Āperahama Taonui te kaihautū matakite o Te Popoto, he karangatanga hapū nō Ngā Puhi kei Utakura, kei te taha whakarunga o Te Hokianga. Ko ia tētahi o ngā tāngata nā rātou i tīmata te Kotahitanga o ngā iwi Māori o ngā motu e rua i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. I tipu mai i konei ngā whare pāremata Māori i te tekau tau atu i 1890. Nāna te kōrero i whānau ia i muri mai i te tahunga o te Boyd, i Whangaroa i te tau 1809; ko te whakaaro, 50 tōna pakeke i te tau 1866. Ko tōna pāpā ko Te Taonui, he rangatira whakarae nō roto o Te Popoto, ā, nō te iriiringa, i tapaina a Te Taonui pakeke ki a Makoare, te īngoa o te kāwana i Poihākena (Sydney), arā, a Lachlan Macquarie. I roto i te tekau tau mai i 1820, ko Makoare tētahi nā rātou i tīmata te mahi o te hokohoko rākau i te taha whakarunga o Te Hokianga. Ko te whaea o Āperahama, ko Hinuata nō Ngāti Rēhia o te pokapū o Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands). Ahakoa ko tōna īngoa ake ko Tautoru, nā te mihinare Wēteriana, nā Wiremu Waiti (William White) i iriiri a Taonui paku i te 23 o Tīhema 1833 ki a Āperahama. Ko tōna īngoa kārangaranga ko Āperahama Taonui, ēngari ki te whakaaro nō tōna tohu i te Tiriti o Waitangi i te tau 1840, ka tuhia kētia tōna īngoa ko Abaraham Tautoru.
I whakaaro tonu ngā Wēteriana he tino rangatira a ia, he ātaahua hoki ki te tirohanga kanohi, ēngari kāhore i roa kua āwangawanga i a ia. Nō te Hepetema o 1834 ka tupu he riri mō te āhua o te tāpuketanga o Hauhau, he rangatira rongonui, he tohunga hoki, nō Utakura. I roto i ngā whakawhitiwhiti kōrero e hia nei ngā kauwhautanga a Āperahama Taonui, e poropiti ana kua tata te wā o te taenga mai o te Kaiwhakaora, ā, e ara ake ai te rangatira rā i te mate. Ko ia e kī ana, e tae atu ai ki te aranga ake, ko te whero katoa mai ngā kapua, ko te kitea hoki i ngā rā tekau mā rua e whiti ana i te rangi. Nō te 23 o Hepetema ka puta ake a Āperahama ki mua o te aroaro o ngā mihinare, e mau nā i ētahi kākahu tika o te Pākehā me te ārai mā, roa hoki, e tautau ana i te kanohi; ka waiata ia i ētahi pātere nāna anō i tito. Kotahi, e rua rānei ngā rā i muri mai, ka kī ia ko te Tama ia a te Atua. Ehara, nā runga i ngā tohutohu a Waiti ka unu ia i tana kōrero. Ēngari, i kī ngā mihinare kua kite kē rātou i tōna tino ū ki te whakapono, me tōna kaha ki te takitaki karaipiture, ā, he eke nō ētahi o āna poropititanga, tumeke ana.
I mau tonu a Āperahama Taonui ki te whakapono o ngā Wēteriana. Nāna a Te Rōpiha (John Hobbs) i āwhina ki te whakamāori i te pukapuka a Hopa; kātahi ka tāia ki te reo Māori i Ākuhata 1843. I whakakotahi atu rāua ko tana pāpā ki a Tāmati Wāka Nene, (ko ia hoki tētahi i huri ki te Hāhi Wēteriana) ki te whawhai i a Hōne Heke; he mea hōmai ki a ia tētahi penihana nā te kāwanatanga mō tana taotū pākahatanga i te takiwā pea o Āperira 1845, i te tīmatanga o ngā whawhai i Ōkaihau. Nōna ka kawea tūrorotia ki Ākarana (Auckland) kia ora ai ōna mate, ka whakahoahoa ia ki a Kāwana Hōri Kerei (George Grey). Nō te kitenga i tōna matatau ki te ārahi tangata, ka tukua ia ki te Rōpū Māori Wēteriana hou i Ākarana (Auckland) i te tau 1846‑-1847; ka whakaakohia rātou ko ōna hoa 13 e te minita rā, e Thomas Buddle, ki te 'whakapono whakamātau'. Nōna pea i reira ka ako ia ki te kōrero, ki te tuhituhi pukapuka i te reo Pākehā; ko te mea e maumaharatia ana ia, ko tōna matatau ki ngā reo. Hoki rawa ia ki Utakura kua noho kē ia hei kaikauwhau; ka tohutohungia tōna iwi ki te hanga whare karakia ki te papa rākau, i runga i te tikanga a te Pākehā i te mutunga o te tau 1847. I roto i ngā tau e rua, ka riro i a ia te mahi kaiako i te kura mīhana i Mangungu; ko tōna utu i te tau £10. Nō te tau 1851, ka hoki ia ki Utakura hei kaiako mō ngā Wēteriana; ka tae ki te tau 1856, ka whakatūria ia hei kura māhita i te kura Wēteriana i Waimā.
Nō te wā i a ia i Mangungu, ka tahuri a Āperahama Taonui ki te whakarāpopoto kōrero, 'He Pukapuka Whakapapa mō ngā Tūpuna Māori', mā Hōne Waiti (John White, hei irāmutu tēnei ki a Wiremu Waiti), e whakamārama ana i ngā kōrero mō ngā tūpuna o Te Hokianga mai i a Kupe rāua ko Nukutawhiti. Ko te kī a Āperahama ki a Waiti, nōna e tamariki tonu ana ka ako ia ki te whakapapa, ā, he mea tohutohu rawa ia kia kaua e tuhia ngā īngoa ki te pukapuka kei kuhua noatia ki roto i te pouaka i te taha o te mea whakahāparu; ko aua tūpuna nei hoki, he atua katoa. Ahakoa anō, i whakaae ia ki te tuku kōrero ā‑tuhituhi i runga i tana whakapono ki te Atua Karaitiana. Nō ngā tau mai i 1850, kua whakarērea kētia e Hōne Waiti i Te Hokianga, ka tuhituhi a Āperahama ki a ia me te kōrero atu i ngā taumahatanga kua tau ki a ia: ko te tuhituhi me te whakamārama i ngā waiata, i ngā whakataukī, me ērā atu mea. I āta karanga atu ia, ko tōna mōhiotanga, he Pākehā anake te hunga hei titiro ki te pukapuka rā; nō te Oketopa o 1856, ka tuhituhi ia mehemea ka kitea e tētahi Māori, he kaikiri me te riri ngā hua. Kore rawa ia i whakaae ki te kohikohi kōrero mā Waiti mō te mākutu; he mea tūtūā ka tahi, ka rua kei kitea tōna kūaretanga. Nō muri rawa nei, ka whakaae a Waiti nā Āperahama ia i āwhina, ko ia hoki tētahi o ngā tohunga mārama ki ngā kōrero o tua whakarere o te waka o Māmari; nāna hoki i āwhina a Waiti ki te whakahiato i tana pukapuka, Ko ngā tātai kōrero whakapapa a te Māori me ngā karakia o nehe ( Ancient history of the Māori 1886–89).
Nō te tau 1859, ka whakatūria a Āperahama Taonui hei āteha mō Te Hokianga i raro i te Ture Whakawā ki ngā Takiwā Māori (Native Circuit Courts Act) 1858, mō te utu £15 i te tau. Atu i tēnei wā, i kaha rawa atu tana whakauru ki ngā kaupapa tōrangapū Māori ki Te Tai Tokerau. Ko tana tū he hohou i te rongo, ā, nō te tīmatanga, hau ana tōna reo tōrangapū, hau ana hoki te matakite. I Tīhema 1863, ka whakatūpatoria e Āperahama me ētahi atu a Kāwana Kerei mō ōna āwangawanga, ko 'tērā ngā kapua me ngā whetū (ko ngā whakapukuriritanga, whakatakawairoretanga hoki ēnei), e korikori ana i Waikato, i Taranaki, ka pērā anō i Te Tai Tokerau. Ehara kau i te mea e puta ake ana te tohu nei i te reo o te tangata, 'ēngari nā ngā tohu kē o te rangi'. I te tau 1865, ka tuhituhi ia i āna whakahē mō ngā 'Hauhau wairangi rā' i kārangarangatia rā he Pai Mārire; ki tōna whakaaro, i pōhēhētia nā te īngoa rā, ka whakaarohia he iwi aro ki te pai, he iwi rangimārie. I te tau 1867, ka tū ia hei taka i waenga i a Ngāti Hauata rāua ko Ngāti Kawa i tētahi taha me Te Uri Taniwha i tētahi taha; e taki riri ana mō te pā o Te Ahuahu i te takiwā ki Ōkaihau; ka riro nāna ngā kaiwawao i ārahi mai i te pā e mau haere mai ana i te haki mā me te Paipera. I tutuki pai i a ia te whakaratarata i ngā iwi nei, i runga i tōna kaha ki te karakia me te kauwhau i te karaipiture. Nō te tau 1869, i whakapā atu ki a ia a Te Mākarini (Donald McLean), te minita mō ngā take Māori me te ārai hoariri, mō te hohou i te rongo ki Waikato; ka tohe a Taonui kua tukua noatia atu i te tau 1840 te rangatiratanga o Aotearoa. 'Koinei tā mātou o Te Tai Tokerau i whakatau ai.' Ki ōna whakaaro, nā te mea ko te Kīngitanga me ngā iwi o Waikato i tohe te kōrero rā, e tika ana mā rātou e hohou te rongo.
Heoti i rarua ngā whakaaro o Āperahama, he kore nō te kāwanatanga i whakaae kia hōmai tētahi wāhi whakataunga kōrero whai niho ki te iwi Māori. Nō te tau 1862, ko ia tētahi o ngā tāngata i whakaīngoatia tuatahitia e te kāwanatanga hei mema mō te rūnanga Māori mō Te Tai Tokerau. Ehara, kāore kau noa iho he take; kāore he mana i whakamakeretia iho ki a rātou; tētahi, e whā noa iho ngā huihuinga mai i te tau 1862 ki te tau 1865. I te whakatūranga o ngā tūru e whā mō ngā mema Māori i 1867, kua tautohetia e Āperahama: 'e kore e taea te iwi Pākehā e ngā tokowhā nei; me pēhea e rangona ai rātou i te nui o te Pākehā?…Kāhore he take.' Kua puta kē te hiahia o ngā rangatira, māna tonu e tango te tūranga o te mema tuatahi mō Te Tai Tokerau; kotahi tonu tō rātou whakaaro me ētahi o ngā rangatira o Ngā Puhi, kia riro mā ngā iwi tonu e whiriwhiri ngā tāngata hei whakataetae mō te tūranga mema rā. Kāore, kua whakaīngoa kētia a Frederick Nene Russell hei mema; uru tonu atu ia i te 1868, kāore ia i whakataetaetia. Kāre ngā rangatira rā i whakaae ki te uru atu ki ngā mahi pōti.
Tae rawa ake ki te pokapūtanga o te tekau tau atu i te 1860 kua hau haere tōna rongo hei matakite mātārae ki roto i ngā iwi o Te Tai Tokerau. I ngā tau pātata ki te 1850, ka pā ia ki a Papahurihia, te kaihanga o te whakapono rā, o te Nākahi; e ai ki ngā kōrero, i tū rawa ia hei kaiwhakaako i te whare wānanga i whakatūria rā e Papahurihia i Te Raupō, i Rāwene. Ko te kaupapa o ā rātou whakaakoranga he hohou i te rongo, he whakakotahi i te iwi. I ahu ake pea i taua wā rā ngā pukapuka tekau mā rua a Āperahama e whakamārama ana i te karaipiture; kei Ōmanaia e puritia ana e te hunga nōna. Nō te tau 1869, ka mahue i a Āperahama a Te Hokianga e kai ngotohia ana e te rīriri. Kua whakaaro kē ētahi he hōhonu rawa tana hari i te kaupapa Karaitiana, ā, he pukuaroha rawa ia ki te kāwanatanga. Ka haere ia ki te noho i te awa o Wairoa i Kaipara ki te raki. Nā ngā manaakitanga a tōna whanaunga, a Muriwai, i ōna ngare o Ngāti Whātua i a rātou i Utakura, ka aroha hoki rātou ki a ia. Nō muri mai nei, nō te Pēpuere o 1873, i runga i āna mahi poropiti, whakaora tūroro hoki, ka tukua ki a ia 100 eka i Ōkapakapa, me ētahi 2,061 eka i Ōtūrei, i Tākiwira (Dargaville) ki te tonga. Ka heke a Āperahama i Aoroa ki Ōtūrei. Nō te tau 1873 ka whakatūria ia hei āteha mō Kaipara, ēngari ko tōna oranga he kari kāpia.
Nō konei te putanga o Āperahama Taonui hei hoa mō rātou nāna i hanga te Kotahitanga. Ko tana poropiti i mōhio whānuitia e kōrero ana mō te Tiriti o Waitangi me te hē i kitea e ia i te 1840 (e ai ki ngā kōrero o Te Tai Tokerau), i te wā i whakatakotoria ai te Tiriti ki runga i te tiaki o Ingarangi, kāore i runga i te kākahu Māori. Ka hua i roto i te ngākau o Āperahama te tohu aituā; kātahi ia ka poropiti i te tau 1863: ' "E ngā rangatira o Ngāpuhi whakarongo mai, kaua e ūhia te Tiriti o Waitangi ki te Kara o Ingarangi, ēngari me uhi anō ki tōu kahu Māori, ki te kahu o tēnei motu ake." Kāhore a Ngāpuhi i whakarongo, nō reira ka puta anō te kupu a taua kaumātua: "I a koe e Ngāpuhi ka kore nei e whakarongo, kaati ko te tangata hei noho i roto i tēnei whare me ōna tikanga katoa he pūngāwerewere. He rā tōna kei te haere mai e kite ai koutou i tētahi tangata e mau mai ana e rua āna pukapuka, ko Te Paipera, me Te Tiriti o Waitangi, whakarongo ki a ia." '
Ka tae ki te 1880, ka poropiti a Āperahama i tētahi tikanga nui ka whakaritea i te 1890, e rima tekau tau i muri mai i te Tiriti; i whakawhirinakitia e ia ōna tūmanako ki taua poropiti. Mā reira mai e kitea ai he rongoā mō ngā whenua e murua noatia ana, me tā rātou noho kore mana hoki i ngā mahi tōrangapū. I tuhituhi ia ki a Maihi Parāone Kawiti, tētahi o ngā kaihautū o te Kotahitanga i Pēwhairangi i 1863 ki 1882, ki te hoatu i ētahi kōrero poropiti hei ārahi i te kaupapa. I tāia ēnei pukapuka i te tau 1885 i raro i te panepane He whakaaro nā Āperahama Taonui me Maihi Parāone Kawiti.
Te mea ko ia tētahi o ngā mōrehu o te hunga nā rātou te Tiriti i haina, ka haere a Āperahama ki Te Tii, i Waitangi, i te Maehe o 1881 ki te whakatuwheratanga o te whare rūnanga i tapaina ko Te Tiriti o Waitangi. I hangaia e ia te hui hei tohu mō te whakakotahitanga o te Pākehā rāua ko te Māori. Ko te tikanga ko tētahi tohu whakamaharatanga e mau rā i ngā kupu Māori o te Tiriti e hūhia ana ki te kākahu Māori, kātahi ki te tiaki o Ingarangi, ā, ko te katoa ka riro mā te kāwana, mā Arthur Gordon e hura. Nāna hoki ngā whakaaro o Te Tai Tokerau i whakarāpopoto mō te hanga i tētahi pāremata Māori motuhake, hei kōkiri ki te hui. Kāore te kāwana i tae ki te whakatuwheratanga. Kore rawa atu te kaupapa mō tētahi pāremata Māori i tautokona e te Pākehā. Ko Āperahama tonu tētahi o ngā pou manaaki i te tono a Hirini Taiwhanga mō tētahi pāremata Māori; heoi, nō te kawenga ki a Kuini Wikitōria i 1882, ka hinga anō. I tino mōhio rawa a F. E. Maning ki a ia me tana kī, ahakoa he nui te awe o Āperahama, tērā e nui kē atu mehemea kāore ia i wairangi rawa.
I mate a Āperahama Taonui ki Ōtūrei. Ko tana kōhatu whakamaharatanga e whakaatu mai ana i mate ia i te 23 o Hepetema 1883, ēngari kei ngā kōrero poroporoaki mōna me ngā reta e rua i tuhituhia, kotahi nā tana wahine, nā Kereihi ki a Hōri Kerei, e whakaatu atu ana i te matenga o Āperahama, arā, nō te 23 o Hepetema 1882 kē. E kōrerotia ana ko ngā tohutohu i whakarērea e ia kia karia tōna rua kia hōhonu tonu, ka whakakīia ki te pātara pākarukaru kia kore ai tōna tinana e whakahokia ki Te Hokianga. Ahakoa rā, kei te mau tonu ana tohutohu i taua rohe; kei runga i te tohu whakamaharatanga kei Ōmanaia i hangaia i te tau 1975, e mau ana te whakaahua o tana tapuae he mea whakairo ki runga i te Paipera me ngā kupu e kī ana i te reo Pākehā, 'Ko te tūāpapa tēnei o Ihu Karaiti', hei whakamahara ake ki te wā i tū ai ia ki runga i te Paipera kauwhau ai.
Ko te kōrero tokorua, tokotoru rānei ngā wāhine a Āperahama: i moe ia a Ngā Hui i te 19 Āperira 1840; i muri iho i moe i a Kereihi (i te tamāhine a Muriwai), kei tōna taha e takoto ana i Ōtūrei. Tērā pea i te tekau tau mai i 1830 i whai wahine anō ia, ko Harriet te īngoa. Te āhua nei, kāore ōna uri. Ko ngā hunga e hari ana i tōna īngoa, ko ngā whānau i piri atu ki a ia i Ōtūrei. Kua kōrerotia ake nei, i tae mai ki te kimi iwi mōna i Ōtūrei, ka kitea. Ko ngā kupu poroporoaki mōna, e whakahua ana i te tōkeke o tōna ngākau tapatahi me tōna whakaaro pai ki te Pākehā: 'Kāore he tangata kotahi i hari amuamu atu ki a ia, i whakaaro i te hokinga atu, kāore te tika i mahia ki a ia.'
Katoa ngā kitenga poropititanga a Āperahama Taonui kua mahue hei taonga kōrero i Te Tai Tokerau; kitea rawatia ake, kua naomia atu hoki e te takatūnga Hāhi Rātana. I whakamāramatia e te Hāhi Rātana ko tana kitenga o 1863 ko te haerenga mai o Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana. Ko te nuinga o ngā whānau i whai i a Āperahama i Ōtūrei, i taki huri atu ki te whakapono o te Hāhi Rātana i muri mai o te Pakanga Tuatahi. Ko ana kōrero poropiti katoa i tāia hei pukapuka i Tākiwira i raro i te īngoa Ngā kupu o Āperahama. Ēngari kei Ōmanaia ko ana whakaakoranga e hāngai kē ana ki te momo whakapono, ki te Nākahi; ko te take, e kitea atu ana ko ia rā tonu te whakakapi o Papahurihia. Ko tōna tohu nui ka maharatia ia, he poropiti. Kei roto i ngā kōrero Māori tawhito e tū rārangi katoa ana rātou ko Te Kooti me Te Whiti‑o‑Rongomai.