Treaty of Waitangi - Social Studies

In 1830 there were 100,000 Māori and 200 Europeans living in New Zealand. The behaviour of the Whalers, the Missionaries’ desire to help protect Māori rights and the Musket Wars were reasons that a treaty was needed. The Declaration of Independence was another contributing factor to the need for a treaty.

One reason that a treaty was needed was the lawless behaviour of some of the British Settlers like whalers. The whalers would spend months at sea always on duty and limiting their food. When they reach shore they start to party and celebrate that they are of the sea. They drink a lot while on land and most of the time it is the reason for the fights. The whalers cause trouble while on land in New Zealand because when they reach the boat they have to get straight back to work. In my opinion, if we had the treaty in place they wouldn’t be treating the land that way.`

Another reason that a treaty was needed was to protect Māori rights. One group that felt strongly about this was the missionaries. Despite this, Maori were still being looked down upon by the Europeans as they brought out the land and tried to make New Zealand more like how the English lived. The missionaries spent most of their time in New Zealand trying to teach the local Maori people how to read and write, farm with better technology, and they taught the Maori the English ways. Take the case of the first conversion 15 years after the missionaries arrived, one Maori converted to Christianity just as the missionaries hoped. In 1840, there were around 3,000 conversions of Maori to Christianity. As a result of this, the Missionaries had a good relationship with the Maori and when the treaty came into play the missionaries encouraged the Maori to sign. They thought it was a good idea as it would help protect the Maori rights and it would help them slowly lead more into the English ways. Without the treaty, I don’t think the Maori would have as many rights as they did after the treaty.

Another reason that a treaty was needed was the Musket Wars. The Musket Wars started because of a trade Ngaipuhi made with the Europeans for the Muskets in the 1800s. Ngaipuhi started a war with another tribe and because of the muskets, the other tribe couldn’t keep up so they also had to buy muskets. This carried on all throughout New Zealand and because the muskets were the best to use for war those who didn’t have them lost or had to trade what little they had to buy them. Because of all the wars, the boundaries were impacted quite a lot. It is said that around 20,000+ people were killed during the musket wars. If the treaty was in place the musket wars would have never happened as they would be united rather than divided.

The final reason that a treaty was needed was the existence of the Declaration of Independence. What is the Declaration of Independence? Interestingly, the Declaration of Independence was formed to promote as well as protect Maori rights. In 1831, about 13 Ngapuhi chiefs wrote to the king of the United Kingdom to see an alliance of sorts to protect them from other powers. In October 1835, James Busby called a hui (meeting) at Waitangi. Around 34 chiefs signed the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand. This treaty helped them trade with others and showed the rest of the world that New Zealand was a country helped by Britain. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed after that to let the British live with the Maori in New Zealand. Without the Treaty of Waitangi, we wouldn’t be doing what were are today.

In conclusion, a treaty was needed because it protected Maori culture and enabled Maori to stay in New Zealand as Maori. The treaty also helped the crown for it gave them the right to govern over New Zealand and represent the interests of all New Zealanders. It helped stop the Musket Wars by uniting the nation and protecting all. The treaty helped impact both sides of the spectrum then and now. The negative effects of the Maori were impart mitigated by the Treaty of Waitangi.