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.

                                            

Scotland and England Act of Union - Social Sudies

 

Treaty Of Waitangi - Power to The People

This week I have been learning more about the treaty of Waitangi and why it was signed. The treaty of Waitangi is a huge deal and if you think not just wonder how important it must be to have its own day on the calendar. We went through a slideshow about the day, when it was, what it was about, and who signed it trying to fit as much knowledge of the day in our brains as we could. I found out that the treaty was signed by the Maori and the British crown, It was about letting the queen or king rule the land. It also was about letting the Maori be treated the same as the British for they had been discarded and denied whenever they had tried to do something around the British. here is my work on the treaty of Waitangi.

1. Who was the Treaty of Waitangi between? 

The British and Māori.

2. When did the government decide that they needed a treaty? 

1830’s

3. Why do you think the treaty needed to be translated? 

Because if it was only in one then only one group of people would understand what it said and what it meant. If you could read it then you wouldn’t know what the agreement was.

4. How many chiefs signed the treaty on the 6th of February 1840? 

500

5. What was the main cause of the wars in the 1860s? 

Because the treaty wasn’t translated in both languages.

6. What happened in the 1970s? 

The Māori people decided to finally protest for their land.

7. Why do you think it took so long for people to protest about the treaty?

Because people had different opinions and others probably didn’t want to get rid of the thing that their own people agreed to.

8. Research and find out what a ‘tribunal’ is. 

It is a seat of judgment, particularly a judge’s seat in court.