In Social Studies we had to complete an essay on why the Treaty of Waitangi was needed. We had to write a paragraph about missionaries, musket wars, lawlessness and the Declaration of Independence and explain why they contributed to why the treaty was needed from the information we had accumulated over the past few weeks of looking at this topic. Here is my essay:
Historians debate that comprehending the reasoning behind historical events is far more essential than remembering the specific details. In 1840, Maori and Europeans signed the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was needed to establish laws and boundaries between Maori and Europeans. A written agreement between these parties was required for numerous reasons. Though the treaty was signed in the past it is still important to today’s culture.
New Zealand’s lawlessness in the 1830s was a key factor in why the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. European whalers used to stop in Russell after long trips on their boats. Once on land, the European whalers would make poor decisions affecting the welfare of New Zealand and it quickly led to Russell earning the name ‘the Hellhole of the Pacific’. The whalers inadequate behaviour wouldn’t have stopped if actions weren’t taken to prevent these issues. Fortunately, the treaty allowed for these problems to be resolved. Obsessive drinking from the whalers leads to fighting, disease and prostitution between the Europeans and the indigenous women of New Zealand. The lack of laws provided a much-needed excuse for the treaty as it allowed them to enforce new standards of behaviours.
Missionaries went out of their way to protect Maori rights and earn their trust and respect. The Maori decision to sign the Treaty of Waitangi was heavily influenced by the missionaries who did everything they could to help them. Maori were taught how to read and write in their native language, Te Reo Maori, due to the missionaries that we’re able to teach them what they knew. After concerns about the impact large land sales had on the Maori, the European missionaries purchased land for them in an effort to help the Maori keep the land that was rightfully theirs. Missionaries were also anxious apart the alarming numbers of Maori being killed or enslaved because of the musket wars leading them to do whatever they were able to do to fuse the situation. The reasons above prove how the missionaries did everything in their power to make sure the Maori rights were protected, ultimately leading in the signing of the treaty.
Between 1807-1842 over 20,000 Maori lost their lives due to musket wars. Tribes without muskets were forced to trade large amounts of food and flax for muskets just to have a chance at surviving. Tribal boundaries changed dramatically because muskets fights became a common way to obtain more land. After muskets were introduced to New Zealand a number of wars broke out, killing thousands. Fatal incidents and huge loss of land became regular due to these wars. The introduction of muskets created great havoc and caused violence as laws were not in place to prevent the trading of muskets, making the Treaty of Waitangi all the more necessary to avoid situations like the muskets wars for happening again.
Surely there must have been something in place before the Treaty of Waitangi, right? Intriguingly, just 5 years prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, 34 Maori chiefs signed the Declaration of Independence. The signing of the Declaration meant that chiefs would annually meet to discuss problems and establish laws boundaries, a copy of the flag would be sent to the king so New Zealand could trade with other countries and that the Maori would have complete independence over their country. Unfortunately, there were many negative consequences that occurred due to this signing. Tribes soon broke out into warfare causing chiefs to not meet. Despite complete mana and sovereignty remaining with the Maori, they could only trade with the British. The Treaty of Waitangi was needed in place of the Declaration of Independence to ensure laws and agreements were established to protect the land and people of New Zealand.
This essay has provided valuable reasons as to why the Treaty of Waitangi was needed. Lawlessness, missionaries, musket wars and the Declaration of Independence were all major impacts into why the Treaty of Waitangi was essential to New Zealand. We are able to gather that New Zeland was not in good condition before the treaty as no boundaries had to be set in place leading to many negative consequences such as disease, wars, murders, and having no rights. A treaty was an obvious solution to the issues that used to occur in New Zealand.
