Treaty essay

Historians argue that understanding the causes of significant events is much more important than just remembering dates, facts and figures about things in the past. The Treaty of Waitangi was a contract signed by the Maori and British in 1840. The treaty was needed because there were many issues between the whalers and the Maori. 

The behaviour that was happening at Kororareka was bad. Without the treaty the whalers would continue being lawless and disrespectful. The whalers behaviour would have continued to be harmful towards Maori which didn't lead to a positive relationship between the European and Maori. For example the whalers would arrive to Kororareka and spend all their money on drinking which there could be up to 200 of them at a time. There was also increased prostitution with no laws around it and just general bad behaviour. The treaty helped control the whalers because it provided laws that both sides agree to.

 The missionaries wanted to protect the Maori and their rights so they influenced them to sign the treaty. For example the missionaries would purchase land in trust for the Maori, taught them to read and write in Te Reo and helped them with their farming. The reason they encouraged the Maori to sign the treaty was because it was the best way to help them protect their rights.

 The introduction of muskets to Zealand caused wars that killed many people. Maori traded large quantities of food and flax in exchange for muskets. Traditional weapons such as taiaha and mere were used before muskets but with the introduction of them tribes without muskets were forced to seek trade with Pakeha for their own because otherwise they would have no chance winning these battles. These musket wars killed over 20,000 people. The impact of all of this was important because land boundaries were changing rapidly because of these wars. The Musket wars caused increased violence and deaths because there were no laws around the ownership/trading of muskets. A treaty helped to prevent this and provide stability.

Interestingly, there was actually another agreement before the treaty. The Declaration of Independence was an agreement with the British crown signed by 34 rangatira in 1835 which was five years before the treaty. The agreement had a few main points and purposes of why it was needed including the fact that the Maori had declared them selves to have power over the country also that New Zealand was an independent country. The Declaration of Independence helped the Maori a lot, they were able to trade without their ships getting seized because they now had a flag.

This essay has demonstrated that the treaty was needed in New Zealand. Due to the issues of the behaviour of the whalers, the musket wars and the Declaration of Independence many Maori were dying and being treated very badly. We could learn from these situations today by making a treaty. The past has shown that treaties has been successful in creating peace such as the Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty did this for New Zealand so we know that it is possible.