Why a treaty was needed. (Social Studies)

In 1830 there were 100,000 Māori and 200 Europeans living in New Zealand. The behavior 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 behavior of some of the British Settlers like whalers. Whalers would spend months at a time at sea with numbers of up to 200 people. After spending months at sea it is no surprise that when the whalers arrived at the port in Kororareka (now known as Russell) that they were described as lawless drunkards. Their obliviousness and disregard for rules, laws, and manners would lead some Maori chiefs to sign both the declaration of independence and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi). Maori chiefs hoped that these truces between the Crown and their People would lead to some enforcement of basic morals and common manners. Meaning that Kororareka would become a prosperous, peaceful land along with the rest of Aotearoa (New Zealand). Whalers made Maori feel unsafe even in their own home. Their disregard for the people's rights and humanity scared so many of the Maori people. This encouraged the Maori chiefs even more to sign the treaty.

Another reason that a treaty was needed was to protect Māori rights. One group that felt strongly about this was the missionaries. The missionaries taught the Maori religion, farming methods, just more effective and easier ways of doing things. This caused relations between missionaries and Maori to become very strong. The missionaries wanted Maori to keep their rights, religion, everything that had value to the Maori. The missionaries didn’t want the death of their Maori friends, their enslavement, loss of land, and for Maori to be forced into prostitution. Missionaries were a big part of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Many missionaries convinced Maori chiefs to sign the treaty in hopes it would give Maori a better life. The missionaries wanted Maori to prosper meaning trading with the British and whalers, however because of the way the whalers acted it made it difficult to trade with them. The missionaries in many ways helped Maori to move forward both in an economic way and a technological way.  

Another reason that a treaty was needed was the Musket Wars. The musket wars killed tens of thousands. A fifth of the Maori population died. The British trade with the Maori giving Maori Muskets. The impact of this meant that land was stolen from the smaller tribes. Meaning those who didn’t die from bullets could have died from starvation as there was less room to hunt. The British, however, prospered from the trade. The British gained lots of resources to do with as they liked in exchange for a few muskets. During the musket wars, so many Maori died that the British population overtook the Maori in NZ.

The final reason that a treaty was needed was the existence of the Declaration of Independence. What is the declaration of independence? Why was it signed? Interestingly the Declaration of Independence was just more of the same, nothing really changed until the signing of the Treaty.  In 1835 the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Declaration was made to maintain mana (spiritual power of sorts) and sovereignty (authority) however New Zealand would become an independent country and would only be able to trade with the British. The signing of the Declaration had little to no effect. The Maori had no intentions of trading with the French after their last bloody encounter with them. Mana and sovereignty didn’t change either as the declaration kept them the same. The Declaration was worth nothing.

In conclusion, a treaty was needed because to protect both Maori and the British both physically and economically. The way the whalers acted and the impact of the missionaries are 2 of the reasons a treaty was both needed and wanted. The whalers were a major reason for the treaty to be signed, they caused havoc throughout NZ with their drunken behavior causing destruction leading Maori chiefs to sign the treaty. The treaty wasn’t translated very well causing a lot of issues in the future although I believe that the treaty was a good thing. The treaty despite its flaws was a good thing and was needed.