Treaty of Waitangi Essay

 In 1830 there were 100,000 Māori and 100 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. This was important because the Maori were getting caught up in the fighting and drinking that was occurring which had a negative effect. When the British arrived and were off the ships the first thing they did was get drunk, which led to very poor behavior. The fighting got really out of hand and wasn’t necessary, the Maori were being affected by the British. Maori women were used as prostitutes which left them feeling hurt and unsafe. The behavior shown was enough to make a treaty that set peace and rules around their behavior and them as people.

One reason that a treaty was needed was the lawless behavior of some of the British Settlers like whalers. This was important because the Maori were getting caught up in the fighting and drinking that was occurring which had a negative effect. When the British arrived and were off the ships the first thing they did was get drunk, which led to very poor behavior. The fighting got really out of hand and wasn’t necessary, the Maori were being affected by the British. Maori women were used as prostitutes which left them feeling hurt and unsafe. The behavior shown was enough to make a treaty that set peace and rules around their behavior and them as people.

Another reason that a treaty was needed was because of the Musket Wars. In the 1800s the musket wars began, over 2000 people were killed during this time. The first tribe to get muskets was at the top of the North Island, Ngapuhi. The tribe did a lot of trading things for muskets so that there became a balance, the balance made them stronger than others. The musket trade had a big impact on land loss for the Maori, the tribal boundaries moved a lot which left not as much land for them. As a result of this many impacts occurred, firstly many harmless people were dying just for others to get what they wanted. People lost their homes and their land over a war that could have been contained in a different way.

The final reason that a treaty was needed was the existence of the Declaration of Independence. Was the Declaration of Independence the catalyst that led to the Treaty of Waitangi? Significantly, the Declaration of Independence was instigated by the British to give them better trading with the Maori. The Declaration started on 28 October 1835, the purpose was to show protection, mana, and sovereignty. 34 chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, the treaty was thought to be signed by more people. Therefore the treaty brought positive trading methods.

In conclusion, a treaty was needed to source peace between everyone. Trading was a big problem with all the tribes, musket wars became a way of killing people to get land and other things. The Treaty of Waitangi stopped these unnecessary behaviors.