Planning Card - Social Studies

Lawless Behaviour

State your point

In this paragraph, I am trying to prove that a treaty was needed to give rules and laws around certain things in New Zealand. If not, things would have gotten really messy.

Why your point matters

The point is important because they were trading and there was prostitution, etc. They needed to enforce laws so this would stop, although not everyone would listen.

What evidence/facts am I going to use to support my point?

For example,

• Prostitution
• Trading
• They drank profusely, 300 sailors 12 ships at a time

Sum up your point

The lawless behaviours needed to be addressed and that's what the treaty did.

Maori Rights & The Missionaries 

State your point

In this paragraph, I am trying to prove that they needed the treaty to help them protect the Maori rights, to prevent more killing and support them with purchasing things such as land.

Why your point matters

The point is important because without the treaty it would allow more slaughter, leading to the Maori population dropping and more Europeans/missionaries would take over.

What evidence/facts am I going to use to support my point?

For example,

• More killing= population change
• Maori rights unprotected
• Maori land is lost due to Europeans

Musket Wars

State your point

In this paragraph, I am trying to prove that they needed the treaty to stop/prevent musket wars and find a better way to trade/not trade at all. 

Why your point matters

The impact/effect of all of this is because it started out as trading food and land for muskets and then it evolved into wars- considering the musket war.

Declaration of Independence

Open with your question

In this paragraph, I am going to answer what the declaration of independence is and what it did for New Zealand.

Answer your question

Interestingly, it was needed to be signed by 34 chiefs, specifically the north island, and it earned us a flag.

What evidence/facts am I going to use to support my point?

The flag, and the peace between other countries.

Why my point matters

Because it started us off and now here we are. Our own flag, we're a developed country, etc.

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My Social Studies Essay

Why Was A Treaty Needed In New Zealand?

In 1830 there were approximately 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.

A reason a treaty was needed was the lawless behaviour of some of the British settlers- like whalers. Although there were a few French, American, and Australian settlers, British settlers were the majority. Considering they were at sea for months at a time, once they arrived ashore at port Kororāreka, they let loose and were unquestionably reckless. Most of the time there were around 300 different Europeans from 12 different boats in one place at a time. They got drunk, fought, diseases were spread, and prostitution was also involved- meaning pakeha had their way with young Māori women. Kororāreka was now known as ‘the hell-hole of the Pacific.’ While all of this chaos and recklessness occurred, local Māori was trading with pakeha. They traded things like food and land for jobs on their boats where they could sail the seas. Within the span of 10 years, several whaling stations were set up around Aotearoa. For these stations to be located, the whalers had to have permission from the Māori, so they came to terms. Young Māori women were arranged to marry whalers. 

Besides the whalers and their irresponsible ways, another reason a treaty was needed was to protect Māori rights. One group that felt strongly about this was the missionaries. The relationship between missionaries and Māori was superb. Without this special ‘bond’ between the two, things would be very different. Missionaries also taught Māori a number of things such as religion, farming, the British ‘way of life’, and writing and reading in Māori. Māori became very worried about the constant prostitution, spreading diseases, whaler recklessness, and the thousands of deaths caused by the Musket Wars. Missionaries were also concerned, but they focused on how much land Māori was losing and the affect it would have on the Māori. They even bought a few big land plots for them. The relationship was very influential towards signing the treaty since missionaries supported it. Hundreds of Māori were encouraged and agreed to sign.

Furthermore, off the topic of Maori rights, a treaty was also needed to prevent/stop the 19th-century Musket Wars. Before muskets were introduced, Māori fought wars with traditional weapons. Pakeha traded with the Māori, they exchanged muskets for large amounts of food, flax and sometimes land. Now that a lot of the Māori society had muskets, that lead to war. It was either over self-defence or revenge. Either way, massacres still took place. It is believed that approximately 20,000 people were slaughtered due to these wars. It first started out with iwis in the upper north island (Nga Puhi- who were the first to gain muskets) and they slowly made their way down to the lower north island and upper south island causing wars all the while. This forced the iwis without muskets to trade with pakeha so they could stay safe. 

Lastly, the treaty was needed so the Declaration of Independence could take place. On the 28th of October 1835 to be specific. New Zealand did not have a flag yet, which meant that they couldn’t trade very fairly. Chiefs didn’t even have authority over big groups of people, the ‘iwis’ were basically small extended families- which they kind of are. The Declaration was signed in the home of James Busby. He was sent here because 13 rangatiras had written to the king and requested protection from other countries. Once James Busby was here, he decided a flag would help other countries respect New Zealand (New Zealand couldn’t trade because their ships and wakas were being seized by Australian customs for not sailing under a flag). So, Busby invited 25 rangatiras to choose a flag, which they did. And then, on the 28th of October 1835, the Declaration of Independence was signed by 34 northern chiefs. Signatures continued to be added until 1839 when there was a total of 52 signatures. The Declaration was signed in agreement that Māori would still have mana over Aotearoa, New Zealand would still be an independent country, there would be annual meetings where they would solidify laws, and that they would send a copy of the Declaration to the king.

In conclusion, there were many different reasons why the treaty and Declaration of Independence were needed. Without these two agreements, New Zealand wouldn’t be how it is today. Wars would still be at large and the behaviour of everyone would be appalling. We wouldn’t have laws, we wouldn’t have been able to trade, and instead of just Kororāreka being known as a hell-hole, all of New Zealand would be. I’m thankful our ancestors took the step and made Aotearoa a better, beautiful country.