Social Studies Treaty Assessment :)

Introduction 

In 1830 there were Maoris killing Maoris with muskets, people drinking and doing drugs, prostitution and fighting, and this needed to be stopped.. With what? A treaty. 

Paragraph One (Lawyer)

In 1830 there were around 100,000 Maori's compared to approximately 200 Europeans, of the 200 pakeha many of them were whalers. The Europeans would stop in Russell, drink huge amounts of alcohol when the came to shore, leading to rising rates of prostitution, fighting, diseases. This lead to Russell earing the name hellhole of the pacific. Without a treaty being put in place issues like this could've arises again and causing even more problems than necessary. 

Paragraph Two (Lawyer)

Another reason that a treaty was needed was to protect Māori rights. One group that felt strongly about this was the missionaries. Missionaries protected the maoris rights as best as they could and went through great lengths to make sure the maoris were treated with respect. You are able to see they tried their hardest to help the maoris because after concerns about large land sales having an impact on the maoris they purchased land for them in order to make sure they still kept a quantity of land. The missionaries were greatly worried about some of the foreigners behaviors to the land and people of New Zealand. The missionaries concerns greatly impacted the maoris decision to sign the treaty. 

Paragraph Three (Hammer)

Another reason that a treaty was needed was the Musket Wars.  Between 1807-1842 over 20,000 Maoris were killed due to musket wars. Before muskets were introduced to NZ they used homemade weapons such a taiaha and a mere. Some maori would be defenseless and vulnerable without muskets, and to get them they would have to trade their crops,food and women. It was a guessing game for the maoris, not knowing when another tribe (with muskets was going to attack). As more tribes got muskets, more musket wars followed, either for revenge or self defense for land. The introduction of the muskets had changed New Zealand forever, the populations have shifted over the years. Having the treaty has prevented musket wars from becoming a threat to everyone. Laws are now in place for guns and wars.

Paragraph Four (The Slam Dunk)

The declaration of independence was needed to basically protect and help New Zealand grow as a country, they agreed to trade and be friends with the British because their past encounters with the french have been a little uneasy.. Or in other words..stabby, They had written to the British king and asked for protection from all the other countries trying to take over new Zealand. The declaration and the New Zealand flag ( the first one ) basically made it easier for maori to declare their land.

Conclusion (Robust Conclusion)

In conclusion, a treaty was needed because to resolve all of the issues that New Zealand. Without a treaty issues like the musket wars would’ve kept happening. People would of kept dying and today in New Zealand as we know it will not be the same. The treaty is important to today's history