Social Studies Assessment

We have two social studies assessments to be completed, one about an overseas treaty, I did the Treaty of Union which was uploaded earlier, and the other about the Treaty of Waitangi, which we wrote an essay about. There was an essay plan that it was based on posted earlier as well. The next part is the finished essay I have constructed. It includes an introduction, four paragraphs and a conclusion.

Essay

Before the Treaty of Waitangi, there was absolute chaos. The four major contributors to the desire to create the Treaty of Waitangi were the great number of sailors and whalers creating havoc in New Zealand, the Musket Wars between 1807 and 1837 that killed over twenty-thousand people, the missionaries who taught and endorsed the Māori people, and the Declaration of Independence that came only five years before the Treaty of Waitangi. Each and every reason provides new merit as to why New Zealand needed the Treaty of Waitangi to resolve many of the issues that surrounded the country.

Lawless behaviour was a larger reason as to why we needed the Treaty of Waitangi. Lawless behaviour contributed to violence, the spread of disease and prostitution. Proof of this was how when the British settlers - in particular, the whalers and sailors - they would cause a majority of the violence and death when they would return from trips out to sea. They would drink in bars and fight, as well as taking prostitutes as they wished. A second point again has to do with prostitutes, and how they would spread STI's. Dead bodies contributed too, with how a body left not taken care of properly would spread disease. This shows how the lawlessness took a toll on the health of the people. The final point greatly differs, however it serves as evidence of the effect the lawlessness had on the people. The main port of New Zealand, Kororāreka or Russel, after time earned the nickname 'The Hellhole of New Zealand,' because of the lawlessness. Each reason holds merit as evidence and facts to prove how the lawlessness of whalers and sailors contributed to the creation of the treaty over time. 

Twenty thousand people died in the conflict. They chose their own fate by turning on each other. Population and tribal boundaries greatly shifted between the Māori tribes. These are the three greatest pieces of evidence that prove to us how the Musket Wars were a great contributional factor to the development of the Treaty of Waitangi. These wars took a great toll on everyone. This largely matters because, with the Treaty of Waitangi, the Musket Wars could have been prevented, or at least prevented the wars from harming as many people as it did. Out of the twenty thousand people, who could've been saved with a simple formal agreement, so that everyone could get what they wanted? Out of the twenty thousand people, every single life was a price of the choices of those who wanted to go to war, for more than they already had. A treaty would have stopped this, a treaty would have saved lives. The Musket Wars served as evidence as to what would've continued to happen between the arguing people without the treaty.

The missionaries desire for the rights for the Māori people helped endorse the human welfare for the Māori people. The missionaries caring for the Māori matters as they were people of authority that could support them. Without their support, the Māori people wouldn't have had some of the knowledge and rights they do today. The missionaries taught the Māori about written language and their religion. The missionaries taught the Māori about new agricultural ways some they could improve their harvest. The missionaries gave them land and houses as gifts to support them through the British taking lands and the tribal boundary shifts caused by the Musket Wars. The missionaries endorsed the formal agreement of a treaty that supported the Māori peoples right to their land and trading.

How did the Declaration of Independence contribute to the Treaty of Waitangi? Fascinatingly, the Declaration of Independence only contributed in the right that it established a relationship with the British as a newly independent country. This was purely for trade as well, the British helped New Zealand create a flag so they could legally trade as a registered country. This shows us the main reason for the declaration was for trade. Evidence as to why the New Zealand people desired the declaration for the ability to trade comes from how they were continuously stopped by Australian ships for not flying a registered flag. The declaration was merely a starting point for the treaty, as it didn't encompass everything the treaty managed to, however, it began the trading process that greatly assisted the New Zealanders trade with other countries. The impact of all of this was important because the declaration while beginning it, did not provide the people with everything the treaty did. It was a basis for the development of the treaty. The treaty began with the declaration.

This essay has served as proof as to why the Treaty of Waitangi was required as a form of law enforcement and support for everyone involved as people of New Zealand. The treaty was needed because we needed to lower the rates of violence and prostitution that sailors and whalers caused. The treaty was needed because the Musket Wars could’ve continued or started again without it. The treaty was needed because the missionaries wanted to protect the rights of the Māori people. The treaty was needed because the declaration didn’t encompass everything that was needed to solidify a good country. The Treaty of Waitangi may not be as relevant or apparent without current society, however, it furthered the development of our society then, and that is what should matter.