My Interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi!

WALHT: We are learning about the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on the 6th of February 1840 in a place called Waitangi. It was signed by most Maori chiefs and Europeans. The Treaty was a great idea for the Maori people, as they would earn back their freedom and control over Aotearoa.

Around 1830, the Europeans came into New Zealand with unique things that are unknown to the natives. Some of the things they brought into New Zealand were new weapons such as muskets, new illnesses and rats. This affected the peaceful lives of the Maori people and it has changed Aotearoa forever since then.

After a few years after the coming of the foreigners, more people from different countries such as France, America and Australia. This ended up with a huge duel between the foreigners and the natives called the 'musket wars'. Over 20,000 thousand people died including the Maori people and the foreigners who came to New Zealand. During this time, the population of the Maori decreased drastically.

The Europeans also did some substantial changes to the land of Aotearoa. They cut down an endless amount of trees to import back to their countries for houses and trading. Land was also one of the prominent things, the Maori people were losing and the Europeans were earning. Using the wood they chopped down, the foreigners were able to build houses for their families and other unknown reasons.

Through trading, the Maori people were able to earn muskets off the Europeans. They traded huge amounts of flax, meat and clothing so they could get a little advantage on defending their land. Trading was necessary for the Maori people so they could also defend their families from disease carriers which could dominate most of the Maori people.

The Treaty of Waitangi was a great idea made by James Busby to declare peace between the Maori and the Europeans. The Maori people were able to get control of their land and freedom of Aotearoa. Without the Treaty of Waitangi, more battles would've followed after the Musket Wars ending up with a diminishing amount of Maori people. It is important that people still commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi every 6th of February.