How were the Māori treated by the British?

The British preferred a peaceful arrangement to taking control of New Zealand by force, and the queen’s government offered the Maori chiefs its support and all privileges as the queen’s subjects. This was the Treaty of Waitangi, signed by 46 Maori chiefs on February 6, 1840.

How did Māori respond to the arrival of Europeans?

Goblins from the sea The Māori response to his arrival is less well known, except for fragments of stories recorded in 19th-century literature. Our elders saw their ship and said that it was a god and that the crew were goblins.

What did the British want from the Māori?

The chiefs would give up ‘sovereignty’; Britain would take over the purchasing of land; Māori would have the protection and all rights and privileges of British subjects, and would be guaranteed possession of their lands, forests, fisheries and other properties for as long as they wanted to keep them.

Why did the British people want the Maori Land?

Reasons why chiefs signed the treaty included wanting controls on sales of Māori land to Europeans, and on European settlers. They also wanted to trade with Europeans, and believed the new relationship with Britain would stop fighting between tribes.

What did the Māori think of the treaty?

The Māori who signed the Treaty trusted that the British would make laws that would be good for both them and the settlers. Unfortunately, as we have seen from what happened in Taranaki, the laws were often good for the Government and for the settlers, but not for Māori.

What did the Māori call James Busby?

Based at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, Busby was given little material support with which to achieve these aims; he had no troops or police and no legal power to make arrests. Maori derided him as a ‘Man-o-War without guns’.

Do Māori and Europeans get along?

However, disputes continue over aspects of the Treaty of Waitangi, including wording differences in the two versions (in English and Māori), as well as misunderstandings of different cultural concepts. Nevertheless, relations between Māori and Europeans during the early colonial period were largely peaceful.

What did the Europeans want from the Māori?

Maori and Europeans began to trade with each other from the late eighteenth century. To a large extent, Europeans relied on Maori for food, including fish and vegetables, as well as for fibres such as flax, and for help with building fences and shelters.

What was traded between Māori and British?

Whaling and dealing Māori offered them fresh food and water, and sometimes women. In exchange, Māori received manufactured goods, clothing, and sometimes muskets.

Who was in NZ before Māori?

Māori were the first to arrive in New Zealand, journeying in canoes from Hawaiki about 1,000 years ago. A Dutchman, Abel Tasman, was the first European to sight the country but it was the British who made New Zealand part of their empire.

What did the Māori think of the Treaty?

What did the Māori think of the Treaty of Waitangi?

The Māori who agreed to sign did so because they wanted the British to govern, which means to make laws about behaviour. Many people today believe that most Māori would not have signed the Treaty if the Māori version had used ‘rangatiratanga’ for ‘sovereignty’.

How did the Maori get their history?

Māori passed on rich and detailed history and legends orally. Society was organised around groups that traced their descent from common ancestors. Reciting whakapapa (genealogies) was an important way to communicate knowledge.

Why did the Maoris resist the 1860s peace terms?

For much of the 1860s large areas of the central North Island were the scene for continued resistance by those Maoris who believed that to accept the peace terms offered by the British would mean an end to their way of life as they knew it. Already the status of many chiefs had been eroded by the growth of Christianity amongst the Maori.

What happened to the Maoris in the Battle of PA?

Three hundred British troops charged the Pa, The Maoris tried to flee, but found themselves sandwiched between two lines of fine when a second British force appeared at the rear. The Maoris turned to face their enemy and engaged in hand-to-hand fighting.

Why did the crown purchase land from Māori?

This arrangement had the potential to protected Māori customs and interests, but instead the Crown used its monopoly to aggressively purchase Māori land. Initially land sales were discussed in open meetings, but by the late 1840s Māori were making secret deals with government officials.