In 1830 there were 100000 Maori and 100 Europeans living in New Zealand. The behavior of the Whalers, the Missionaries’ desire to help protect Maori 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.
One reason that a treaty was needed was the lawless behavior of some of the British Settlers like whalers. The lawlessness made it hard for other people like the Maori to clean up after the settlers. They were drinking excessively and getting drunk and trashing bars. They held Maori women as prostitutes and did all sorts of things against their will. This ongoing lawless behavior was one reason a treaty was developed.
Another reason that a treaty was needed was to protect Maori rights. One group that felt strongly about this was the missionaries. They helped the Maori by giving them back their land which was taken by the settlers and giving them back their jobs so they could have a living and pay for their family. The rights of Maori was another reason the treaty was created.
Another reason that a treaty was needed was the Musket Wars. The musket wars were bad enough as it is, but it was way worse for those who didn't have muskets. So in order to get muskets, the Maori had to trade all their food for muskets. This made it hard for them to feed their family or even themselves. But they had too as they would have been defenseless if they were attacked by other tribes. The loss of 20,000 people in the musket was also lead to the treaty development.
The final reason that a treaty was needed was the existence of the Declaration of Independence. The declaration of independence wasn't working out, no one was follow what they were trying to do or say so instead, they created a treaty which allowed both tribes to come to an agreement and hopefully stop the wars. Allowing the Maori to live in peace and not have to worry about being killed, or protecting their family.
In conclusion, a treaty was needed because there were just too many wars and lawlessness behavior was just getting out of hand. Everyone was either trying to defend their tribe or attack another tribe. And a treaty stopped all that from happening and allowed their to be peace between the tribes.
