For Dinah - Decision Essays

2004

SIGNIFICANT DECISIONS
1.	The decision to present Mäori with the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.	4.	The decision by Wakefield to establish the NZ Company to systematically colonise New Zealand between 1840 and 1850.
2.	The decision to establish Kingitanga (the king movement) in 1858.	5.	The decision to implement the Vogel Plan in the 1870s.
3.	The decision by Te Kooti to wage war between 1868 and 1872.	6.	The decision to grant women the vote in 1893.

Choose ONE of the decisions above and use it to answer the following question.

ESSAY TOPIC

What was the historical significance of ONE decision made by people in New Zealand in the nineteenth century?

2005

SIGNIFICANT DECISIONS
1.	The decision made by the Church Missionary Society to establish a Mission in New Zealand in 1814.	3.	The decision made by many Mäori chiefs to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840.
2.	The decision made by the directors of either the New Zealand Company or the Otago Association or the Canterbury Association to establish ONE planned settlement. (either Wellington or New Plymouth or Nelson or Wanganui or Canterbury or Otago.)	4.	The decision made by Governor Grey to invade the Waikato in 1863.
		5.	The decision made by Central Government in 1875 to abolish the Provincial Councils.
		6.	The decision made by the New Zealand voters to elect a Liberal Government in 1890.

ONE of the decisions above and use it to answer the following question.

ESSAY TOPIC What factors led to a significant decision being made in nineteenth-century New Zealand? What were the consequences of this decision?

NOTE the change to TWO part questions:

ESSAY QUESTIONS
1.	Explain the factors that led many Māori to convert to Christianity before 1840. Evaluate the consequences of Christian conversion on Māori in the nineteenth century.	4.	Explain the factors that led to the decision to grant constitutional independent government to New Zealand in 1852. Evaluate the consequences of this decision on New Zealand politics until 1876.
2.	Explain the factors that led to Hone Heke’s decision to cut down the flagpole flying the Union Jack above Kororareka (Russell) in 1845. Evaluate the consequences of this decision on race relations in the north until 1850.	5.	Explain the factors that led to the decision by the New Zealand parliament to implement the Vogel Plan from 1870. Evaluate the political, social and economic consequences of the plan until 1890.
3.	Explain the factors that led to Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s decision to organise the planned settlement of New Zealand. Evaluate the consequences of this decision on New Zealand society until 1870.	6.	Explain the factors that led to many New Zealand voters deciding to elect a Liberal Government in 1890. Evaluate the consequences of this decision on New Zealand politics and society until 1900.

TACT ESSAYS 2004-06

Treaty

2004

The decision to present Mäori with the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

2005

The decision made by many Mäori chiefs to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840.

Religion/Missionaries

2005

The decision made by the Church Missionary Society to establish a Mission in New Zealand in 1814.

2006

Explain the factors that led many Māori to convert to Christianity before 1840. Evaluate the consequences of Christian conversion on Māori in the nineteenth century.

Settlement / Immigration

2004

The decision by Wakefield to establish the NZ Company to systematically colonise New Zealand between 1840 and 1850.

2005

The decision made by the directors of either the New Zealand Company or the Otago Association

or the Canterbury Association to establish ONE planned settlement. (either Wellington or New Plymouth or Nelson or Wanganui or Canterbury or Otago.)

2006

Explain the factors that led to Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s decision to organise the planned settlement of New Zealand.

Evaluate the consequences of this decision on New Zealand society until 1870.

2004

• The decision to present Mäori with the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

SIGNIFICANT DECISION:

• The decision made by the British Colonial Office to send Hobson to New Zealand in order to annex New Zealand for Britain, and Hobson ’ s decision to do this through the Treaty of Waitangi.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT could include:

• • the state and nature of Britain ’ s Empire
• • the positive nature of pre-Treaty race relations
• • the Declaration of Independence organised by Busby.
• FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DECISION could include
• • the departure of the Tory and the intentions of Wakefield ’ s New Zealand Company
• • Britain ’ s ‘ humanitarian ’ desire to pass on the benefits of their system of law and government
• • desire to protect Mäori from Päkehä criminals (eg Captain Stewart and the Elizabeth Affair)
• • Hobson ’ s belief that there was plenty of ‘ wasteland’ available in New Zealand – and his belief that the whole country must be annexed
• • the French threat.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE DECISION could include:

• • established hope of better race relations than in other colonies
• • the hastily drafted, ambiguous, inconsistent and contradictory document
• • a belief by Päkehä that the Treaty was New Zealand ’ s Magna Carta and that New Zealand had become
• British through the stroke of a pen, and a Mäori belief that the Treaty preserved their rangatiratanga over their people and the land – this difference in understanding and expectations placed Mäori and Päkehä on a collision course
• • Mäori dissatisfaction with Treaty breaches as demonstrated through the actions of Hone Heke and Kawiti, and the Northern War
• • establishment of Settler Government (and the reduction of the authority of the Governor) by Britain through the 1852 Constitution – basically disenfranchised Mäori
• • the establishment of Kingitanga was the ultimate indication that Mäori felt that the Treaty agreement was not meeting their needs – Kingitanga in turn led to large scale war and confiscation.
• CONTEMPORARY AND HISTORIANS ’ VIEWS could include:
• • humanitarians in Britain and many missionaries were delighted with the Treaty
• • a range of responses and views from contemporary Mäori leaders
• • Claudia Orange emphasises the Treaty as a ‘ partnership ’ between Mäori and Päkehä. A founding document of huge significance, shaping the history of the nation
• • Ranginui Walker emphasises the contradictions in translation, Päkehä Treaty breaches and Mäori resistance to them
• • Ruth Ross: “Hastily and inexpertly drawn up, ambiguous and contradictory in its content, chaotic in its execution ”
• • Paul Moon argued that the British Crown never intended to rule, preside over, or govern Mäori, or to undermine the Mäori sovereign right to rule.

2005: The decision made by many Māori chiefs to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840

Description of the decision and its context

The Tiriti o Waitangi, The Treaty of Waitangi, was an agreement signed at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands between a representative of the British Government (Captain Hobson) and a number of chiefs. Throughout the year, more chiefs made the decision to sign Te Tiriti at locations throughout the North and South Islands.

Explanation of factors that contributed to the decision

Content could include:

• chiefs chose to sign because of the promises of Te Tiriti to Māori – full rights as British subjects (Article Three) and a guarantee of continued rangatiratanga / chieftainship / authority over land and resources (Article Two)

• an attempt by Māori to preserve the status quo – to hold on to authority and resources before the arrival of the Wakefields and settlers, who intended to establish independent Päkehä communities rather than living as part of Māori communities like the sealers, traders, and missionaries had encouraged to sign through the mistranslation of ‘sovereignty’ as ‘kawanatanga’ / ‘governance’: Ruth Ross argued that ‘mana’, which was used in the 1835 Declaration of Independence, would have much more adequately translated the concept that Hobson wanted to convey

• Ranginui Walker implied that the CMS missionaries were keen to ensure that their own landholdings didn’t come under threat and therefore used their influence to encourage chiefs to sign the missionaries may have played up the importance of the law and order promised through Article Three, in light of events such as the Elizabeth Affair: under the Treaty, Māori would have an avenue for pursuing justice against Pākehā criminals

• personal motivations of some chiefs and the issue of food and gifts: one Tauranga chief said ‘pay us first and we will write afterwards’ – for some the Treaty was part of a commercial transaction

• the influence of the pragmatic Tamati Waka Nene, who could see that the increasing number of Pākehā and half-castes were falling outside Māori authority

• reference to the Treaty debate at Waitangi on February 6 [usefully paraphrased in Paul Moon’s book The Treaty and its Times].

Evaluation of the consequences of the decision

Content could include:

• mistranslation led to Māori and the Crown having totally different understandings of what they had promised each other. Hobson believed that New Zealand had been instantly painted ‘imperial pink’, ie it was British, but Māori believed that their rangitiratanga had been guaranteed

• evaluation of post-treaty race relations conflicts such as the Wairau Incident, Northern War, and Waitara dispute, which resulted from misunderstandings of the Treaty and the different expectations that each party had of each other

• Kingitanga – a new form of Māori nationalism in response to the failure of the British Crown to deliver on its Treaty promises.

Historical narratives

Could include reference to the work of:

• Claudia Orange

• Paul Moon

• James Belich

• Ruth Ross

• Ranginui Walker.

2005: The decision made by the Church Missionary Society to establish a Mission in New Zealand in 1814

Description of the decision and its context

In 1814, the Church Missionary Society (Anglicans) based in London made the significant decision to establish a Mission Station at Rangihoua Bay in the Bay of Islands. This mission was under the protection of Ruatara, an important Ngāpuhi chief. On 19 December 1814, Samuel Marsden, Ruatara, Thomas Kendall, William Hall, and John King landed in New Zealand. Marsden preached his famous first sermon on Christmas Day.

Explanation of factors that contributed to the decision

Content could include:

• The connection between Christianity and empire-building (eg Blake’s Jerusalem). Some people believed that God had ordained the British Empire as sacred.

• Missionaries combined Christian beliefs with their faith in the moral basis of the British Empire.

• Humanitarian belief of missionaries and the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in the benefits of civilisation.

• The aim of the CMS was to spread the Christian message around the world. There were already CMS missionaries in Asia, Africa, Canada, South America, and Australia.

• Ruatara (Ngāpuhi) met Samuel Marsden on his way from Britain to Sydney. Marsden was keen to establish a mission in New Zealand but he was put off by the Boyd incident of 1809.

• In September 1814, Marsden wrote to the CMS office in England describing the poor behaviour of escaped convicts, whalers, ship crews, and sealers in New Zealand. He stressed the need for Māori confidence in Europeans to be restored. He wanted a permanent mission to be established.

• The protection and patronage promised by Ruatara and Hongi Hika.

Evaluation of the consequences of the decision

Content could include:

• discussion of Māori ‘conversion’ to Christianity and their conversion of Christianity

• the actions of the missionaries as peacemakers in the musket wars, teachers, translators, and linguists

• significance of missionary involvement in the build-up to the Treaty of Waitangi, the translation of the Treaty, their explanation of it, and the gathering of signatures for it

• ‘Māori Agency’ – Māori spreading the Christian message among themselves.

Historical narratives

Could include reference to the work of:

• Judith Binney

• Paul Moon

• James Belich

• Peter Lineham

• Ranginui Walker.

2006: Topic Two: Essay One

Explain the factors that led to many Māori deciding to convert to Christianity before 1840. Evaluate the consequences of Christian conversion on Māori in the nineteenth century.

The candidate’s response to the first part of the essay question could include:

· Māori initiative in choosing to become Christian. Many Māori actively chose Christianity for their own reasons, selectively adopting aspects of the Christian faith for their own purposes. Literacy and increased mana were incentives for conversion. There was a great deal of Māori interest in literacy, which through missionary effort often went hand in hand with Christianity.

· Māori converted each other. Slaves released by Ngā Puhi after the Musket Wars returned to their iwi with new skills, literacy, ideas, and faith that they introduced to their people. The expertise of these and other Māori preachers rather than the missionaries themselves made the Christian message easier to understand.

· Missionary effectiveness may have improved with the arrival of Henry Williams of the CMS, who changed the previous focus from ‘civilising in order to convert’, to a more determined focus on evangelism. It has been argued that missionaries became more effective after they became more fluent in Māori language and became more economically and, therefore, politically independent.

· Discussion of the merits and limitations of the “fatal impact theory”. Some Māori suffered from war weariness and dislocation from their own culture as the result of the musket wars. There were some European diseases that the tohunga could not cure. This was combined with the apparent evidence of a ‘superior’ God and ‘superior’ culture of the European missionaries who had medicines that seemed superior to those of the tohunga. (This is the now unfashionable “Eurocentric” view presented by Harrison Wright in 1959.)

· Syncretic religions such as that created by Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi Te Waharoa, (founded at Taupiri in 1836) and Te Atua Wera (Papahurihia 1820s) adapted Christianity or indigenised it in a way that made it more attractive to Māori.

· The desire for an end to warfare.

· The desire for access to European goods—missions encouraged traders.

· The intellectual debate and discussions that accompanied the teaching that appealed to Māori.

· The desire for the power that seemed to accompany the teachings.

The candidate’s response to the second part of the essay question could include:

· Creation of synthesized Christian religions such as Papahurihia or that preached by Wiremu Tamihana.

· Developing literacy in written Māori.

· Acceptance of European-style schools (Native school systems).

· Missionary mana enabled the Treaty to be “sold” to Māori.

· Creation of significant Māori leaders through the mission schools such as Te Whiti o Rongomai, Te Kooti, Tamihana Te Rauparaha, Wiremu Tamihana and Matana Te Whiwhi.

· The end of cannibalism, infanticide, slavery, tempered violence, etc.

But:

· Missionary Christianity did lead to the loss of cultural practices such as haka and moko in some places.

· The release of slaves into some areas that had been sold to Europeans caused inter-racial conflict. (See Ruth Ross, “The Treaty on the Ground” in The Treaty of Waitangi: Its Origins and Significance, 1972).

· The uptake of European culture, language, or religion changed the nature of relationships within a tribe.

2004: The decision by Wakefield to establish the NZ Company to systematically colonise New Zealand between 1840–1850.

SIGNIFICANT DECISION:

The decision of Edward Gibbon Wakefield to establish the settlement of Wellington and then other settlements using his ‘ vertical slice ’ model for systematic colonisation.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT could include

• Wakefield had been imprisoned for three years for abducting a schoolgirl. While incarcerated he formulated his

famous theory of systematic colonisation

• his controversial past forced Wakefield to play a behind-the-scenes role in the Company

• two of the key agents of the New Zealand Company were William Wakefield (Wellington) and Arthur Wakefield (Nelson). Edward didn ’ t come to New Zealand himself till 1853

• idea that colonisation could be done better.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DECISION could include:

• Wakefield believed that the haphazard nature of the peopling of the Australian colonies has led to the wrong sorts of people (a ‘ squattocracy ’ ) gaining control of the land

• Wakefield ’ s belief that, to succeed, a colony would have to attract capitalists and the way to do this was to guarantee a labour force

• Wakefield ’ s desire to create a ‘ Britain of the South’ where class distinctions were preserved the Wakefields ’ desire to make money.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE DECISION could include:

• the establishment of Wellington (1840), Wanganui – an overflow settlement from Wellington (1840), New Plymouth (1841), Nelson (1842), Otago – in association with the Free Presbyterian Church (1848) and Canterbury – set up by the Canterbury Association (1850)

• the massive problems that absentee landlords presented to the growth of Wellington, New Plymouth and Nelson

• conflict with Mäori resulted from the inability of the New Zealand Company to fulfil their promises of land in Nelson (Wairau incident - in which Arthur Wakefield was killed), Wellington (wars in the Hutt and Porirua against Te Rangihaeata and his Ngati Toa supporters) and Taranaki (Waitara dispute that sparked the whole Taranaki War)

• the comparatively successful settlement of Otago. Many of these early settlers came to escape Scottish poverty. The ‘ sufficient price ’ was set too low to generate the ‘ vertical slice ’ . Otago boomed, not throughthe planning of the Colonising Crusaders but because of gold – a case of good luck rather than good management

• the comparatively successful settlement of Canterbury, where the ‘ sufficient price ’ much more successfully produced the desired vertical slice. (The success of pastoralism that made Canterbury boom, however, was not due to Wakefield. He believed that small scale horticultural farming would be more significant – which was incorrect)

• the New Zealand Company settlements contributed only about 15 000 settlers to New Zealand. They may have been disproportionately influential because they were the first and establishing the nature and ethos of their cities

• far more New Zealanders arrived outside organised schemes than within them eg Auckland.

CONTEMPORARY AND HISTORIANS ’ VIEWS could include:

• David Hamer emphasised the balance that was needed in the scheme between capital and labour

• Turnbull (New Zealand Bubble) pointed out the fundamental flaws in Wakefield ’ s Plan

• Belich has emphasised the huge lies that prospective settlers were told about New Zealand.