Roger Childs: The Impact of the Treaty of Waitangi and Colonisation

…. The two decades following the Treaty of Waitangi were characterized nationally more by co-operation between Maori and Pakeha than by conflict. ~ Historian Michael King

Salvation for Maori

In 1837 Chief Wiremu Hau wrote to the English King asking: Sir …. Will you give us law? Three years later the Treaty of Waitangi brought in the rule of law for all the people of New Zealand. It mean that there was freedom for slaves – mainly women – and the end of cannibalism, inter-tribal war, female infanticide, trading in smoked heads and the killing of prisoners. Disputes between tribes would now have to be settled in the courts and all New Zealanders would be subject to British laws.

The end of the Inter-Tribal Wars saved the Maori people from possible extinction. Over 40,000 men, women and children had been killed in more than 500 battles between 1800 and 1840, and the loss of so many women and girls meant that there were not enough potential mothers for the Maori population to recover quickly.

Roger Childs: The Impact of the Treaty of Waitangi and Colonisation

…. The two decades following the Treaty of Waitangi were characterized nationally more by co-operation between Maori and Pakeha than by conflict. Historian Michael King

Salvation for Maori

In 1837 Chief Wiremu Hau wrote to the English King asking: Sir …. Will you give us law? Three years later the Treaty of Waitangi brought in the rule of law for all the people of New Zealand. It mean that there was freedom for slaves – mainly women – and the end of cannibalism, inter-tribal war, female infanticide, trading in smoked heads and the killing of prisoners. Disputes between tribes would now have to be settled in the courts and all New Zealanders would be subject to British laws.

The end of the Inter-Tribal Wars saved the Maori people from possible extinction. Over 40,000 men, women and children had been killed in more than 500 battles between 1800 and 1840, and the loss of so many women and girls meant that there were not enough potential mothers for the Maori population to recover quickly.