New Zealand Māori Essay PDF

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Understand Māori culture of New Zealand...

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January 27, 2017 World Studies Imperialism Essay Kaihōpara Pākiki The Pacific Ocean, dotted with a multitude of small islands, acts as an undeniable explanation as to how Polynesian culture came to exist (Higham). European explorers were surprised to find that the remote countries of the Pacific were already occupied; they desired to find out how and from where these people originated. Through their expeditions, explorers like James Cook and Abel Tasman, the first two explorers to reach New Zealand - or Aotearoa as it was called at that time - found that the language the natives of modern-day New Zealand spoke drew close similarities to languages found within Polynesia. It was even possible for people of Tahiti to understand many everyday words (Higham). The efforts of the Europeans inevitably led to a vast change in New Zealand by opening the country and its native peoples up to the world around through trade and journey. Although imperialism is commonly linked to negativity within the world’s history, this is not the case between Europe and New Zealand. Without these MāoriEuropean bonds that beneficially sparked in the late 1700s, New Zealand would never have been able to become the thriving country it is today. Even though the first Māori-European communication did not have a positive outcome Abel Tasman and four men apart of his crew were viciously killed - the Māoris learned to open up to the curious Europeans, more specifically the British. Most future encounters between the British and Māoris, unlike Tasman’s, did commence in a civil way. Sixty years after Cook found his way to Poverty Bay in October 1769, the contact between Europeans and Māoris began to

blossom. Slowly but surely, British and U.S. whalers became habitual visitors of New Zealand when they needed food and water. These whalers also desired to slaughter whales and seals to produce whale oil, whale bone, and seal skins, which went on to be sold for high prices in America and Britain (Higham). Following this, traders ventured to the nation in an increasing fashion trading muskets and gunpowder for flax and timber (Cairns). In addition, they also provided blankets, clothing, tools, and various luxuries. Inevitably, Māori-British ties were mutually advantageous as they skyrocketed the Māoris into a future of new and exciting opportunities through means like trade (Orange). To the British explorers, the land of New Zealand appeared to be fertile - which was good - but it was extremely isolated and the Māoris were smart meaning they could potentially be an enemy (Cairns). Cook, the second explorer to New Zealand, originally set out for scientific purposes, but the British were not against expanding their empire or trade options ("A History of New Zealand 1769-1914"). Yet, attempting to conquer New Zealand in its entirety would be a quixotic and rigorous challenge. The land of New Zealand was all divided among its many tribes. Tribal land not only provided food and raw materials, it was the resting ground of the ancestors and was occupied by their spirits. The land was divided between the Hapu - people of an ancestor’s descent - with rivers, hills and other special boundaries to mark the frontiers. Additionally, the entire nation was, in a sense, isolated from itself. Because of New Zealand’s large size, the population did not have a way to be interconnected (Higham). Following Britain's presence in the nation, connectivity was awakened among more people than ever within the country.

Kaiwhakarite – the Māori term for people from one culture who lived with the other, referencing the British in this case – were vital in helping "establish and maintain trade networks as well as closing the cultural gap in New Zealand" ("A History of New Zealand 1769-1914"). Trade networks, as previously mentioned, became strengthened with Britain’s help, along with bringing together the Māoris like never before. The abundance of curious explorers led the people and their nation in an overall positive direction. In 1814, Samuel Marsden, a missionary, arranged for a cluster of twenty-one missionaries and their families to move permanently to New Zealand. It was also Marsden who pushed for the Māoris to change their non-Christian ways. Although this caused them to abandon their belief in their gods - Rangi and Papa, god of the sky and earth and their six sons, the gods of natural things: the sea, wind, wild food, planted food, the forest, and mankind - it demolished the expectation for a woman to kill herself after her husband died, and the practice of polygamy (Higham). Marsden also encouraged Māori chiefs to branch out of New Zealand and journey to places like Sydney in their neighbor country of Australia (Orange). Most notably were the Ngapuhi chiefs Hongi and Waikato who traveled with Thomas Kendall to England in March of 1820 - Hongi went on to help Professor Samuel Lee of Cambridge University create a Māori dictionary. This is a prime example of how the relationship between Britain and New Zealand was beneficial and healthy; people of Europe and the entire world were genuinely curious about Māori culture and respected them tremendously. In return, Hongi was interested in British culture and was "well received everywhere he went" ("Hongi Hika"). Although aspects of their traditional culture were dropped, the Māoris were heading in the right direction with the help of

the British. As time progressed, more and more Māoris became supportive of the British and their influence and ideas over the Māoris ways themselves (Orange). After becoming world-curious, accepting people from disconnected food-gatherers and cultivators in under 70 years, the lifestyle of Māoris had changed and improved dramatically (Orange). The land of New Zealand had become quickly modernized and the Māoris were supportive of it. It became realized that New Zealand needed to be considered a country, as it was technically just an independent territory (Orange); James Busby, a British resident, went on to encourage a multitude of Northern New Zealand chiefs help formulate a flag in 1834, leading him to draft New Zealand’s Declaration of Independence just a year later. By 1840, New Zealand was noticeably becoming more peaceful and prosperous (Higham). A new constitution was soon introduced in 1852, establishing a representative government for the country of New Zealand. The country also went upwards following the booming wool business out of Canterbury and the discovery of gold in Central Otago in 1861. What was previously a place that was avoided and dubbed "Cannibal Isles" ("A History of New Zealand 1769-1914") had become a vastly civilized country, with a foundation that strongly encompassed economic, political, and social aspects. Considered one of the best countries in the world today, New Zealand would never have been able to be commended with this honor if it wasn’t for the British’s actions. Even though the first exploration to New Zealand ended negatively, the Maori warmed up to their presence and even tried to secure resident Europeans because they brought trade, skills, and knowledge to tribes (Orange). The British reached agreements with the Māoris throughout their relationship and wanted to understand their culture as well as guiding them in the right direction. In short, the Māori’s relationship with the British was extremely healthy and benefitted them greatly; the

success New Zealand has today is all thanks to the kaihōpara pākiki (curious explorers) of Britain.

Works Cited "A History of New Zealand 1769-1914." "A History of New Zealand 1769-1914". Crown, 17 Mar. 2016. Web. 16 Jan. 2017. Cairns, Trevor. Europe around the World. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1982. Print. "Hongi Hika." An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ed. Alexander Hare McLintock. Comp. Bernard John Foster. Wellington: Government of New Zealand, 1966. Te Ara. Crown, 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Jan. 2017. Higham, Charles. The Māoris. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1983. Print. Orange, Claudia. The Treaty of Waitangi. Wellington, N.Z.: Allen & Unwin, Port Nicholson with Assistance from the Historical Publications Branch, Dept. of Internal Affairs, 1987. Print....