Why did the Maori support the treaty?
Authority and Ruling
The Maori had hoped to start a new relationship with the British, one of equal role and status.
British Officers were expected to control troublesome Europeans in NZ.
The Maori expected the Mana of the land to remain in their hands, or perhaps increase with the help of the British military force to ward off other settlers.
Belief that the Queen of England and the Maori people shared a very intimate and personal relationship with one another, or at least from the explanations of the British missionaries.
Land
Support against aggressive European buyers.
Forcing Maori into submission via guns and weapons
Low, unfair prices
Some chiefs were very proactive about selling the land to solidify undisputed land before it could be taken once again by enemy tribes.
Wars
Tribal Disputes
Peace and protection for the people of the tribe and the land they were situated in via the protection of the British Crown.
Ex. Ngati Whatua
Trade and Settlement
Chiefs and tribes hopeful for a fraction/share of the goods that the settlers brang with them.
Little to no understanding of the numbers of settlers that planned to come to New Zealand
Demand for Maori labour and service
Markets and food produce
More goods to buy
The Covenant
The Maori believed that the missionary advice was wise and could be trusted
This was for the most part true, however there were cases where the missionaries kept information from the Maori's to increase the chances of the treaty going through.
Influence through the way the treaty was described
Missionaries had been careful to describe the treaty as a personal relationship between the Maori and the Queen of England.
The treaty was often represented as a covenant, similar to those in the bible
By 1840, nearly half of the Maori population had transitioned and began following Christian beliefs.
The idea of a "covenant" was a fish hook for William Hobson to gain the co-operation of the Maori people
This was needed to begin the settlement of Europeans in NZ in earnest
Hobson kept this concealed from the Maori chiefs