Maori+fall+essay


 *  ESSAY **

Back

// **What are the most significant lessons that our world today can learn from the fall of the Maori peoples?**  //

Maori society, like many societies had a definite rise, climax, and decline. However, there are a few main lessons that can be learned from focusing on why the Maori civilization fell. We can learn that peace is more helpful to a society than war is because usually the wars only heighten the dispute that caused them. We can also learn that including aspects of different cultures will make a society stronger and more connected. Finally, we can learn that sometimes sharing land is better for society than directly owning it. __Although Maori society did eventually decline, there are many lessons current societies can learn to avoid making similar mistakes.__ The first lesson our world can learn from the fall of the Maoris is that peace is more productive for society than war. Although many of the wars that the Maori peoples fought were necessary, there were a large number that were fought between Maori tribes over small disagreements (Mader). If they had instead been peaceful, the population of Maori people living in New Zealand right now would definitely be higher. In society today, we often jump to the conclusion of war without really measuring the other options. If one group gets attacked, they usually attack back instead of sitting down and talking about the issue. Although language was a barrier for the Maori peoples, if they had attempted to talk out their problems with the Europeans and other tribes, they would not have had to resort to wars and violent means of finding a solution. In fact, war was obviously not a solution for the Maoris; it was the opposite, because if it had been successful, the Maori peoples would be the dominant group in New Zealand. Our world should learn from the decline of the Maoris by talking instead of fighting.

The second lesson we can learn from the fall of the Maoris is that inclusive societies are generally stronger societies. When the explorer, James Cook, first made contact with the Maoris in 1769, the Maori peoples were the only people inhabiting the islands of New Zealand (Hoefer). From then on, it was a constant battle of ownership; the Europeans wanted claim over the country even though the Maoris had been there longer. This was a key factor in the decline of the Maori civilization. The Europeans felt the need to assimilate the Maori culture into theirs by introducing their own weapons, diseases, and animals to the land. Instead of living harmoniously together, the two different cultures were constantly competing, which eventually lead to the Europeans defeating the Maori culture. However, since the initial decline, there have been efforts made to include the Maori voice in the New Zealand government. In 1960, four seats were reserved in the government for Maoris (Wilson). Having a Maori presence in parliament makes the society stronger because a larger number of citizens are represented. More people get their voice heard in the government, lessening the number of disputes and the amount of people who feel misrepresented. This is an example of how including different cultures in a society is more beneficial than excluding them.

The final lesson our world can learn from the fall of the Maoris is that private land ownership is not always the best way for societies to function. Maori society ran beautiful under the idea that each tribe would help, support and share their assets with each other. This was a functional way of life because every person would cooperate and do their part for their tribe instead of for their pay check. Once the Europeans arrived, this way of living was destroyed. The Europeans believed that they had a right to most of the land and manipulated the Maoris into signing the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 (Wilson). The treaty stated that Britain had authority over all the land in New Zealand (NZHO). Before the treaty, the concept of selling land was foreign to the Maori people; they were used to inheriting and working for their bit of it. Many Maoris got their land taken away by the Europeans and didn’t get anything in return so they had no way of getting any new land. The concept of private land ownership works well for people who can afford to buy a good piece of land, but for the others, it’s quite unfair, especially when they were used to living for free. Society functioned way better for the Maoris before the Europeans introduced land ownership to the Maoris. There was a real sense of teamwork when each tribe was sharing their assets with each other. Taking the Maoris’ concept of communal land would work if done correctly and with small groups in society.

To conclude, there were many reasons why the Maori civilization fell. Society should be inspired by the Maori and become more open to peaceful conflict resolution, including multiple cultures within one country, and alternatives to private land ownership. There are always lessons to be learned when a civilization falls. Instead of just letting the Maori civilization be forgotten, it is far more useful for the world to learn lessons from their society’s triumphs and downfalls.