Doing God's work - pre-1840 contact - NCEA Level 3 history

Doing God's work

The missionaries are portrayed as being the main 'agents of contact' in the pre-Treaty period, but this is perhaps because they dominated the written evidence of this time. The entry on Marsden in the Dictionary of New Zealand biography claims that he 'greatly hastened the conversion of Maori' and that Britain's intervention that saved New Zealand from 'anarchy' was 'in large measure due to the apostolic labours of Samuel Marsden'. James Belich concedes that while the efforts of the missionaries should not be derided, we must be careful not to overstate their case.

Belich describes the process by which Maori selected, on their terms, which aspects of European contact they would adopt and which they would reject. How they responded and adapted to new ideas is another example of what has been described as Maori agency or, as Giselle Byrnes described it, dual agency – the blending or mixing of two worlds according to Maori criteria. Maori decided how they would use things like new ideas and technologies. This is an important distinction because it meant that Maori were not passive in their interaction as had been previously assumed by historians.

The missionary Henry Williams believed that too much time and energy had been devoted to teaching 'useful arts and agriculture' as a prelude to conversion. He wanted the mission to spend more time on spiritual teaching.

Anne Salmond's description of a Sunday visit made by Thomas Kendall and William Hall to Te Puna at Rangihoua in June 1814 perhaps highlights what Henry Williams meant. Maori wanted to trade with the CMS men but were told that it was a sacred day and there could be no barter. This was a day of rest and prayer. Hall then told the gathered Maori how he and Kendall loved the Maori very much and how they would:

come and live with them and bring our wives and families if they would not injure them, and I told them I was a Carpenter and that I would build them large houses and fine canoes, and they seemed very much pleased with the Idea and expressed their joy by saying, "Nuee nuee rungateeda pakeha" – a very great Gentleman white man [another early northern use of the term Pakeha]. Kendall also invited some of the children to travel to Port Jackson in order to read books and to see Mr Marsden, who was well known in the Bay.

Anne Salmond, Between worlds: early exchanges between Maori and Europeans, 1773–1815, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1997, page 436.

1. Based on Kendall and Hall's visit to Te Puna how did the missionaries plan to establish a relationship with Maori?
2. Imagine you are Samuel Marsden. It is mid-1814. In a letter to Thomas Kendall explain why you believe it is important to teach Maori 'useful arts and agriculture' in order to prepare them for conversion.
3. Now imagine you are Henry Williams. In a letter to Samuel Marsden explain why you have decided to place a greater emphasis on teaching Maori scripture as opposed to teaching them 'useful arts and agriculture' as a prelude to conversion.
4. Why was there competition among Maori for access to missionaries?
5. Why did Maori become increasingly interested in the printed word and literacy?
6. What specific problems did the missionaries encounter in establishing themselves in New Zealand?
7. Why were some of the CMS workers involved in trading muskets with Maori?
8. Why would the need for a Maori patron have been a bitter pill to swallow for many missionary workers?
9. To what extent do you believe that the Christian missionaries were 'agents of virtue in a world of vice'?
10. In your opinion did Samuel Marsden save New Zealand from anarchy?
11. Why did few, if any, Maori convert to Christianity before 1830? 
12. What were the key similarities and differences between the missionaries and other Europeans that Maori encountered in the period before the Treaty of Waitangi?