A Ballad

In school we have been learning about the Treaty of Waitangi, and all the reasons why it was necessary. We watched a collection of short clips, called Muskets, Missionaries, Whalers and Openness and Change. Using this information, we then wrote a ballad, a type of poem that has a certain rhyming pattern and shares information. We had to have a stanza for each video we watched, and more if we wanted to.
This is mine, hope you like it!

The Treaty of Waitangi

The musket wars were long and horrendous
This latest new gun armed the offenders
Tribal boundaries bounced and rolled
Alliances changed, Europeans were told
Their trade was needed, to make strong the weak.

The Maori lived 100,000 strong
And to Aotearoa they did belong
When missionaries came
Nothing stayed the same
Writing, reading, religions, all were changed.

200 Europeans came along
Most killed the whales and their mournful song
They were out at sea for months at a time
And so decided to commit crime
 And drink and fight with no care for their kind.

Maori knew and secretly worried
And yet they loved trade, so whalers weren't harried
The Maori woman, strong and fair
Were married to Europeans, to love and care
So whalers had now protection and peace.

In 1839 William Hobson arrived
Laws were changed, land agents were deprived
Private Land Sale was to be banned
January 29th, t'was agreed hand to hand
Justice, sincerity, and good faith lead the way.

February 4th was the day of the draft
Where William Hobson began to craft
The Treaty that would,  bring about changes
Some good some bad all formed bridges
Between all people, alike and diverse.

By 1840, 500 chiefs had signed
The Treaty was global, all people signed a kind
It brought around peace, at least for an age
And it helped people, begin a new page
The Treaty of Waitangi.