New Zealand Wars/Land Wars/Māori Wars
The New Zealand Wars, also known as the Māori Wars or Land Wars, were a series of conflicts that occurred between 1845 and 1872 in New Zealand. These wars arose from tensions between Māori communities and European settlers, driven by land disputes and the effects of colonization. The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 initially aimed to protect Māori interests, but the subsequent increase in British authority led to widespread dissatisfaction among Māori, culminating in armed resistance.
The conflicts were characterized by significant battles across the North Island, including the Northern War and the Taranaki War, and were marked by the emergence of the Kīngitanga movement, which sought to establish a Māori king to unify tribes and protect land rights. Later stages of the wars involved prophetic Māori leaders who mobilized followers against colonial forces, resulting in a series of skirmishes and uprisings.
Tragically, the majority of those who died during these conflicts were Māori. The wars had lasting impacts on New Zealand society, reshaping the relationship between Māori and settlers and influencing New Zealand's ongoing discussions about land rights and governance.
New Zealand Wars/Land Wars/Māori Wars
The New Zealand Wars, formerly called the Māori Wars and often known as the Land Wars, were conflicts that took place between 1845 and 1872. The wars were triggered or exacerbated by disagreements, displacement of Māori people, and greater numbers of colonizers settling on the islands and taking more land. The government’s interest in controlling the Indigenous population was also a reason for the conflicts. Later fighting was instigated by Māori prophets who established new faiths. Most of the thousands who died in the New Zealand Wars were Māori.
Background
The Māori Polynesian peoples arrived in New Zealand about 1300 CE. They identify with the waka, or canoe, on which their ancestors arrived. Over many generations this identity expanded to include their iwi (tribe) and hapū (clans or descent groups). The hapū was the main social group and holder of land, which was communal property.
New Zealand comprises two main islands and smaller islands in the South Pacific. Prior to the late eighteenth century, only a few Europeans had viewed or set foot there. However, many sealers and whalers as well as traders began arriving in the late eighteenth century. Contact between the local Māori people and outsiders was limited to those living on the coasts for some time. Many groups happily traded with newcomers, and some Māori joined the crews of ships operating in Oceania. However, outsiders greatly eroded the culture of the Māori people over the years by introducing diseases. They also brought new agricultural methods, weaponry, and missionaries to the area.
The United Kingdom (UK) claimed the islands of New Zealand as a dependency of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, based on a 1788 proclamation by NSW governor Arthur Phillip. He defined the NSW colony in broad terms, including all the islands in the Pacific Ocean “adjacent” to the colony. In 1839, Britain’s Parliament modified the boundaries of NSW to officially incorporate New Zealand. Soon after, Lieutenant Governor William Hobson negotiated the Treaty of Waitangi with Māori chiefs. More than forty signed the document on February 6, 1840. Chief among these signers was Hōne Heke Pōkai of the far-north Ngāpuhi iwi. Hōne Heke had converted to Christianity and believed missionary Henry Williams, who said the chiefs’ authority would remain intact.
Earlier in the nineteenth century, intertribal conflicts had had a tremendous impact on the Māori. These conflicts, which came to be called the Musket Wars, began in the 1810s. Although the conflicts were not caused by muskets, access to and use of the weapons increased their impact. Some tribes were virtually wiped out by others, boundaries of land controlled by groups shifted dramatically, and thousands of people fled their traditional regions. This left land ownership in doubt, creating situations in which vast areas were settled by Europeans. Later British and colonial forces sought to open the North Island’s interior to even more settlement, but the Māori were increasingly unwilling to sell land to the settlers.
Overview
The New Zealand Wars consisted of many skirmishes in the North Island. Fighting in the Bay of Islands in 1845 and 1846 came to be called the Northern War. In the early 1860s, fighting became widespread in the regions of Taranaki, Waikato, the Bay of Plenty, and other locations along the East Coast, during what is known as the Kīngitanga movement. The last period of the wars pitted followers of Māori prophetic leaders against colonial troops and Māori allies from 1864 to 1872.
After signing the Treaty of Waitangi, Hōne Heke watched as the British government gained more power over his people, who did not see the economic gains they had been promised in negotiating the agreement. The Māori population greatly outnumbered the Pākehā, or White New Zealanders, except in towns, which were dominated by colonizers. After four years, Heke showed his anger with the British government by having the flagpole over the British settlement of Kororāreka (modern Russell) cut down. This was repeated after the settlers re-erected the pole. The fifth felling of the pole, which occurred in March 1845, marked the start of the Northern War, which was referred to as the Flagstaff War or Hōne Heke’s Rebellion. The Northern War involved the Ngāpuhi and government forces at Kororāreka in the Bay of Islands, Wellington, and Whanganui through 1847.
Once the New Zealand parliamentary system was implemented in the 1850s, many White settlers and most Māori were denied the right to vote. Suffrage was based on whether a person owned property, but most Māori property was held communally.
Responsibility for Māori affairs remained with the governor until the New Zealand government took over this duty in 1864. Māori had signed the treaty with the governor, who represented Queen Victoria, and expected the Queen and the British Parliament to fulfill their promises to protect their interests. After power shifted to parliament, Māori interests were not a priority. Some chiefs demanded a voice in governance of Māori affairs, but their concerns were ignored.
Kīngitanga, the King Movement
Some tribes wanted a Māori king to oversee their affairs, specifically to unite the tribes in maintaining ownership of the land they still controlled. In 1858 Potatau Te Wherowhero became the first Māori king and communicated his people’s desire to manage their own affairs under the Queen’s protection. Settlers and politicians saw this move as a threat to their power and the Crown.
In 1860 a minor chief went against the wishes of a senior chief in selling land to the governor, prompting outbreak of the Taranaki War. The conflict waned and resurged until 1863. Although Governor George Grey promised the Māori local autonomy, he ordered a military road to be constructed from Auckland to the Waikato River, a gateway to Kīngitanga land. Grey demanded Māori pledge allegiance to the Queen, then sent a force of twelve thousand troops. Though the march took seven months, the troops captured multiple fortified sites as it moved. Most of the land was taken by the settler government, and the Kīngitanga laid low in the mountainous Ngāti Maniapoto territory, called the King’s Country, in 1864.
The Prophets
The final stage of the New Zealand Wars was prompted by new Māori religious movements. The first prophet was Te Ua Haumēne, who emerged after 1862 and urged his followers to conduct raids on settlers. Tītokowaru, a Methodist lay preacher, emerged in 1868. Though he had only about four hundred followers, their attacks nearly crushed the colony before the movement inexplicably fell apart. Also that year, the colonial army was threatened by Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki, who had been exiled with hundreds of others to the Chatham Islands several years earlier. Te Kooti established a faith, Ringatū, in exile, led his followers to overpower the guards, and returned to the mainland. His followers attacked both the Māori and Pākehā who had previously offended him. Te Kooti, who took refuge in King’s Country, was pursued for years. In 1883 the government pardoned him.
Bibliography
“A History of New Zealand 1769–1914.” New Zealand History, 18 Apr. 2023, nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/history-of-new-zealand-1769-1914. Accessed 12 June 2023.
“Hōne Heke Biography.” New Zealand History, 8 Apr. 2019, nzhistory.govt.nz/people/hone-heke. Accessed 12 June 2023.
Keenan, Danny. “New Zealand Wars—New Zealand Wars Overview.” Te Ara—The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 29 Nov. 2022, teara.govt.nz/en/new-zealand-wars/page-1. Accessed 12 June 2023.
“New Zealand’s 19th-Century Wars: Introduction.” New Zealand History, 30 Sept. 2021, nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealands-19th-century-wars/introduction. Accessed 12 June 2023.
“New Zealand’s 19th-Century Wars—Timeline.” New Zealand History, 30 Sept. 2020, nzhistory.govt.nz/war/new-zealands-19th-century-wars/nzwars-timeline. Accessed 12 June 2023.
“Story: Kīngitanga—the Māori King Movement.” Te Ara—The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 2 Mar. 2023, teara.govt.nz/en/kingitanga-the-maori-king-movement. Accessed 12 June 2023.
“The Treaty in Practice—Slide to War.” New Zealand History, 7 July 2014, nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-practice/slide-to-war. Accessed 12 June 2023.
“War in Wellington—Introduction.” New Zealand History, 19 Oct. 2021, nzhistory.govt.nz/war/wellington-war. Accessed 12 June 2023.