New Zealand Wars

“	Any discussion of contemporary Māori poverty that fails to acknowledge the long history of invasion, dispossession and confiscation is missing a vital part of the story.	„
	~ Vincent O'Malley; The New Zealand Wars/ Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa.

The New Zealand Wars, also known as the Māori Wars or Land Wars, were a series of wars fought between British (Pākehā) settlers and the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand. These conflicts occurred from 1843 to 1872. These constant seizures of lands also violated the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840.

List of wars

• Wairau Affray (June 17, 1843) - After the New Zealand Company built a settlement in the Wairau Valley of the South Island, Chiefs Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata of the Ngāti Toa tribe protested against the settlement and burned down several huts. Henry Augustus Thompson attempted to arrest the chiefs in retaliation, but the Māori warriors managed to defeat Thompson's forces. This was the only frontier war to take place on the South Island.
• Flagstaff War (1845-1846) - In protest to the British annexation of Māori lands, Chief Hōne Heke of the Ngāpuhi tribe removed the British flag on Flagstaff Hill near the Bay of Islands. The British fought against Heke and his allies in retaliation to crush the uprising. Eventually, Heke and his forces were forced to surrender peacefully after the Battle of Ruapekapeka.
• Hutt Valley Campaign (1846) - In response to the New Zealand Company annexing lands belonging to the Ngāti Toa tribe, Te Rauparaha raided Boulcott's Farm, where eight Pākehā were killed. British forces set out to capture Te Rangihaeata and they eventually caught Te Rauparaha, who was detained without charge in Auckland for two years.
• Whanganui Campaign (1847) - After the accidental shooting of a Whanganui chief named Nga Rangi, a group of Māori warriors set off to avenge the shooting by killing a family of settlers. Afterwards, the perpetrators were captured and hanged, leading to more Māori forces raiding the settlement of Whanganui. Eventually, when the Māori warriors led by Ngāti Toa chief Topine Te Mamaku took over the settlement, Te Mamaku decided to end the war before they could attack.
• First Taranaki War (1860-1861) - Due to territorial disputes over a section of land at Waitara in the Taranaki region, Governor Thomas Browne decided to occupy the territory, leading to a series of conflicts between the Māori and the Pākehā settlers and resulting in a Māori victory.
• Invasion of the Waikato (1863-1864) - A group of British colonial soldiers under the orders of Governor George Grey led an invasion on the Waikato region south of Auckland to crush the Māori King Movement. In the end, the British took control over the region and the Māori King Movement was forced to retreat into King Country.
• Tauranga Campaign (1864) - General Duncan Cameron, who led the Invasion of the Waikato, invaded the Tauranga region in the Bay of Plenty to defeat the King Movement. General Cameron engaged in two battles against the Māori tribes, in which Cameron emerged victorious after the tribes surrendered and their commander, Rawiri Puhirake was killed in battle.
• Second Taranaki War (1863-1866) - During the second war in the Taranaki district, the British decided to use a new technique to subjugate the Māori by using "scorched earth" strategies to burn down Māori villages.
• East Cape War (1865-1866) - After the killing of a missionary named Carl Volkner by members of the Pai Mārire movement, the settlers launched a hunt to capture the killers and crush the movement. The colonists attacked a Māori village near Opitiki and killed 35 people before their lands were eventually confiscated by the colonial government.
• Titokowaru's War (1868-1869) - Chief Riwha Titokowaru of the Ngāruahine tribe led a series of attacks on Pākehā settlements alongside the east coast in protest of the confiscation of Māori homelands. This was the most successful resistance against British colonization, alongside Te Kooti's War.
• Te Kooti's War (1868-1872) - After the release of a Māori leader named Te Kooti from the Chatham Islands, the colonial government labelled Te Kooti as an outlaw, despite his requests for his people to be left in peace. Te Kooti then began a series of attacks and raids on settlements alongside the east coast, including the Poverty Bay massacre. In the end, Te Kooti found refuge in a Waikato tribe and managed to escape his pursuers before he was eventually pardoned by the government.

Legacy

Under the New Zealand Settlements Act of 1863, the colonial government began confiscating land from both "loyal" and "rebel" Māori tribes and lands that were returned to Māori were often not returned to their original owners, which would lead to many Māori in a state of poverty for generations. Māori chief Te Whiti o Rongomai established a settlement in the Taranaki region named Parihaka to resist the confiscations of their lands before he and his supporters were arrested by British officers. In 1898, Chief Hōne Riiwi Tōia of the Ngāpuhi tribe led a protest movement against a "dog tax" policy and led a brief confrontation with a group of British soldiers before the confrontation was put to an end by a Māori politician named Hone Heke Ngapua.