The New Zealand Wars

1860s

First shots are fired

in March 1860, a junior chief called Te Teira sold land which belonged to the paramount chief, Wiremu Kingi

Kingi refused to leave the land, so the British offered him an ultimatum, leave or they would send in British troops

Kingi refused, and the first shots were fired at Te Kohia pa

Locals and crown officials knew Te Teira had no right to sell the land, but accepted the deal as payback on Wiremu Kingi

Wiremu Kingi was vilified by the settlers for opposing Maori land sales to British

Governer Browne felt he had no choice but to send soldiers in, he was being pressured by the settlers

Kohimarama Conference, July 1860

Governer Browne invited chiefs who signed the treaty to come to Kohimarama and clear up misunderstandings

Chiefs entered a covenant stating they would do nothing inconsistent of the terms of the treaty

Waikato and Taranaki tribes absent, want nothing to do with Governer Browne

From Browne To Grey

People in Britain heard about the war and stopped emigrating, the british government sacked Browne and sent Grey

Grey tried to negotiate with Maori, promising them local autonomy

Waikato Maori remained adamant they would not sell land, war broke out again in Taranaki

At the same time decided to build a military road straight to the heart of the Waikato

Cleared 500 yards each side to prevent ambushes

Raupatu

1863, government passed the land confiscation law

Millions of acres of land simply confiscated

Under the New Zealand settlements act

Guerrilla Warriors

Although British outnumbered the Maori, they were not prepared to fight in the undergrowth and bush of NZ

Maori experts in Guerrilla warfare, using tunnels and trenches to escape

Very few Maori captured after the battle

Maori led British deeper into Bush, heavy cannons and weapons of British were difficult to use, susceptible to ambush

Maori, however, could not spend as long at war, as they needed to feed their families, and grown food

Also ran out of ammunition quickly, had to start using alternatives

A twist of Fate

TitoKowaru was a powerful warlord of the Taranaki region, gained back lots of land for Maori

Many warriors joined him, and he soon had an army 1000 strong

Then Titokowaru had an affair with the wife of one of his soldiers, and all his troops left him

Pakeha Settlers in 1860s

While wars raged, pakeha tried to establish farms

They had to clear land

grow grass for livestock

build their own houses

Grow enough food to feed the family

Meanwhile, they had to live in dirt huts and sleep on the floor, with no running water

Native Land Court

Established in 1865, as the British did not want to deal with communal ownership of land, and it limited the number of land owners to 10

Maori invited to come and claim their land, but the journey was difficult and lengthy, and some people could not leave their tribes for that long

Many tribes ended up competing for land which they once shared, many Maori dispossessed