Pages tagged with: musket wars

Tens of thousands of Maori died in the intertribal Musket Wars of the 1810s, 1820s and 1830s. Muskets changed the face of intertribal warfare, decimating the population of some tribes and drastically shifting the boundaries of areas that others controlled.

Between 1818 and the early 1830s an estimated 20,000 Maori were killed in what have been described as the Musket Wars. Thousands more were enslaved or became refugees.

An overview of the New Zealand Wars, also known as the Land Wars and Anglo-Maori wars

The start of the musket wars is attributed to the Ngapuhi chief Hongi Hika.

Thomas Kendall established the first mission school, but he was later suspended after admitting an adulterous affair with a Maori woman.

How the wars ended and the impact they had on iwi

Generations of New Zealanders are familiar with our exploits in two world wars and the impact of these conflicts on the nation. But how familiar are new Zealanders with our own internal wars of the 19th century?

Painting of a Ngapuhi raiding party in the Bay of Islands preparing to invade another tribe near Thames.

This image by an unknown artist shows a large waka taua (war canoe) decorated with severed heads returning in January, 1819

This diagram shows that muskets were most costly when they were most in demand

This map shows the major iwi movements of the 1820s caused by the inter-tribal conflicts known as the Musket Wars.

Flat, broad blade, greenstone patu (club) used by Maori warriors for close-quarter fighting.

Te Rauparaha was a Ngati Toa chief and warrior. Sometimes called the 'Napoleon of the Southern Hemisphere', he ruled the lower end of the North Island from his base at Kapiti Island for the best part of 20 years

Map showing main battles of musket wars

A Ngapuhi war expedition sets out in the 1820s.