The pressure to sell land was a key factor in the creation of the Kingitanga. Before European settlement Maori could not sell land and few chiefs had the mana or authority to gift land. But by the late 1840s secret deals with government officials were occurring.
The invasion of the Waikato united the various factions within the Kingitanga, and during the war Kingitanga forces had some victories despite being overwhelmed in terms of manpower and resources.
In his recruitment waiata, 'Te ope tuatahi', Ngata made it clear that the replacement recruits that he and his colleagues had raised all came from the East Coast tribes of Mahaki, Hauiti, Ngati Porou, Te Arawa and Kahungunu.
Tukaroto Matutaera Potatau Te Wherowhero Tawhiao, about 1880 Tawhiao, of the Tainui hapu (sub-tribe) Ngati Mahuta, was born at the end of the Musket Wars between Tainui and Nga Puhi. He was a Christian, was well versed in the ancient rites of the Tainui tribe, and he had the status of a prophet.
The Waikato-Tainui people and the Crown signed a Deed of Settlement in 1995. It included a formal apology for Crown actions in the wars of the 1860s that had brought devastation to the iwi.
Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu reigned for over 40 years as Maori Queen. She succeeded her father, Koroki, on 23 May 1966 and died on 15 August 2006.
In this 1847 painting by George Angas, Potatau is wrapped in a blanket and seated beside a log. On the right are Te Waru, principal chief of Ngati Apakura, and Te Pakaru, principal chief of Ngati Ti Maniapoto.
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
Tawhiao's father Potatau was the first Maori King, and on his death in 1860
Tawhiao inherited the kingship and the spiritual leadership of his
people. He was king for the next 34 years, including the
most turbulent period in New Zealand's race relations history.
