The musket wars
1820-1835
Background
• With the arrival of European whaling and trading
ships in the Bay of Islands, the northern tribes of
Ngapuhi and their rivals the Ngati Whatua were able
to trade from about 1814 on, using flax, potatoes,
fruit and pigs to obtain muskets.
• This led to deadly wars between the two
neighbouring enemy tribes. Soon other tribes saw
the necessity of obtaining muskets, and it was not
long before all northern tribes were armed.
Hongi Hika
• Hongi Hika, uncle of Hone Heke, was quite
probably the most famous of Māori warriors. He
was from the Ngapuhi tribe, which traced their
lineage from an ancestor "Puhi-Moana-Ariki",
leading to the tribal name of Ngapuhi, Hongi
Hika was master of the north and west areas to
the Bay of Islands.
• His date of birth is estimated at 1772, as he had
told French explorers that he was born in the
same year that Marion du Fresne was killed
cont
• When the first europeans arrived in new
zealand, northern maori pronounced “h” “sh”.
So hongi hika would not of immediately
responded to how you read it now, it would have
been shongi shika.
• "Hongi" means "smell", and is also a derivative
of the word "salute", representing the Māori
greeting of the pressing of noses. "Hika"
represents "ika", meaning "fish" in english.
Hongi and Missionaries
• Thomas Kendall, British missionary, established
a firm and lasting friendship with Hongi Hika.
As Hongi had supposedly become a converted
Christian, Kendall invited him to England, with
the aim of producing a Māori language bible
with Hongi's assistance.
• Hongi was hoping to obtain double barrelled
guns and muskets for his inter-tribal wars, in
particular to avenge defeats at the hands of the
Ngati Whatua.
cont
• Hongi therefore undertook the long journey in 1820.
It was not the first time that the Māori had traveled
overseas. Since the arrival of European ships many
Māori had, in particular, visited Australia. Hongi's
tattooed and imposing appearance caused a stir in
England wherever he went.
• King George IV received Hongi, and donated him
with a case filled with gifts in recognition of Hongi's
help in introducing Christianity to the Māori people.
Sydney and land sales
• Hongi trades gifts from the King and land in the
Hokianga (with Baron de Theirry)for muskets.
• On arrival back in New Zealand with his
"converted" gifts, Hongi was able to lead a
number of successful raids against rival tribes,
and in particular avenge previous grievances
against the Ngati Whatua. Hongi continued his
war party along the east coast and then into
central North Island.
Destruction
• In 1821 he attacked the Ngati Maru tribe from the
Thames area. He continued by attacking the Ngati
Paoa tribe from Auckland.
• A particularly violent battle was fought in 1822,
when Hongi attacked the Waikato tribe, headed by
Te Wherowhero, who was to be the future Māori
King. The following year, Hongi attacked the Arawa
tribe in Rotorua, and in the battle of Te Ika-a-ranganui in 1825 he achieved "utu" (revenge) over his
defeat in 1807 at the hands of the Ngati Whatua
from the Kaipara and Tamaki areas.
cont
• The many desperate tribes without the much-needed
muskets to defend themselves soon found a way of
obtaining these weapons. The European traders were
more than willing to trade muskets for embalmed
tattooed heads.
• In war, the Māori custom was to take the heads of their
victims, embalm and preserve them, and then present
the heads to the family of the killed warrior. Because of
the lucrative trade in dried heads, with muskets as the
end goal, Māori warriors began leading skirmishes
against other tribes uniquely to gain heads for
ammunition. Muskets were always available, but heads
began to run short, and soon the Māori found himself
unable to continue supplying dried heads as previously.
Fatal Impact
• These wars have been described as a prime
example of fatal impact theory in practice. In the
wake of contact with Europeans, Māori are said
to have grabbed as many guns as they could and
killed as many of each other as they could. The
assumption was that the introduction of
European technology alone was responsible for
these wars.
cont
• Once all tribes had muskets there were no more
easy victories. Pā that had been adapted to
withstand musket fire were harder to capture. By
the 1830s the strain of maintaining campaigns
and the impact of European diseases were taking
their toll. Warfare gave way to economic rivalry.
Consequence and significance
• Over 20,000 maori were killed, more than what
was lost in WW1
• Some of these campaigns drove tribes out of
their traditional areas and into exile with
relatives. Some regions were depopulated,
confusing issues of ownership. When migrating
iwi faced resistance from tangata whenua (local
peoples), conflict spread further afield and new
reasons for fighting were introduced.
Its place in history
• These conflicts were almost exclusively the concern
of Māori, with European participation largely
confined to the supply of weapons. As such they
were of no great consequence to early writers
seeking a grand narrative of European colonisation.
• Setting aside their impact on internal Māori politics,
the Musket Wars – and in particular the unease of
British authorities at the participation of traders in
them – contributed to the decision to colonise New
Zealand in 1840.
Leading to 1940
• By this time thousands of Māori had fled their
traditional lands, freeing large areas for Pākehā
(European) settlement and complicating
questions of ownership.
• Using the history resources in this room,
each find a quote/opinion of an historian
that could be useful in your essay. Write it
up on the whiteboard.