The Maori Wars

The New Zealand Wars were a series of conflicts that profoundly shaped the course and direction of our nation’s history. Fought between the Crown and various groups of Māori between 1845 and 1872, the wars touched many aspects of life in nineteenth century New Zealand, even in those regions spared actual fighting. Physical remnants or reminders from these conflicts and their aftermath can be found all over the country, whether in central Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, or in more rural locations such as Te Pōrere or Te Awamutu. The wars are an integral part of the New Zealand story but we have not always cared to remember or acknowledge them. Today, however, interest in the wars is resurgent. Public figures are calling for the wars to be taught in all schools and a national day of commemoration was recently established. Following on from the best-selling The Great War for New Zealand, Vincent O'Malley's new book provides a highly accessible introduction to the causes, events and consequences of the New Zealand Wars. The text is supported by extensive full-colour illustrations as well as timelines, graphs and summary tables.

Spanning nearly two centuries from first contact through to settlement and apology, ​this major work focuses on the human impact of the war in the Waikato, its origins and aftermath.

The New Zealand Wars is a powerful revisionist history. Revealing the enormous tactical and military skill of Maori, and the inability of the 'Victorian interpretation of racial conflict' to acknowledge those qualities, this account of the New Zealand Wars changed how the country's history was understood. Belich undertakes a complete reinterpretation of the crucial episode in New Zealand history and the result is a very different picture from the one previously given in historical works. Maori, in this new view, won the Northern War and stalemated the British in the Taranaki War of 1860-61 only to be defeated by 18,000 British troops in the Waikato War of 1863-64. The secret of effective Maori resistance was an innovative military system, the modern pa, a trench-and-bunker fortification of a sophistication not achieved in Europe until 1915. According to the author: 'The degree of Maori success in all four major wars is still underestimated - even to the point where, in the case of one war, the wrong side is said to have won.' Here, Belich sets out to show how historical distortions have arisen over time and revises our understanding of New Zealand history by using fresh evidence and a systematic re-analysis of old evidence.

Keith Sinclair's The Origins of the Maori Wars is a fascinating account of the Waitara purchase and the cause of war in Taranaki in 1860. The seeds of conflict were sown in the earliest days of European settlement in New Zealand, when colonists arrived to take up land for which they had paid before it had been procured. The King party, one of the earliest national movements among M&āori, reacted against this imperial expansion. The story of the developing crisis features good intentions, self-interest, obstinacy and miscalculations &– elements involved in the origins of many wars. Written over ten years, The Origins of the Maori Wars is a pioneering study that comes complete with scholarly apparatus, including maps, appendices, notes and an index. First published in 1957, The Origins of the Maori Wars quickly established itself as a classic of New Zealand historical scholarship. This is the second edition.

Between 1845 and 1872, various groups of Maori were involved in a series of wars of resistance against British settlers. The Maori had a fierce and long-established warrior tradition and subduing them took a lengthy British Army commitment, only surpassed in the Victorian period by that on the North-West Frontier of India. Warfare had been endemic in pre-colonial New Zealand and Maori groups maintained fortified villages or pas. The small early British coastal settlements were tolerated, and in the 1820s a chief named Hongi Hika travelled to Britain with a missionary and returned laden with gifts. He promptly exchanged these for muskets, and began an aggressive 15-year expansion. By the 1860s many Maori had acquired firearms and had perfected their bush-warfare tactics. In the last phase of the wars a religious movement, Pai Maarire ('Hau Hau'), inspired remarkable guerrilla leaders such as Te Kooti Arikirangi to renewed resistance. This final phase saw a reduction in British Army forces. European victory was not total, but led to a negotiated peace that preserved some of the Maori people's territories and freedoms.

Keith Sinclair's The Origins of the Maori Wars is a fascinating account of the Waitara purchase and the cause of war in Taranaki in 1860. The seeds of conflict were sown in the earliest days of European settlement in New Zealand, when colonists arrived to take up land for which they had paid before it had been procured. The King party, one of the earliest national movements among Maori, reacted against this imperial expansion. The story of the developing crisis features good intentions, self-interest, obstinacy and miscalculations - elements involved in the origins of many wars. Written over ten years, The Origins of the Maori Wars is a pioneering study that comes complete with scholarly apparatus, including maps, appendices, notes and an index. First published in 1957, The Origins of the Maori Wars quickly established itself as a classic of New Zealand historical scholarship. This is the second edition.

This book offers an exploration of unique laws and customs placed around warfare throughout history, from Indigenous Australians to the American Civil War.

A history and personal experience of the conflicts against the Maoris This special Leonaur edition brings together two smaller works on the Maori Wars for interest and good value. The first account deals with the history of one of the final wars between the colonial forces and the Maoris in the 19th century which has been called, 'Te Kooti's War'. It was fought on the mountainous and heavily forested east coast and central regions of the North Island between 1868-72 and is related by George Whitmore, the officer commanding the imperial force. The second book is the personal account of a British Army surgeon who arrived in New Zealand in 1860 and became immediately involved in the Taranaki Campaign. This is a lively account full of incident and riveting anecdotes covering almost a decade of service. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.