Editing Musket Wars (section)

==Origin and escalation of warfare==

Māori began acquiring European muskets in the early 19th century from [[Sydney]]-based flax and timber merchants. Because they had never had projectile weapons, they initially sought guns for hunting. Their first known use in intertribal fighting was in the 1807 [[battle of Moremonui]] between Ngāpuhi and [[Ngāti Whātua]] in Northland near present-day [[Dargaville]]. Although they had some muskets, Ngāpuhi warriors struggled to load and reload them quickly enough and were defeated by an enemy armed only with traditional weapons—the clubs and blades known as ''[[patu]]'' and ''[[taiaha]]''. However, soon after, members of the Ngāti Korokoro [[hapū]] of Ngāpuhi suffered severe losses in a raid on the Kai Tutae ''hapu'' despite outnumbering their foe ten to one, because the Kai Tutae were equipped with muskets.<ref name="king" />

Under Hongi Hika's command, Ngāpuhi began amassing muskets and from about 1818 began launching effective raids on ''hapu'' throughout the North Island against whom they had grievances. Rather than occupy territory in areas where they defeated their enemy, they seized ''taonga'' (treasures) and slaves, whom they put to work to grow and prepare more crops—chiefly flax and potatoes—as well as raise pigs to trade for even more weapons. A flourishing trade in the [[Mokomokai|smoked heads]] of slain enemies and slaves also developed. The custom of ''[[Utu (Māori concept)|utu]]'', or reciprocation, led to a growing series of reprisals as other ''iwi'' realised the benefits of muskets for warfare, prompting an arms race among warring groups.<ref name="king" /> In 1821, Hongi Hika travelled to England with missionary [[Thomas Kendall]] and in Sydney on his return voyage traded the gifts which he had obtained in England for between 300 and 500 muskets, which he then used to launch even more devastating raids, with even bigger armies, against ''iwi'' from the Auckland region to [[Rotorua]].<ref name="king" /><ref name="watters" />