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Musket Wars
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{{Short description|Armed conflicts between Māori tribes in New Zealand before 1845}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}{{Use New Zealand English|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox military conflict | conflict = The Musket Wars | partof = | image = {{multiple image|border=infobox|perrow=2/2/2|total_width=300 | image1=MaoriWardanceKahuroa.jpg | alt1= | image2=HekeKawiti1846.jpg | alt2= | image3=Hong-hika-war-canoe.jpg | alt3=in the | image4=Moriori people.jpg | alt4= | image5=RANGIHAEATA'S PAH, WITH THE ISLAND of MANA AND THE OPPOSITE SHORES OF COOK'S STRAITS, The New Zealanders Illustrated, 1847.jpg | alt5= | image6=Pōtatau Te Wherowhero by George French Angas.jpg | alt6=}}'''Clockwise from top left:''' {{flatlist| * A haka using English-style [[Musket|muskets]] and [[Hatchet|hatchets]] as props * Ngāpuhi nobleman [[Te Ruki Kawiti]] (right) with [[Hōne Heke]] and his wife [[Hōne Heke#Biography|Hariata]] * Descendants of the [[Moriori]] who survived [[Moriori genocide|genocidal invasion]] by [[Ngāti Mutunga]] and [[Ngāti Tama]] * [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]], prominent [[Waikato Tainui]] military commander who later was crowned the first [[Māori King Movement|Māori King]] * [[Te Rangihaeata|Te Rangihaeata's]] [[pā]] at Mana after the [[Ngāti Toa]] [[Te Rauparaha#Migration|conquest]] of the [[Kāpiti Coast]] * A Ngāpuhi [[waka taua]] returning from a raid on the [[Bay of Plenty]] }} | caption = | date = 1806–1845 | place = New Zealand | territory = | result = Territory gained and lost between various tribes | status = | combatant1 = Various [[Māori people|Māori]] tribes | strength1 = | casualties1 = Up to 40,000 Māori<br />30,000 enslaved or forced to migrate<br />300 [[Moriori]] deaths, 1700 Moriori enslaved | notes = }} The '''Musket Wars''' were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout [[New Zealand]] (including the [[Chatham Islands]]) among [[Māori people|Māori]] between 1806 and 1845,{{sfn|Crosby|1999|p=1}} after Māori first obtained [[musket]]s and then engaged in an intertribal [[arms race]] in order to gain territory or seek revenge for past defeats.<ref>{{cite book | last =Bohan | first =Edmund | title = Climates of War: New Zealand Conflict 1859–69 | publisher = Hazard Press | date = 2005 | location = Christchurch | page = 32 | isbn = 9781877270963}}</ref> The battles resulted in the deaths of between 20,000 and 40,000 people and the enslavement of tens of thousands of Māori and significantly altered the ''[[rohe]]'', or tribal territorial boundaries, before the signing of the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] in 1840.<ref name="basil">{{cite web | url =http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/musket-wars | title = Musket wars | last =Keane | first = Basil | date = 2012 | website = Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand | publisher = Ministry for Culture and Heritage | access-date = 4 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="sinclair">{{cite book | last =Sinclair | first =Keith| title = A History of New Zealand | publisher =Penguin | edition =2000 | year = 2000 | location =Auckland | pages =41–42 | isbn =978-0-14-029875-8}}</ref> The Musket Wars reached their peak in the 1830s,{{sfn|Crosby|1999|p=23}} with smaller conflicts between [[iwi]] continuing until the mid-1840s; some historians argue the [[New Zealand Wars]] were (commencing with the [[Wairau Affray]] in 1843 and [[Flagstaff War]] in 1845) a continuation of the Musket Wars.{{sfn|O'Malley|2019|p=19}} The increased use of muskets in intertribal warfare led to changes in the design of [[pā]] fortifications, which later benefited Māori when engaged in battles with colonial forces during the New Zealand Wars.{{sfn|O'Malley|2019|p=19}} [[Ngāpuhi]] chief [[Hongi Hika]] in 1818 used newly acquired muskets to launch devastating raids from his [[Northland Region|Northland]] base into the [[Bay of Plenty]], where local Māori were still relying on traditional weapons of wood and stone. In the following years he launched equally successful raids on ''[[iwi]]'' in [[Auckland]], [[Thames, New Zealand|Thames]], [[Waikato]] and [[Lake Rotorua]],<ref name="basil" /> taking large numbers of his enemies as slaves, who were put to work cultivating and dressing [[Flax in New Zealand|flax]] to trade with Europeans for more muskets. His success prompted other ''iwi'' to procure firearms in order to mount effective methods of defence and deterrence and the spiral of violence peaked in 1832 and 1833, by which time it had spread to all parts of the country except the inland area of the [[North Island]] later known as the [[King Country]] and remote bays and valleys of [[Fiordland]] in the [[South Island]]. In 1835, the fighting went offshore as members of [[Ngāti Mutunga]] and [[Ngāti Tama]] [[Moriori genocide|invaded and murdered]] the [[Moriori people|Moriori]] of Rēkohu in a genocide. With as many as 40,000 killed over a 40-year period, the death toll of the Musket Wars was absolutely unprecedented. Historian [[Michael King (historian)|Michael King]] suggested the term "holocaust" could be applied to the period;<ref name="king">{{cite book | author=Michael King | title=The Penguin History of New Zealand | year= 2003 |pages = 131–139| isbn=978-0-14-301867-4 | publisher= Penguin Books}}</ref> another historian, [[Angela Ballara]], has questioned the validity of the term "musket wars", suggesting the conflict was no more than a continuation of Māori ''[[Tikanga Māori|tikanga]]'' (custom), but more destructive because of the widespread use of firearms.<ref name="watters" /> The wars have been described as an example of the "fatal impact" of indigenous contact with Europeans.<ref name="watters">{{cite web | url = http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/new-zealands-19th-century-wars/the-musket-wars | title =Musket wars | last =Watters | first =Steve | date = 2015 | website = New Zealand History | publisher = Ministry for Culture and Heritage | access-date = 5 November 2015}}</ref> ==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" /> ==Use of the musket by Māori== The last of the non-musket wars, the 1807 [[Battle of Hingakaka]], was fought between two opposing Māori alliances near modern [[Te Awamutu]], with an estimated 16,000 warriors involved,<ref>Tainui. Leslie G. Kelly. pp. 287–296. Cadsonbury. 2002</ref> although as late as about 1815, some conflicts were still being fought with traditional weapons. The musket slowly put an end to the traditional combat of Māori warfare using mainly hand weapons and increased the importance of coordinated group manoeuvre. One-on-one fights such as [[Pōtatau Te Wherowhero]]'s at the battle of Okoki in 1821 became rare. Initially, the musket was used as a shock weapon, enabling traditional and iron weapons to be used effectively against a demoralised foe. But by the 1830s equally well-armed [[taua]] engaged each other with varying degrees of success. Māori learnt most of their musket technology from the various [[Pākehā Māori]] who lived in the Bay of Islands and Hokianga area. Some of these men were skilled sailors who were well-experienced in using muskets in battles at sea. Māori customised their muskets; for example, some enlarged the touch holes, which, while reducing muzzle velocity, increased the rate of fire. === Quality of muskets === Most muskets sold were low quality, short barrel trade muskets made cheaply in [[Birmingham]] with inferior steel and less precision in the action. Māori often favoured the ''tupara'' (two-barrel) shotguns loaded with musket balls, as they could fire twice before reloading. In some battles, women were used to reload muskets while the men kept shooting. Later this presented a problem for the British and colonial forces during the New Zealand Wars when ''iwi'' would keep women in the ''pā''. Māori found it very hard to obtain muskets as the missionaries refused to trade them or sell powder or shot. The [[Ngāpuhi]] put missionaries under intense pressure to repair muskets even at times threatening them with violence. Most muskets were initially obtained while in Australia. Pākehā Māori such as [[Jacky Marmon]] were instrumental in obtaining muskets from trading ships in return for flax, timber and smoked heads. ==Conflicts and consequences== The violence brought devastation for many tribes, with some wiped out as the vanquished were killed or enslaved, and tribal boundaries were completely redrawn as large swathes of territory were conquered and evacuated. Those changes greatly complicated later dealings with European settlers wishing to gain land. Between 1821 and 1823 Hongi Hika attacked Ngāti Pāoa in Auckland, [[Ngāti Maru (Hauraki)|Ngāti Maru]] in [[Thames, New Zealand|Thames]], Waikato tribes at Matakitaki, and [[Te Arawa]] at [[Lake Rotorua]], heavily defeating them all. In 1825 he gained a major military victory over Ngāti Whātua at [[Kaipara Harbour|Kaipara]] north of Auckland, then pursued survivors into Waikato territory to gain revenge for Ngāpuhi's 1807 defeat. Ngāpuhi chiefs [[Pōmare I (Ngāpuhi)|Pōmare]] and Te Wera Hauraki also led attacks on the East Coast, and in Hawke's Bay and the Bay of Plenty. Ngāpuhi's involvement in the musket wars began to recede in the early 1830s.<ref name="basil" /> Waikato tribes expelled [[Ngāti Toa]] chief [[Te Rauparaha]] from [[Kāwhia Harbour|Kāwhia]] in 1821, defeated Ngāti Kahungunu at Napier in 1824 and invaded Taranaki in 1826, forcing a number of tribal groups to migrate south. Waikato launched another major incursion into Taranaki in 1831–32.<ref name="basil" /> [[File:Te Rauparaha in naval uniform, pencil and watercolour by unknown after William Bambridge.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Te Rauparaha in European-style military dress, 1847. ]] Te Rauparaha, meanwhile, had moved first to Taranaki and then to the [[Kāpiti Coast District|Kāpiti coast]] and [[Kapiti Island]], which Ngāti Toa chief [[Te Pēhi Kupe]] captured from the Muaupoko people. About 1827 Te Rauparaha began leading raids into the north of the South Island; by 1830 he had expanded his territory to include [[Kaikōura]] and [[Akaroa]] and much of the rest of the South Island.<ref name="basil" /> The final South Island battles took place in Southland in 1836–37 between forces of [[Ngāi Tahu]] leader [[Tūhawaiki]] and those of Ngāti Tama chief Te Puoho, who had followed a route from [[Golden Bay / Mohua|Golden Bay]] down the West Coast and across the [[Southern Alps (New Zealand)|Southern Alps]]. === Chatham Islands === {{Main|Moriori genocide|Ngāti Mutunga–Ngāti Tama conflict}} In 1835 Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama hijacked a ship to take them to the [[Chatham Islands]] where they slaughtered about 10 percent of the [[Moriori people]] and enslaved the survivors, before waging war among themselves.<ref name="basil" /> ===Te Ihupuku Pā=== The final conflict of the Musket Wars occurred in 1845. A [[Ngāti Tūwharetoa]] war party was stopped en route to an attack on the [[Ngā Rauru]] [[Waitōtara|Te Ihupuku Pā]] in South Taranaki by British and church officials. The Anglican [[Bishop of New Zealand]] and a Major managed to talk both sides out of fighting. Ngāti Tūwharetoa fired the final shots of the Musket Wars symbolically into the air before returning to Taupō.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-aotearoa-history-show/story/2018853965/season-2-ep-8-the-musket-wars|publisher=[[Radio New Zealand]]|title=Season 2 Ep 8: The Musket Wars|date=17 August 2022 }}</ref> == Historiography == Historian [[James Belich (historian)|James Belich]] has suggested "Potato Wars" as a more accurate name for these battles, due to the revolution the [[potato]] brought to the Māori economy.<ref name="nzhistory">[http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/musket-wars/overview Overview – Musket Wars], New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Updated 15 October 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2010.</ref> Historian Angela Ballara says that new foods made some aspects of the wars different.<ref name="nzhistory"/> Potatoes were introduced in New Zealand in 1769<ref>[http://www.eu-sol.net/public/plant-histories/potato-history/spread-of-the-potato Potato history, Spread of the potato] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211020817/http://www.eu-sol.net/public/plant-histories/potato-history/spread-of-the-potato |date=11 December 2008 }}, Eu-Sol, (European Commission) Updated 15 September. Retrieved 15 September 2011.</ref> and they became a key staple with better food-value for weight than [[sweet potato|kūmara]] (sweet-potato), and easier cultivation and storage. Unlike the kūmara with their associated ritual requirements, potatoes were tillable by slaves and women and this freed up men to go to war.<ref name="basil" /> Belich saw this as a logistical revolution, with potatoes effectively fueling the long-range ''[[taua]]'' that made the musket wars different from any fighting that had come before. Slaves captured in the raids were put to work tending potato patches, freeing up labour to create even larger ''taua''. The duration of the raids was also longer by the 1820s; it became common for warriors to be away for up to a year because it was easier to grow a series of potato crops. ==In popular culture== The music video of "Kai Tangata" from New Zealand thrash metal band [[Alien Weaponry]] dramatically portrays part of the conflict that ensued with introduction of the muskets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kwIkF6LFDc|title=ALIEN WEAPONRY – Kai Tangata (Official Video)|publisher=Napalm Records|date=12 May 2018|via=YouTube|accessdate=17 July 2020}}</ref> ''[[The Convert]]'' is a film set amid the conflict.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/asia/new-zealand-epic-the-convert-guy-pearce-te-kohe-tuhaka-1235260301|website=Variety|date=6 May 2022|title=New Zealand Epic 'The Convert' to Star Guy Pearce, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Launch at Cannes Market|first1= Patrick|last1=Frater|first2=K.J.|last2=Yossman|accessdate=22 March 2023}}</ref> ==References== ===Citations=== {{Reflist}} ===Bibliography=== {{refbegin}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/musket-wars/overview|publisher=New Zealand History – Ministry for Culture and Heritage|title=The Musket Wars|date=11 September 2015|accessdate=4 February 2024}} * {{cite book|last=Crosby|first=Ron|title=The Musket Wars – A History of Inter-Iwi Conflict 1806–45|publisher=[[A.H. Reed]]|location=Auckland|date=1999|isbn=0790006774}} * {{cite book|authorlink=Angela Ballara|last=Ballara|first=Angela|title=Taua: Musket Wars, Land Wars or tikanga? Warfare in Maori society in the early nineteenth century|publisher=Penguin|location=Auckland|date=2003|isbn=9780143018896}} * {{cite book|first=Malcolm|last=McKinnon|title=Bateman New Zealand historical atlas: Ko papatuanuku e takoto nei|year=1997|publisher=David Bateman in association with Historical Branch, [[Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand)]]|isbn=1869533356}} * Belich, James, ''The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict''. Auckland, N.Z., Penguin, 1986 * Bentley, Trevor, ''Cannibal Jack'', Penguin, Auckland, 2010 * Best, Elsdon, ''Te Pa Maori'', Government Printer, Wellington, 1975 (reprint) * Carleton, Hugh, ''The Life of Henry Williams, Archdeacon of Waimate'' (1874), Auckland NZ. [http://www.enzb.auckland.ac.nz/document/1874_-_Carleton,_H._The_Life_of_Henry_Williams,_%5BVol._I._%5D Online available] from [[Early New Zealand Books]] (ENZB). * Fitzgerald, Caroline, ''Te Wiremu – Henry Williams: Early Years in the North'', Huia Publishers, New Zealand, 2011 {{ISBN|978-1-86969-439-5}} * Moon, Paul, ''This Horrid Practice, The Myth and Reality of Traditional Maori Cannibalism.'' Penguin, Auckland, 2008 {{ISBN|978-0-14-300671-8}} * Moon, Paul, ''A Savage Country. The untold story of New Zealand in the 1820s'' Penguin, 2012 {{ISBN|978-0-14356-738-7}} * {{Aut|Rogers, Lawrence M. (editor)}} (1961) – ''The Early Journals of Henry Williams 1826 to 1840''. Christchurch : Pegasus Press. [https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-RogEarl.html online available] at [[New Zealand Electronic Text Centre]] (NZETC) (2011-06-27) * {{cite book|authorlink=Vincent O'Malley|last=O'Malley|first=Vincent|date=2019|title=The New Zealand Wars Ngā Pakanga O Aotearoa|publisher=Bridget Williams Books|isbn=9781988587011}} * Ryan T and Parham B, ''The colonial NZ Wars"'', Grantham House, 2002 * Waitangi Tribunal, ''Te Raupatu o Tauranga Moana – Report on Tauranga Confiscation Claims'', Waitangi Tribunal Website, 2004 * Wright, Matthew, ''Guns & Utu: A short history of the Musket Wars'' (2012), Penguin, {{ISBN|9780143565659}} {{refend}} ==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110610131821/http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/scripts/reports/reports/215/84E9A228-BD21-4621-BD3B-8D7C4E194522.pdf "Tauranga Maori and the Crown, 1840–64"], from www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz *[http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/classroom/ncea-level-3-history/the-musket-wars Musket Wars discussion essay], for [[National Certificate of Educational Achievement|NCEA]] level 3 *[http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/1820s-iwi-movements-map Map of iwi movements in the 1820s] *[https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-SmiMaor-t1-front-d2-d1.html ''Maori Wars of the Nineteenth Century'' by S Percy Smith (1910, revised edition)] {{Māori}} {{Military history of New Zealand}} [[Category:Musket Wars| ]] [[Category:Māori history]] [[Category:Wars involving New Zealand]] [[Category:Cannibalism in Oceania]] [[Category:Māori intertribal wars|*]]
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