Musket Wars
Encyclopedia
The Musket Wars were a series of five hundred or more battles mainly fought between various hapū
(subtribes—a group of about 200-400 people), sometimes alliances of pan-hapū groups and less often larger iwi
(tribal groups) of Māori between 1807 and 1842, in New Zealand
.
Northern tribes such as the rivals Ngāpuhi
and Ngāti Whātua
were the first to obtain firearms, and inflicted heavy casualties upon each other and on neighbouring tribes, some of whom had never seen muskets. The wars were characterised by their brutality and ruthlessness - with treachery, the burning of villages, killing of prisoners, torture, slavery, and cannibalism
being commonplace.
Hongi Hika
, who was later to lead Ngāpuhi raids across most of the northern North Island, saw two of his brothers killed in this debacle.
These early inter-tribal conflicts gave Māori experience in fighting with and defending against muskets, and may help explain why rebel Māori felt so confident in taking on the combined British and New Zealand forces in the New Zealand Land Wars in the 1860s .
has suggested "Potato Wars" as a more accurate name for these battles, due to the revolution the potato brought to the Māori economy. Historian Angela Ballara says that new foods made some aspects of the wars different. Māori adopted potatoes which were introduced in 1769, and they became a key staple with better food-value for weight than kūmara
(sweet potato), and easier cultivation and storage. Unlike the kūmara, potatoes were tillable by slaves and women and this freed up men to go to war. Belich saw this as a logistical revolution; potatoes effectively fuelled the long range taua
that made the Musket Wars different from any fighting that had gone before. However it has been pointed out by Ballara that in many respects it was a continuation of traditional inter iwi feuding that had produced such massive slaughter as at the Battle of Hingakaka
(about 1780-90 but possibly 1807) near Ohaupo when about 8,000 warriors were killed by traditional weapons. Slaves brought back from massive Musket war raids were put to work tending potato patches, freeing up labour to create even larger taua. This can be seen in the progressive size of the war parties which started at around a hundred but within a few years were often a thousand toa (warriors) and up to two thousand. After 1832 the average size of the taua
declined, until by 1836 they were as small as 120-200. The missionaries at Tauranga
in 1839 recorded that 170 Ngati Haua Toa in five waka
went to attack Maungatapu Pa.(Crosby P 338) As well, the duration of the raids were longer by the 1820s; it was common for men to be away for up to a year. Because potatoes are not as sensitive to temperature in the "winterless" north as kūmara, it was easy to grow a series of crops. Also American sailors had reintroduced the much larger fist-sized, American sweet potato, which quickly replaced the thumb-sized Māori kūmara.
The availability of the potato and its ease of growing in a wide variety of climatic and soil conditions may have led to a rise in population, putting increasing pressure on a traditional Māori tribal structure that was geared towards a very tiny increase in population, i.e., far more healthy vigorous young men in the pā
to challenge for positions of leadership
.
Historian Angela Ballara presents evidence that the wars simply continued the traditional conflicts between and within the many hapū of New Zealand waged from about the mid 18th century. Ballara, in Taua, says the musket wars were fought for essentially the same reasons as pre-musket wars—mainly to do with mana, tapu and utu, only the weapons changed. Even at the end of the period in the mid 1840s Māori essentially followed the same tikanga or cultural war traditions as in the pre-musket 1700s. Both the earlier 1700 wars and the musket wars show that it was possible for various hapū to combine into a much larger taua
under one or more leader for very long lengths of time—over a year, with out regard to planting seasons or food supply for those left behind. Ballara commented that missionaries observed that in the north the warriors would leave the old and the young at home with very inadequate food—they had to forage for food as best as they could. As they had traditionally done, the warriors could expect to obtain food, weapons and other supplies from those defeated in attacks. The only new resource they sought in the musket wars were male slaves, rather than the traditional quest for female or child slaves in earlier times.
. It took place between Dec 1831 and ended in Nov 1832. The heke set off from the Bay of Islands and went to Tauranga
. The stated purpose of the heke was utu for the killing of three Ngāpuhi
men of rank, who had previously been killed at Motiti Island
near Tauranga. Many others had been killed but the utu was only for the men with status, as was normal practice. Before the heke set out there was a series of long debates, as not all the kin of the slain wished to take part.
When the heke set out it had no leader and each group of toa set out with its own chief at its own pace and acted independently with no common leader or plan. Henry Williams accompanied the heke with the idea of preventing bloodshed so was able to document the haphazard and leisurely progress of the warriors going south. Much time was spent fishing and collecting fern root and by various hapū going off by themselves to carry out minor attacks. Although the first group had set off on 10 Dec, by March 1 the following year the heke had only reached Tairua
. Henry Williams
estimated there were 600 fighting men plus a small number of women and children. Many of the waka carried cannon. On March 7 the 80 waka strong fleet went to attack a pā
at Otumoetai
and exchanged long range fire with the pā
. Henry Williams
noted the casualness of the women and children in particular who paid little heed to the flying lead. Children dug up spent lead bullets as they fell. Traders in the cutter Fairey sold cannons, shot and powder to the Māori on credit.
On 3 April 1832 there was more fighting on a beach at Otumoetai
and Ngāpuhi
were victorious. After this the heke spluttered to a close with the majority groups returning to the north by the end of July though Titore did not return until 27 November 1832. Henry Williams noted that he returned with the heads of 14 enemy and three of his own kin. Henry Williams
also noted that the Ngāpuhi
had stopped fighting on Sunday, even though none of those taking part were Christian. Henry Williams
wrote that the number of dead of attackers and defenders was about equal and that no people of rank had been killed. Ballara points out that most of the traditional rituals used in pre-musket days were in everyday use.
had tried to ban the sale of muskets to the Māori, but when in 1820 missionary Thomas Kendall
took Hongi Hika
to Britain, Hongi Hika traded many of the presents he had been given by King George for muskets as they stopped at Port Jackson on their return voyage, and Kendall himself was later involved in the musket trade.
Generally, the musket did not affect the strategic aims of hapū
in the 19th century. However, the tactics used were influenced especially where there was significant imbalance in the numbers of muskets being employed by one side against another. The musket largely put an end to the individual combat of traditional Māori warfare and increased the importance of coordinated group manoeuvre. The legendary one-on-one fights such as Potatau Te Wherowhero
's at the battle of Okoki in 1821 became rare. It can be contrasted with the death of Te Hiakai who, like many, was gunned down in the same battle.
Initially, the musket was a tool which inflicted "shock and awe" and enabled traditional and iron weapons to wreak bloody slaughter on a demoralised foe. However by the 1830s equally well-armed taua
engaged each other with varying degrees of success. Te Waharoa, leader of Ngāti Haua, was particularly innovative in his use of musket-armed troops in the attack. Tactics he employed at the battle of Taumatawiwi (1830), such as covering fire, would be recognisable to a modern soldier.
Māori were not beyond customising their muskets; for example, some enlarged the touch holes which, while reducing muzzle velocity, increased rate of fire. Initially Maori 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. Hongi Hika obtained 500. Pakeha Maori
such as Jacky Marmon were instrumental in obtaining muskets from trading ships in return for flax,timber and smoked heads. Most muskets sold were low quality,short barrel trade muskets, made cheaply in Birmingham with inferior steel and less precision in the action. The range and accuracy of a trade musket (40 m range) could not be compared with that of a proper military musket such as a Brown Bess or the later standard issue Enfield which required the less common fine grain blackpowder. Often Maori preferred the double barreled tupara (2 barrel) as they could fire twice before reloading. In some battles women were used to reload muskets while the men kept on fighting. Later this presented a problem for the British and NZ forces during the New Zealand Land Wars, when iwi would habitually keep women in the pa. Northern Maori,such as Nga Puhi, learnt to speed load their muskets by holding three lead balls between the fingers of the left hand. The powder was premeasured in paper twists. When the powder was poured down the barrel,instead of using the ramrod which was slow and awkward they thumped the butt on the ground. As the barrel was fouled by partly burnt powder residue, the warriors used progressively smaller balls. The muzzle velocity dropped as a result but the large balls could still cause severe wounds at close range.(p129 Cannabil Jack)
As well as using Pakeha-Maori as traders, some chiefs, such as Hongi Hika, used them as a gunsmith as trade muskets in particular needed regular maintenance. Some, such as Jacky Marmon became influential members of the hapu and participated in several wars such as the attack by Nga Puhi on the twin Tamaki strongholds in what is now modern day Panmure, in late September 1820.
", which was designed to be defended with ranged weapons and to offer defenders protection against the firearms of the enemy This type of pā was later widely used in the New Zealand Land Wars, with extensive modifications to deal with the heavy artillery, superior numbers and discipline in attack of British troops. The experience in combat with modern weaponry given by the Musket Wars may help explain why Māori fared far better in the later New Zealand Land Wars than did most tribal peoples.
In time, all the tribes traded to obtain muskets and the conflict ultimately reached an uneasy stalemate after decimating the population of some tribes and drastically shifting the boundaries between areas controlled by various others. The wars themselves generally resolved themselves for various reasons. As Māori sought a way out of the cycle of violence the door was opened to Christianity
. Some Māori were also willing to let the government bear the burden of seeking utu
. In the latter stages, as in the Howick-Otahuhu area in 1835-36, missionaries such as Henry Williams
and William Fairburn were able to carry out negotiations between warring factions and purchase disputed land to put an end to conflict. At least 20,000 people died in these conflicts. In addition another 30,000 were enslaved or forced to migrate, according to Crosby, using the data of noted New Zealand demographer Ian Poole. Some earlier historians claimed the deaths were much higher-about 50-60,000 but the evidence for this is not convincing. Ballara points out it was common even in traditional times for a defeated hapū to flee their best land temporarily for up to two years but they usually returned when utu was satisfied and peace returned.
Crosby says over half of all iwi suffered major population loss through battle casualties, cannibalism, or enslavement (for instance, the Moriori
in the Chatham Islands
). A few iwi, for example in Nelson, were exterminated.
Perhaps the most important outcome of the musket wars was the bitter legacy of inter-hapū and -iwi mistrust stemming from the extreme violence with which they were fought. The constant use of treachery as a battlefield tactic, coupled with the enslavement of so many, left a long legacy of mistrust. The second to last battle of the Musket Wars was a few months before the Treaty of Waitangi
was signed. A taua
(war party) from the Te Awamutu
area attacked and slaughtered Arawa people (Rotorua area) and bought back 60 basket-loads of human flesh to eat. The missionaries and Christian Maori were sickened and moved out of the pa to establish a separate missionary village. The last battle was at Tauranga
in 1842,when a Hauraki Iwi raiding toa attacked a pa. Chief Taraia claimed this was utu (revenge) for encroachment on his land and other issues. The Colonial Secretary Willoughby Shortland carried out an investigation and found two bodies had been eaten. Te Mutu, the defeated chief, told Shortland that if he caught Taraia he would eat him.
Missionaries had been able to gain the trust of many iwi, while Māori remained wary of other iwi outside their rohe
(area). This was the immediate background to the signing of the treaty of Waitangi
in 1840.
Citations
Hapu
A hapū is sometimes described as "the basic political unit within Maori society".A named division of a Māori iwi , membership is determined by genealogical descent; a hapū is made up of a number of whānau groups. Generally hapū range in size from 150-200 although there is no upper limit...
(subtribes—a group of about 200-400 people), sometimes alliances of pan-hapū groups and less often larger iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
(tribal groups) of Māori between 1807 and 1842, in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Northern tribes such as the rivals Ngāpuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
and Ngāti Whātua
Ngati Whatua
Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It consists of four hapu : Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa, Te Taoū, and Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei....
were the first to obtain firearms, and inflicted heavy casualties upon each other and on neighbouring tribes, some of whom had never seen muskets. The wars were characterised by their brutality and ruthlessness - with treachery, the burning of villages, killing of prisoners, torture, slavery, and cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
being commonplace.
- "The first occasion [of the use of the musket] appears to have been the defeat of a Ngapuhi war party by Ngāti Whātua at MoremonuiMoremonuiMoremonui or Moremunui is a location in the Northland Region of New Zealand, 12 miles south of Maunganui Bluff. It is known principally as the site of a Māori battle fought in either 1807 or 1808 between the Kaipara branches of the Ngāti Whātua, Te-Uri-o-Hau and Te Roroa iwi on one side and the...
near Maunganui, between HokiangaHokiangaHokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as The Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand....
and KaiparaKaipara HarbourKaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Rodney District...
harbours in 1807. In this instance, it was the Ngapuhi who were equipped with muskets. But the Ngāti Whātua ambushed them with traditional weapons before Ngapuhi had sufficient opportunity to load or reload." - Michael KingMichael KingMichael King, OBE was a New Zealand popular historian, author and biographer. He wrote or edited over 30 books on New Zealand topics, including The Penguin History of New Zealand, which was the most popular New Zealand book of 2004.-Life:King was born in Wellington to Eleanor and Commander Lewis...
.
Hongi Hika
Hongi Hika
Hongi Hika was a New Zealand Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi . Hongi Hika used European weapons to overrun much of northern New Zealand in the first of the Musket Wars...
, who was later to lead Ngāpuhi raids across most of the northern North Island, saw two of his brothers killed in this debacle.
These early inter-tribal conflicts gave Māori experience in fighting with and defending against muskets, and may help explain why rebel Māori felt so confident in taking on the combined British and New Zealand forces in the New Zealand Land Wars in the 1860s .
Historiography
Historian James BelichJames Belich (historian)
James Christopher Belich, ONZM is a New Zealand revisionist historian, known for his work on the New Zealand Wars.Of Croatian descent, he was born in Wellington in 1956, the son of Sir James Belich, who later became Mayor of Wellington. He attended Onslow College.He gained an M.A...
has suggested "Potato Wars" as a more accurate name for these battles, due to the revolution the potato brought to the Māori economy. Historian Angela Ballara says that new foods made some aspects of the wars different. Māori adopted potatoes which were introduced in 1769, and they became a key staple with better food-value for weight than kūmara
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
(sweet potato), and easier cultivation and storage. Unlike the kūmara, potatoes were tillable by slaves and women and this freed up men to go to war. Belich saw this as a logistical revolution; potatoes effectively fuelled the long range taua
Taua
A taua is a war party in the tradition of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Contemporary knowledge of taua is gleaned from missionary observations and writings during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century and the later New Zealand wars....
that made the Musket Wars different from any fighting that had gone before. However it has been pointed out by Ballara that in many respects it was a continuation of traditional inter iwi feuding that had produced such massive slaughter as at the Battle of Hingakaka
Battle of Hingakaka
The Battle of Hingakaka was reputedly "the largest battle ever fought on New Zealand soil".A force of 7,000 to 10,000 warriors, led by a Ngāti Toa chief Pikauterangi, from the Marokopa district of the lower North Island invaded the Waipa District, to restore honour. He was aggrieved over the poor...
(about 1780-90 but possibly 1807) near Ohaupo when about 8,000 warriors were killed by traditional weapons. Slaves brought back from massive Musket war raids were put to work tending potato patches, freeing up labour to create even larger taua. This can be seen in the progressive size of the war parties which started at around a hundred but within a few years were often a thousand toa (warriors) and up to two thousand. After 1832 the average size of the taua
Taua
A taua is a war party in the tradition of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Contemporary knowledge of taua is gleaned from missionary observations and writings during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century and the later New Zealand wars....
declined, until by 1836 they were as small as 120-200. The missionaries at Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
in 1839 recorded that 170 Ngati Haua Toa in five waka
Waka (canoe)
Waka are Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes used for fishing and river travel, to large decorated war canoes up to long...
went to attack Maungatapu Pa.(Crosby P 338) As well, the duration of the raids were longer by the 1820s; it was common for men to be away for up to a year. Because potatoes are not as sensitive to temperature in the "winterless" north as kūmara, it was easy to grow a series of crops. Also American sailors had reintroduced the much larger fist-sized, American sweet potato, which quickly replaced the thumb-sized Māori kūmara.
The availability of the potato and its ease of growing in a wide variety of climatic and soil conditions may have led to a rise in population, putting increasing pressure on a traditional Māori tribal structure that was geared towards a very tiny increase in population, i.e., far more healthy vigorous young men in the pā
Pa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
to challenge for positions of leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
.
Historian Angela Ballara presents evidence that the wars simply continued the traditional conflicts between and within the many hapū of New Zealand waged from about the mid 18th century. Ballara, in Taua, says the musket wars were fought for essentially the same reasons as pre-musket wars—mainly to do with mana, tapu and utu, only the weapons changed. Even at the end of the period in the mid 1840s Māori essentially followed the same tikanga or cultural war traditions as in the pre-musket 1700s. Both the earlier 1700 wars and the musket wars show that it was possible for various hapū to combine into a much larger taua
Taua
A taua is a war party in the tradition of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Contemporary knowledge of taua is gleaned from missionary observations and writings during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century and the later New Zealand wars....
under one or more leader for very long lengths of time—over a year, with out regard to planting seasons or food supply for those left behind. Ballara commented that missionaries observed that in the north the warriors would leave the old and the young at home with very inadequate food—they had to forage for food as best as they could. As they had traditionally done, the warriors could expect to obtain food, weapons and other supplies from those defeated in attacks. The only new resource they sought in the musket wars were male slaves, rather than the traditional quest for female or child slaves in earlier times.
The account of a musket war expedition by Henry Williams
The most comprehensive written account of a musket war expedition or heke was written by missionary Henry WilliamsHenry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
. It took place between Dec 1831 and ended in Nov 1832. The heke set off from the Bay of Islands and went to Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
. The stated purpose of the heke was utu for the killing of three Ngāpuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
men of rank, who had previously been killed at Motiti Island
Motiti Island
Motiti Island is located off the Bay of Plenty coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is north-east of Tauranga and north-east of Papamoa. There were 18 homes occupied by 27 people on the island in the 2006 Census....
near Tauranga. Many others had been killed but the utu was only for the men with status, as was normal practice. Before the heke set out there was a series of long debates, as not all the kin of the slain wished to take part.
When the heke set out it had no leader and each group of toa set out with its own chief at its own pace and acted independently with no common leader or plan. Henry Williams accompanied the heke with the idea of preventing bloodshed so was able to document the haphazard and leisurely progress of the warriors going south. Much time was spent fishing and collecting fern root and by various hapū going off by themselves to carry out minor attacks. Although the first group had set off on 10 Dec, by March 1 the following year the heke had only reached Tairua
Tairua
The town of Tairua is on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the mouth of the Tairua River on its north bank and on the small Paku Peninsula. The population was 1,269 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 192 from 2001...
. Henry Williams
Henry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
estimated there were 600 fighting men plus a small number of women and children. Many of the waka carried cannon. On March 7 the 80 waka strong fleet went to attack a pā
Pa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
at Otumoetai
Otumoetai
Otumoetai is a major suburb of the city of Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Otumoetai is a name used to describe the central area of the peninsula and also the suburbs of Central Otumoetai, Brookfield, Bellevue, Pillans Point, Bureta, Cherrywood and Matua as a...
and exchanged long range fire with the pā
Pa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
. Henry Williams
Henry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
noted the casualness of the women and children in particular who paid little heed to the flying lead. Children dug up spent lead bullets as they fell. Traders in the cutter Fairey sold cannons, shot and powder to the Māori on credit.
On 3 April 1832 there was more fighting on a beach at Otumoetai
Otumoetai
Otumoetai is a major suburb of the city of Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Otumoetai is a name used to describe the central area of the peninsula and also the suburbs of Central Otumoetai, Brookfield, Bellevue, Pillans Point, Bureta, Cherrywood and Matua as a...
and Ngāpuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
were victorious. After this the heke spluttered to a close with the majority groups returning to the north by the end of July though Titore did not return until 27 November 1832. Henry Williams noted that he returned with the heads of 14 enemy and three of his own kin. Henry Williams
Henry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
also noted that the Ngāpuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
had stopped fighting on Sunday, even though none of those taking part were Christian. Henry Williams
Henry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
wrote that the number of dead of attackers and defenders was about equal and that no people of rank had been killed. Ballara points out that most of the traditional rituals used in pre-musket days were in everyday use.
Use of the musket by Māori
Missionary Samuel MarsdenSamuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden was an English born Anglican cleric and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand...
had tried to ban the sale of muskets to the Māori, but when in 1820 missionary Thomas Kendall
Thomas Kendall
Thomas Kendall was a New Zealand lapsed missionary, recorder of the Māori language, schoolmaster, arms dealer, and Pākehā Māori.-Early life: Lincolnshire and London, 1778-1813:...
took Hongi Hika
Hongi Hika
Hongi Hika was a New Zealand Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi . Hongi Hika used European weapons to overrun much of northern New Zealand in the first of the Musket Wars...
to Britain, Hongi Hika traded many of the presents he had been given by King George for muskets as they stopped at Port Jackson on their return voyage, and Kendall himself was later involved in the musket trade.
Generally, the musket did not affect the strategic aims of hapū
Hapu
A hapū is sometimes described as "the basic political unit within Maori society".A named division of a Māori iwi , membership is determined by genealogical descent; a hapū is made up of a number of whānau groups. Generally hapū range in size from 150-200 although there is no upper limit...
in the 19th century. However, the tactics used were influenced especially where there was significant imbalance in the numbers of muskets being employed by one side against another. The musket largely put an end to the individual combat of traditional Māori warfare and increased the importance of coordinated group manoeuvre. The legendary one-on-one fights such as Potatau Te Wherowhero
Potatau Te Wherowhero
Pōtatau I, Māori King was a Māori warrior, leader of the Waikato tribes, the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. He was first known as simply Te Wherowhero and took the name Pōtatau after he became king...
's at the battle of Okoki in 1821 became rare. It can be contrasted with the death of Te Hiakai who, like many, was gunned down in the same battle.
Initially, the musket was a tool which inflicted "shock and awe" and enabled traditional and iron weapons to wreak bloody slaughter on a demoralised foe. However by the 1830s equally well-armed taua
Taua
A taua is a war party in the tradition of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Contemporary knowledge of taua is gleaned from missionary observations and writings during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century and the later New Zealand wars....
engaged each other with varying degrees of success. Te Waharoa, leader of Ngāti Haua, was particularly innovative in his use of musket-armed troops in the attack. Tactics he employed at the battle of Taumatawiwi (1830), such as covering fire, would be recognisable to a modern soldier.
Māori were not beyond customising their muskets; for example, some enlarged the touch holes which, while reducing muzzle velocity, increased rate of fire. Initially Maori found it very hard to obtain muskets as the missionaries refused to trade them or sell powder or shot. The Ngāpuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
put missionaries under intense pressure to repair muskets even at times threatening them with violence. Most muskets were initially obtained while in Australia. Hongi Hika obtained 500. Pakeha Maori
Pakeha Maori
Pākehā Māori is a term used to describe early European settlers in New Zealand who lived among the Māori. Some were kept by the Māori as slaves, while others settled in Māori communities by choice, many being runaway seamen or escaped convicts...
such as Jacky Marmon were instrumental in obtaining muskets from trading ships in return for flax,timber and smoked heads. Most muskets sold were low quality,short barrel trade muskets, made cheaply in Birmingham with inferior steel and less precision in the action. The range and accuracy of a trade musket (40 m range) could not be compared with that of a proper military musket such as a Brown Bess or the later standard issue Enfield which required the less common fine grain blackpowder. Often Maori preferred the double barreled tupara (2 barrel) as they could fire twice before reloading. In some battles women were used to reload muskets while the men kept on fighting. Later this presented a problem for the British and NZ forces during the New Zealand Land Wars, when iwi would habitually keep women in the pa. Northern Maori,such as Nga Puhi, learnt to speed load their muskets by holding three lead balls between the fingers of the left hand. The powder was premeasured in paper twists. When the powder was poured down the barrel,instead of using the ramrod which was slow and awkward they thumped the butt on the ground. As the barrel was fouled by partly burnt powder residue, the warriors used progressively smaller balls. The muzzle velocity dropped as a result but the large balls could still cause severe wounds at close range.(p129 Cannabil Jack)
As well as using Pakeha-Maori as traders, some chiefs, such as Hongi Hika, used them as a gunsmith as trade muskets in particular needed regular maintenance. Some, such as Jacky Marmon became influential members of the hapu and participated in several wars such as the attack by Nga Puhi on the twin Tamaki strongholds in what is now modern day Panmure, in late September 1820.
Outcomes of the Musket Wars
The wars gave Māori experience in fighting with and defending against firearms. One important innovation was the "gunfighter's pāPa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
", which was designed to be defended with ranged weapons and to offer defenders protection against the firearms of the enemy This type of pā was later widely used in the New Zealand Land Wars, with extensive modifications to deal with the heavy artillery, superior numbers and discipline in attack of British troops. The experience in combat with modern weaponry given by the Musket Wars may help explain why Māori fared far better in the later New Zealand Land Wars than did most tribal peoples.
In time, all the tribes traded to obtain muskets and the conflict ultimately reached an uneasy stalemate after decimating the population of some tribes and drastically shifting the boundaries between areas controlled by various others. The wars themselves generally resolved themselves for various reasons. As Māori sought a way out of the cycle of violence the door was opened to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. Some Māori were also willing to let the government bear the burden of seeking utu
Utu (Maori concept)
Utu is a Māori concept of reciprocation, or balance.To retain mana, both friendly and unfriendly actions require an appropriate response - hence utu covers both the reciprocation of kind deeds, and the seeking of revenge....
. In the latter stages, as in the Howick-Otahuhu area in 1835-36, missionaries such as Henry Williams
Henry Williams (missionary)
Henry Williams was one of the first missionaries who went to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century....
and William Fairburn were able to carry out negotiations between warring factions and purchase disputed land to put an end to conflict. At least 20,000 people died in these conflicts. In addition another 30,000 were enslaved or forced to migrate, according to Crosby, using the data of noted New Zealand demographer Ian Poole. Some earlier historians claimed the deaths were much higher-about 50-60,000 but the evidence for this is not convincing. Ballara points out it was common even in traditional times for a defeated hapū to flee their best land temporarily for up to two years but they usually returned when utu was satisfied and peace returned.
Crosby says over half of all iwi suffered major population loss through battle casualties, cannibalism, or enslavement (for instance, the Moriori
Moriori
Moriori are the indigenous people of the Chatham Islands , east of the New Zealand archipelago in the Pacific Ocean...
in the Chatham Islands
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Their name in the indigenous language, Moriori, means Misty Sun...
). A few iwi, for example in Nelson, were exterminated.
Perhaps the most important outcome of the musket wars was the bitter legacy of inter-hapū and -iwi mistrust stemming from the extreme violence with which they were fought. The constant use of treachery as a battlefield tactic, coupled with the enslavement of so many, left a long legacy of mistrust. The second to last battle of the Musket Wars was a few months before the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
was signed. A taua
Taua
A taua is a war party in the tradition of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Contemporary knowledge of taua is gleaned from missionary observations and writings during the Musket Wars of the early 19th century and the later New Zealand wars....
(war party) from the Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it...
area attacked and slaughtered Arawa people (Rotorua area) and bought back 60 basket-loads of human flesh to eat. The missionaries and Christian Maori were sickened and moved out of the pa to establish a separate missionary village. The last battle was at Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
in 1842,when a Hauraki Iwi raiding toa attacked a pa. Chief Taraia claimed this was utu (revenge) for encroachment on his land and other issues. The Colonial Secretary Willoughby Shortland carried out an investigation and found two bodies had been eaten. Te Mutu, the defeated chief, told Shortland that if he caught Taraia he would eat him.
Missionaries had been able to gain the trust of many iwi, while Māori remained wary of other iwi outside their rohe
Rohe
Rohe is a word used by the Māori of New Zealand to describe the territory or boundaries of tribal groups. In traditional times, rohe were defined according to prominent geographical features, including mountains, rivers, and lakes. This is generally the case today as well....
(area). This was the immediate background to the signing of the treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
in 1840.
Further reading
- Crosby, Ron, "The Musket Wars - A History of Inter-Iwi Conflict 1806-45", Reed, Auckland, 1999
- Ballara, Angela, "Taua: Musket Wars, Land Wars or tikanga? Warfare in Maori society in the early nineteenth century", Penguin, Auckland, 2003
- 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)
- 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 Realty of Traditional Maori Cannibalism." Penguin, Auckland, 2008. ISBN 978 014 300671 8
- 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
Citations
External links
- The Musket Wars at nzhistory.net.nz
- The Musket Wars, from zealand.org.nz
- "TAURANGA MAORI AND THE CROWN, 1840–64", from www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz
- "Ron Crosby's review of 'Taua' by Angela Ballera, The Listener
- Musket Wars discussion essay, for NCEANational Certificate of Educational AchievementThe National Certificate of Educational Achievement is, since 2004, the official secondary school qualification in New Zealand.It has three levels, corresponding to the levels within the National Qualifications Framework, and these are generally studied in each of the three final years of...
level 3 - Map of iwi movements in the 1820s
- Maori Wars of the Nineteenth Century by S Percy Smith (1910, revised edition)