Who Are The Māori People Of New Zealand?

Summary

This video explores the rich history and culture of the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Descended from Polynesians, they developed a unique society with practices like whakapapa and utu, and innovations like the Pā fortress. The script details their encounters with Europeans, the Treaty of Waitangi, and the subsequent conflicts and land disputes that reshaped their society. It also highlights the Māori renaissance and their ongoing struggle for rights and recognition, emphasizing the importance of unity and cultural preservation.

Takeaways

• 🌊 The Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa, known for their rich culture, including the haka and poi.
• 🏝️ The Māori are descended from East Polynesians who arrived in New Zealand around 1300CE.
• 🐦 The Māori hunted moa, giant flightless birds, to extinction between 1300-1500CE.
• 🥔 After the extinction of big game, the Māori turned to farming, with crops like kumara becoming staples.
• 🎿 The Māori developed a semi-nomadic lifestyle due to the abundance of resources and stopped building ocean-going ships.
• 🏰 They built fortified villages called Pā on hills or dormant volcanoes for defense.
• 🛡️ The Māori used creative tactics like the 'Trojan Whale' to overcome enemies in sieges.
• 🗝️ The concept of 'Utu', or balanced exchange, was central to Māori society, affecting relationships and warfare.
• 🌱 The Māori had a deep connection with the land and practiced concepts like 'kaitiakitanga', caring for the environment.
• 📜 The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, leading to British colonization and significant impacts on Māori society.
• 🌟 The Māori have seen a cultural renaissance in recent times, with efforts to preserve their language and traditions.

Q & A

Who are the Māori people?

The Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa, known today as New Zealand. They are descended from Polynesians and are famous for their haka, poi, and face tattoos.

What is the significance of the haka among the Māori?

The haka is a traditional dance of the Māori people, performed for various occasions such as war, funerals, greetings, and celebrations. It is a display of pride, unity, and strength.

What does 'Aotearoa' mean and how is it related to New Zealand?

Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand, which translates to 'land of the long white cloud.' It is another name for the North Island and is now used as the modern Māori name for the entire country.

Why did the Māori stop building ocean-going ships after settling in Aotearoa?

The Māori stopped building ocean-going ships due to the abundance of resources available on the islands and climatic changes, which made them focus on adapting to their new environment.

What was the 'Trojan Whale' strategy used by the Ngāti Kurī tribe?

The 'Trojan Whale' strategy was a ruse where the Ngāti Kurī tribe created a fake whale from dog skins, hid warriors inside, and used it to trick defenders out of their Pā, leading to a successful attack.

What is a Pā and why were they significant in Māori society?

A Pā was a fortified hill fort that served as a defensive structure for Māori communities. They were significant as they provided protection and were central to their communal living and storage practices.

How did the introduction of the potato affect Māori warfare?

The introduction of the potato provided the Māori with a more nutritious, preservable, and portable food source, allowing armies to travel further and stay in the field longer, leading to more prolonged and devastating conflicts.

What was the Treaty of Waitangi and why is it significant?

The Treaty of Waitangi was an agreement signed in 1840 between the British Crown and around 500 Māori chiefs. It was significant as it was supposed to establish a partnership between the Māori and the British, but discrepancies between the English and Māori versions led to ongoing issues regarding land and sovereignty.

How did the Māori culture adapt and survive despite colonization?

The Māori culture survived through their strong sense of identity and community. They formed protest groups, pushed for more rights, and revitalized their culture through language schools, arts, and political representation.

What is Nebula and how is it related to the video's content?

Nebula is a streaming video service mentioned in the video as a platform for creators to share educational content without the restrictions of other platforms. It is related to the video as the video's creator, Cogito, encourages viewers to sign up for CuriosityStream to gain access to Nebula as part of the deal.

Outlines

00:00

🌊 The Māori People and Their Origins

The paragraph introduces the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, known for their haka, poi, and facial tattoos. It discusses their Polynesian heritage and their transformation from East Polynesians into Māori due to the unique environment of Aotearoa. The Māori were skilled at hunting moa, a giant flightless bird, and adapted to the island's resources, eventually settling into a farming lifestyle with crops like kumara and paper mulberry. They developed sophisticated clothing, tools, and fortresses called Pā. The paragraph also mentions the Māori's clever use of a decoy whale in warfare, reflecting their strategic thinking.

05:03

🏰 Māori Society and Cultural Practices

This section delves into the social structure of Māori society, which was organized into tribes or iwi, and clans or hapū. It highlights the importance of language, Te Reo, and the concepts of manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga. The paragraph discusses the significance of Whakapapa, the record of ancestry, and the role of mana as a spiritual force. It also covers the Rangatira or noble class, the concept of utu or balanced exchange, and the Māori's warrior culture, including their combat methods and the ceremonial aspects of warfare like the war haka. The paragraph concludes with a look at Māori leisure activities and the art of Moko, their distinctive tattooing tradition.

10:03

🌱 Māori Mythology and Early Contact with Europeans

The paragraph explores Māori mythology, particularly focusing on the hero Maui, and the legends surrounding him, such as fishing up the North Island. It then discusses the first contacts with Europeans, including the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman and the English captain James Cook. The Māori's initial interactions with Europeans involved trade, but also the introduction of new diseases and the potato, which had a significant impact on their diet and warfare capabilities. The paragraph also covers the Musket Wars, a series of conflicts fueled by the introduction of muskets and the changes they brought to Māori society.

15:06

📜 The Treaty of Waitangi and Its Aftermath

This section discusses the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed between the Māori and the British Crown, and the discrepancies between the English and Māori versions of the treaty. It outlines the Māori's expectations of maintaining sovereignty and the British view of acquiring统治权. The paragraph details the subsequent land disputes, the New Zealand Wars, and the Māori's strategic use of Pā in warfare. It also highlights the British tactics of total warfare, which eventually led to the Māori's economic and social decline.

20:10

🏙️ The Decline and Renaissance of the Māori

The paragraph describes the decline of the Māori population and culture following the wars and land confiscations. It discusses the Māori's marginalization in society, their loss of language and cultural practices, and the challenges they faced in urban areas. However, it also tells the story of the Māori renaissance, including the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal, the revitalization of the Māori language and cultural practices, and the growing recognition and political representation of the Māori in modern New Zealand.

25:13

🌐 The Future of Māori Culture and the Nebula Platform

The final paragraph shifts focus to the present and future, discussing the Māori's ongoing struggle for cultural recognition and equality. It introduces Nebula, a new platform for educational content, and its partnership with CuriosityStream. The paragraph explains how supporting Nebula can help fund original content and support creators, and it encourages viewers to subscribe to CuriosityStream to gain access to Nebula and its offerings, including content from the video's creator.

Keywords

💡Māori

The Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa, known today as New Zealand. They are renowned for their rich cultural practices such as the haka, poi, and distinctive facial tattoos. The term 'Māori' means 'ordinary' in their language, and they originally descended from Polynesians, who were skilled navigators and settlers. In the video, the Māori's history, culture, and way of life are central to the narrative, illustrating their transformation from tropical East Polynesians to the unique Māori people.

💡Aotearoa

Aotearoa is the Māori name for New Zealand, translating to 'land of the long white cloud.' It is a term used to reflect the indigenous perspective of the land. The video discusses how Aotearoa was discovered by the East Polynesians around 1300CE and how its vast size and unique environment, compared to typical Polynesian islands, played a significant role in shaping Māori culture and identity.

💡Moa

Moa were giant, flightless birds native to Aotearoa, hunted extensively by the Māori for food. Standing at 3.6 meters tall and weighing up to 230 kg, these birds were a critical resource for the Māori until they were hunted to extinction between 1300-1500CE. The hunting of moa and the subsequent shift to farming are highlighted in the video as key moments in Māori history.

💡Pā

Pā were fortified hill forts that the Māori built for defense, often on hills or dormant volcanoes. They featured terraces, walls, ditches, hidden tunnels, and strongholds, making them formidable against attackers. The video describes how the development of Pā was a response to the need for protection and how they played a crucial role in Māori warfare and settlement patterns.

💡Trojan Whale

The Trojan Whale is a tactic mentioned in the video where the Māori used a decoy whale made of dog skins to trick their enemies. Warriors hid inside the decoy, and when the enemy approached to investigate, they would emerge and attack, illustrating the Māori's strategic thinking and creativity in warfare.

💡Whakapapa

Whakapapa is a Māori genealogy that traces ancestry and familial connections. It is a record of heritage that can be traced back to founding ancestors or canoes and even to certain atua, or gods. In the video, Whakapapa is mentioned as a way for every Māori to recite their ancestry aloud, reflecting their strong connection to their past and their identity.

💡Mana

Mana is a Polynesian concept referring to a supernatural force that combines prestige, influence, and spiritual power. It is inherited from ancestors and can be found in people, places, and things. The video explains how mana is crucial in Māori society, determining a person's authority and respect within the community. It is also humorously noted that the term is the origin of the 'mana' used in video games to cast spells.

💡Utu

Utu is a foundational Māori principle of reciprocity or balanced exchange. It requires that favors given must be returned, and it builds relationships and alliances. The video describes how Utu is integral to Māori social interactions, with positive Utu fostering friendships and trade, while negative Utu could lead to conflict and war.

💡Haka

Haka is a traditional Māori dance or challenge that can be performed for various occasions, not just war. The video explains that the Māori perform the war haka to intimidate opponents before battle, but it can also be a part of celebrations, greetings, and other cultural events. The haka is a significant aspect of Māori performance and identity.

💡Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi is a crucial historical document that was signed in 1840 between the British Crown and around 500 Māori chiefs. The video discusses the discrepancies between the English and Māori versions of the treaty, which led to misunderstandings and conflicts over land and sovereignty. The treaty is central to understanding the Māori's struggle for rights and recognition in New Zealand's history.

💡Māori renaissance

The Māori renaissance refers to the cultural and political revitalization of the Māori people from the late 1970s. The video highlights how this movement led to increased political representation, a revival of the Māori language, and international recognition of Māori artists. It signifies a period of growth and empowerment for the Māori in modern New Zealand.

Highlights

The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand, known for their haka, poi, and face tattoos.

Māori people are descended from the Polynesians, renowned as the greatest voyagers in history.

The Māori transformed from tropical East Polynesians due to adapting to the environment of Aotearoa.

Aotearoa, or New Zealand, was discovered by East Polynesians around 1300CE.

Māori people stopped building ocean-going ships after settling in Aotearoa due to abundant resources.

Moa, giant flightless birds, were hunted by the Māori and contributed to their semi-nomadic lifestyle.

The Māori turned to farming after the extinction of moa and other flightless birds.

Only six crops could grow in Aotearoa's cooler climate, including kumara or sweet potato.

Māori used paper mulberry and New Zealand flax to create clothing and other necessities.

Māori communities were anchored to large storage pits for sweet potatoes, leading to the construction of Pā hill forts.

The Ngāti Kurī tribe used a decoy whale to trick enemies out of their Pā, showcasing Māori warfare tactics.

Māori art, including wood carving and greenstone carving, flourished during the settled period.

Māori society was organized into iwi (tribes) and hapū (clans) with a focus on mutual aid and environmental care.

The concept of mana, a supernatural force of prestige and spiritual power, is central to Māori culture.

Utu, or balanced exchange, was a fundamental social principle among the Māori.

Māori warfare was primarily hand-to-hand combat and was limited to the summer season.

The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, leading to British colonization and land disputes.

The Māori population suffered greatly due to land confiscations and introduced diseases.

The Māori renaissance in the late 20th century revitalized their language and culture.

Nebula, a streaming platform, offers ad-free educational content and supports creators like Cogito.

Transcripts

This video is sponsored by CuriosityStream. Get access to my streaming video service,

Nebula, when you sign up for CuriosityStream using the link in the description.

The Māori are the indiginous people of Aotearoa or what is today New Zealand. Famous for their

haka, poi, and face tattoos. They're descended from Polynesians, the greatest voyagers the

world has ever known. They hunted gigantic like mega-birds, terrified European colonists

and built a rich culture while isolated from the rest of the world.

But who are the Māori, what is their history, and what exactly is a Trojan Whale? Well,

Let’s Find Out!

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The East Polynesians sailing in doubled-hulled waka across 4000km of open ocean discovered

Aotearoa around 1300CE. Which is impressive because New Zealand isn't even on most modern

maps.

These islands were unlike anything these tropical island people had seen before.

A typical Polynesian island looks like this

(Tropical Music Plays)

While Aotearoa well….

(Lord Of The Rings Music Plays) (Cogito Sings Terribly “Na na na na na na na Please don’t

sue me for copyright infringement”)

Aotearoa was enormous compared to their tiny Pacific islands and atolls. About 268,000

km² in size, about 1000 times bigger than the Cook Islands where some early settlers

may have migrated from. A land of beaches, dense forests, damp swamps, great plains,

hobbit villages, and mountains capped with snow. This massive land and its resources

must have seemed infinite.

It was adapting to this environment that transformed tropical East Polynesians into the Māori

people.

With so many resources available and due to climatic changes the Māori stopped building

ocean-going ships shortly after settling the island. They were now cut off from the rest

of the world.

These islands had been isolated too, for about 80 million years. This resulted in an odd

land with nearly no mammals instead populated by gargantuan birds.

Moa, giant 3.6 m tall and 230 kg flightless birds known to scientists as absolute units

trampled across the islands. These titans had no fear of ground-based predators, since

there weren't any. So Māori could just walk right up and boop them over the head.

They were so easy to catch and provided so much food that the Māori, who knew how to

farm, chose to live a semi-nomadic lifestyle hunting them.

Between 1300-1500CE the moa and many other flightless birds were hunted to extinction

by humans and the rats and dogs they had brought with them.

As the big-game went extinct around 1500CE the Māori turned back to farming. Polynesians

knew how to farm dozens of crops but only 6 would grow in the cooler climate of Aotearoa.

The Māori farmed: kumara or sweet potato, yam, taro, ti, gourd and paper mulberry.

Paper mulberry was used to make barkcloth clothing in Polynesia. But the cooler climate

of Aotearoa would demand something warmer. So they started to harvest New Zealand flax

and manufactured it into intricate clothing as well processing it into things like kilometre

long fishing nets, disinfectant, anaesthetic and even a drink sweetener.

Māori started to preserve their sweet potatoes in large community storage pits. This meant

that Māori communities had to stay close to those pits.

These storage pits were soon surrounded by hill forts called Pā. Pā were built on defendable

hills, or sometimes on dormant volcanoes. Pā were fortified with a series of terraces

with walls, ditches, hidden tunnels, and strongholds. So any attackers would have to lay siege to

these forts.

You can see their remains carved into the hills of the North and South Island today.

Finding ways to beat these Pā without a long siege meant getting creative. For example,

one tribe, the Ngāti Kurī, made a fake whale from dog skins and put this decoy whale on

the beach in view of the Pa. A hundred warriors hid inside the ‘whale’. When the defenders

left their pā to investigate the whale, hoping to get some food and blubber, the Ngāti Kurī

warriors burst out and overwhelmed them. Ending the siege. Hiding inside fake animals isn't

just a Greek thing.

Māori art flourished during this more settled period. Especially wood carving known as whakairo

and the carving of a unique greenstone called pounamu. They created complex ornaments, weapons,

fishhooks, tools and the unique Māori hei tiki.

Throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth century these settled Māori communities began to

form large tribal groups. With names like Ngā Puhi and Ngāi Tahu. These groups traded

and fought with one another. Although fragmented they spoke the same language, Te Reo.

These groups did not identify as Māori, Māori simply means "ordinary". Back then identity

was based on your family and iwi.

The iwi meaning nation or tribe is the largest of the groups that form Māori society. Each

Iwi contains many hapū or clans. One hapū can have hundreds of members.

Mutual aid was expected from everyone in the hapú. Ideas like “manaakitanga” ,caring

and supporting others, and “kaitiakitanga”, caring for environment and people, were vital.

Learning from the loss of big-game Maori priests would make scarce resources tapu or untouchable

until they replenished. This is where we get the modern word taboo from.

Every Māori could recite their Whakapapa aloud. Whakapapa was a record of their ancestry.

It could be traced back to your founding ancestor or canoe and even up to certain atua or gods.

The highest people in Maori society were the Rangatira or nobles. Their power and rank

was inherited from their ancestors, by way of mana.

You might know mana as the thing you need to cast spells in games or as an excellent

Mexican rock band, but across Polynesia it has a much deeper meaning. Mana is a supernatural

force. A combination of prestige, influence, and spiritual power found in all people as

well as some places and things.

Mana is inherited from ancestors and gives a person authority. The more mana a person

has, the more respect they recieve.

Oddly enough this Mana is what that constantly low, little blue bar in games is named after.

Māori life revolved around maintaining and increasing mana. A Māori could increase personal

and tribal mana through accomplishing great deeds or by keeping Utu.

Utu was the foundation of how Māori acted towards one another. Utu means ‘reciprocity’

or ‘balanced exchange’. A favour given required an eventual favour in return. And

both get more mana. An insult required return as well. Or the insultee would lose mana.

Positive Utu built friendship and trade. Negative Utu could cause entire iwis to go to war with

one another.

And war was common in the Māori world. Fighting for mana, utu, and economic gain they developed

a strong warrior culture

Māori combat was exclusively hand-to-hand and based on one on one fighting to win mana.

While ocean-going canoes had stopped being built the Māori still built massive intricately

carved War Waka. These would transport warriors or be used to ram other waka along the coast

or in rivers.

But Māori warfare was limited to the Summer. Since none of their crops were a good portable

food, sweet potatoes don't travel as well as maize, wheat, or potato for example. This

limited how long they could stay in the field and how far they could travel.

The focus on hand-to-hand one-on-one combat, the short fighting season, and the unbeatable

Pā meant that Māori warfare resulted in few deaths.

Māori warfare was also quite ceremonial. Before a battle an army would perform a battle

haka or dance. War haka, aims to intimidate opponents with bulging eyes and extended tongues.

And it did a pretty good job being intimidating!

But Haka is not only a war dance. There are Haka for every occasion, funerals, greetings,

and celebrations.

Along with Haka, during their down time the Māori enjoyed a variety of activities.

Like telling stories, performing songs, playing musical instruments, fishing, and surfing.

The Maori even had a genre of song called pātere which were just songs that made fun

of people, like early diss tracks.

Haka and poi contests were held between Hapu. People would travel to different villages,

greet each other with a Hongi, then feast, sing, dance, and compete.

Just by looking at the Māori you can see that another vital part of their culture were

their tattoos. Māori tattooing, or Moko, is unique compared to tattooing around the

world. Rather than a smooth tattoo the Māori moko left a grooved scar that made it look

like the person had been carved like wood or stone. It looks incredible and painful!

Māori customised each Moko based on Whakapapa and Mana. So Moko were unique and captured

a person's identity.

“If I go into another tribal area, they will recognise me as the speaker of this tribe,

by just those there. So it talks a lot of stories about myself. My mother is a higher

chieftainship than my father. So my mother side, which is this side, has more lines than

my father side”

The most beloved hero in Māori mythology was Maui. The loveable trickster demigod of

the wind and sea. Known across Polynesia his many stories are legendary. His theft of fire

from the gods, how he slowed down the sun, and his last trick, which led to his death,

which involved the goddess Hine-nui-te-pō and ended with Maui well...it’s a bit too

spicy for Youtube. You can hear about it on our Patron podcast linked in the description.

One Māui myth involved him fishing the North Island from the sea. Which is why a Māori

name for the North Island is Te Ika-a-Māui the fish of Maui. And the South Island which

he stood on while fishing was sometimes referred to as Te Waka o Māui (the canoe of Māui).

These aren’t the only names for the islands though and different Māori groups referred

to the islands differently. Aotearoa, long-white-cloud was another name for the North Island for

example and is now the modern Māori name for all of New Zealand.

The Māori culture continued to thrive and grow. But their isolation wouldn't last forever.

The first ripple of the outside world arrived in December 1642 with a Dutch expedition under

Abel Janszoon Tasman.

Tasman and his crew were immediately rammed by the first Māori Waka they encountered.

Which killed several Dutchmen. They sailed off pretty quickly after that, naming the

place Staten Land and leaving it with a pretty terrible review. Later another Dutch guy was

like Staten Land, that's a terrible name, how about New Zealand.

Tasman's expedition also left us with the first published image of the Māori. We're

assuming the ship's artist wasn't that talented because it looks like they were attacked by

tattooless men with giant baby heads. This guy doesn't even have a neck...and I don't

know what on Earth this is, even this guy looks confused.

Having terrified the Dutch, the Māori would be left in isolation for another 126 years.

Until October 1769, when James Cook and his English crew landed with the help of Tahitian

navigator Tupaia.

Cook collected reports on the resources of the country, which drew the interest of the

British Empire.

The around 110,000 Māori living in Aotearoa started interacting with these strangers.

That they called Pakeha. The Māori traded with them for metal, especially nails, which

they put to use in carving. The ship's crew also introduced European diseases such as

influenza and gonorrhea. But the Englishmen left behind something even more powerful than

gonorrhea….potatoes. In less than a generation after Cook’s visit the North Island would

be growing immense amounts of potatoes. They became a staple in the Māori diet.

By the early 1800s European ships hunting seals and whales became a common site. These

ships needed nearby ports to resupply. The Māori spotted an opportunity. They began

selling food, supplies, and shelter to these Pakeha.

Soon, Pakeha started trading muskets to the Māori. Some Iwi realised that muskets were

a powerful shock weapon against Iwi that had none. By 1820 a Māori arms race had begun.

Soon Musket armed Māori war parties were battling it out across the North and South

Islands in a series of conflicts now dubbed the Musket Wars.

By the 1830s, most Iwi had stockpiled muskets. There were no more easy victories. Battles

were now long, drawn out, and devastating.

The Pā went through a rapid technological leap from fortified food storage pits defending

against spears into musket proof trench and bunker fortresses that could withstand weeks

of heavy siege. This helped end the Musket Wars because the Pa proved unconquerable even

to gunpowder weapons. Keep a mental note of that.

This conflict may be called the Musket Wars but I don't buy the idea that the Musket was

the most important factor. These wars would have happened with or without the Musket.

The build-up of negative Utu was a driving cause. The musket simply made them more deadly.

The rapid advancement of Pa technology made them costlier. But the most powerful, important,

and starchiest factor was the Potato.

Potato gave Māori a more nutritious, preservable, and portable food. This factor alone meant

that armies could travel further, stay in the field longer, and lay indefinite siege

to a Pa. So the wars dragged out and took a massive toll on the Māori economy. So Potato

Wars might be even better than Musket Wars.

By 1837 the Māori tired of war, started to make peace.

While this was happening throughout the 1830s, private companies and even the French seemed

to be eying up New Zealand as a potential colony.

The British, not wanting to miss out on a chance to colonise something decided to act.

They drew up a treaty to try and convince the Māori to transfer their sovereignty or

self-ruling power over their lands to the British Crown.

They presented the Treaty to around 500 Māori at Waitangi on the 5th of February 1840 both

in English and Māori, which had been translated overnight.

The Māori text gave the British Crown "governorship" over the whole country. But stated the Māori

would keep full authority over their lands, villages and all their treasures.

We can assume the English text said the same thing...well yes….but actually...no

The English version stated that the Māori ceded "absolutely and without reservation

all the rights and powers of Sovereignty" to the Crown.

Both versions gave the Crown first offer to buy Māori land but only if the Māori wanted

to sell. And it gave Māori full rights as British subjects.

Understanding only the Māori text about 40 chiefs signed it on the 6 February.

The few chiefs at Waitangi that signed the treaty, believed that they were keeping their

sovereignty, and handing vague ‘governorship’ or oversight of the whole country to Britain.

They thought this treaty would allow them to regulate further European settlements on

their land, give them more control over land sales, give them access to wider trade opportunities,

and offer them the protection of the British Empire from other European powers. Some Māori

chiefs had also been to Australia and seen how the Aboriginals were treated there and

wanted to avoid such a fate.

Most Māori never saw the treaty but the British government decided it placed all Māori under

British rule and made New Zealand a British colony.

Up until then the Māori had welcomed, traded, and even intermarried with Pakeha. Everyone

knew Pakeha could only remain there because the Māori wanted them there.

The Māori who signed the Treaty of Waitangi expected these good relations to continue.

The great tide of British settlers that poured in after the 1840s wrecked those expectations.

After the Treaty Māori grew frustrated with land sales to the Crown. Māori land was collectively

owned. But the Crown would make an offer to one person, sometimes not even someone in

the iwi, and buy the land from them, and claim it was legal.

These land disputes with the British soon turned violent.

The Northern or Flagstaff War kicked off in 1845. Its opening shots kicked off the wider

New Zealand Wars. A general revolt against the British theft of Māori lands.

The New Zealand Wars blazed across the country until 1872. There were few decisive victories

on either side. Even though the Māori found themselves outnumbered. During the Invasion

of Waikato 20,000 British troops fought 5,000 Māori. And this is where the Pa comes back

into the picture.

The advancements the Māori had made in Pa technology during the Musket Wars saved them

during their wars against Britain

The Pa could withstand guns, cannon, artillery, and even early British experiments with poisonous

gas. The Māori covered their walls and bunkers with thick flax which bullets bounced off

and absorbed artillery bombardment. These Pa included trenches and communication tunnels,

along with anti-artillery bunkers. When the British attacked Pa they would sometimes lose

a third of their men. The Māori had developed early trench warfare. These images look like

something from WW1 but they're from half a century before.

The Māori could build an impressive Pa in just a few days. Their strategy was to throw

up a Pa and lure the British into attacking them. They'd withstand a few weeks of siege,

inflict heavy losses on the British, and then sneak out and go build another one somewhere

else. Much to British frustration.

But the Māori were fighting a Global Empire. They were outnumbered and out supplied.The

British soon discovered that rather than fighting the Pa it was more effective to burn the undefended

civilian Maori villages to the ground, and then build settler homes on top. The Māori

economy could not handle total warfare, they did not have a professional army and as the

war went on their food supplies were cut off.

Attrition eventually wore the Māori down. During and even more so after the wars European

settlement exploded.

The British began confiscating land rather than claiming to have bought it legally. The

Māori no longer had authority over their lands, villages and all their treasures nor

were they treated like British subjects.

By 1890 almost the entire South Island and two thirds of the North Island had been taken

from the Māori.

The confiscations and wars took resources from the Māori which had previously allowed

them to feed themselves and trade with Pakeha. The starving and landless Māori were now

much more susceptible to Pakeha influenza and measles.

The Māori population plummeted to just under 40,000 in 1896 while the non-Māori population

soared to over 700,000.

Through the early 20th century the quality of Māori life collapsed. They were turned

away from hospitals, schools, and banks.

Invisible except when the government wanted land or manpower, such as during the First

and Second World Wars. During which they became some of New Zealand's most decorated battalions.

After the 1940s landless Māori poured into urban areas looking for work. Pakeha landlords

were reluctant to rent to them. Māori were kept out of most professional positions. They

received lower standards of education, lived in lower quality housing, received worse healthcare,

and had lower paying jobs. Which created a poverty trap.

Māori living in cities lost touch with their iwi, stopped using the Māori language, and

were alienated from Māori culture.

By the 1970s the Māori language was near extinction.

But the Māori refused to let their culture die. They began to form protest groups. Pushing

for more rights, better cultural support, and forming a pan-tribal Māori identity.

Their efforts lead to the Race Relations Act of 1971. Which prohibited discrimination on

the grounds of race.

Further Māori protests throughout the 1970s drew attention to the Treaty Of Waitangi.

The Māori wanted the treaty to be recognised by the government. The Māori didn’t oppose

the non-Māori presence. They were willing to fairly deal with settlers using the settler's

legal system, they simply asked that they follow their own laws. As stated in the Treaty.

Protests such as those by Whina Cooper who at 80 years old marched from the very North

to very South of New Zealand to protest Māori land and cultural losses forced the government

to pass the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. This created the Waitangi Tribunal to investigate

breaches of the Treaty by the New Zealand government and to begin to fix them.

By the late 1970s a ‘Māori renaissance’ was blooming.

Haka and poi competitions between Māori groups were held across the country. Waka were being

carved and pushed out to sea again. Through Māori rugby clubs the haka and the tradition

of wearing all black entered New Zealand rugby culture. The Māori language was brought back

from the edge of extinction through language schools. Māori words are now used by non-Māori

throughout New Zealand. Today the Māori have more political representation and Māori artists

have gained international fame.

But there is still a long way to go. Arrest rates are still disproportionately higher

for Māori than for similar offences by Pakeha. Compared to Pākehā, Māori are nine times

more likely to have firearms drawn against them by police.

Today Māori make up 16.5% of New Zealand’s population. Their attachment to their culture

has revitalised it against all odds. Now modern New Zealanders seem to have embraced the idea

of a nation of two peoples. One where both Māori and Pakeha accept that they are not

the same cultures they were in the past, but are instead something new growing together

and adapting to each other.

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I hope you enjoyed this video. Let me know what you thought about it in the comments

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Thanks a lot for watching and Haere rā.