New Zealand (Māori) Wars

The New Zealand (Māori) Wars refers to a series of military conflicts between 1845 and 1872 that occurred between disparate Māori tribes and settler colonialist troops backed by the British Army. The wars were driven by the colonial dynamic of one people moving into one land occupied by another. Conflict was precipitated by settler encroachment on Māori lands that in turn led to land disputes and ultimately war. The issues of land and sovereignty stood at the very core of the problem, yet these conflicts were precipitated by cultural clash, cultural miscommunication, and cultural impact. Māori communities responded in a myriad of ways, including assimilation, selective cultural adaptation and cultural hybridity, and cultural resiliency to retain their traditional ways of life. In practice, fighting did ...