The Boyd Massacre occurs in 1809 when Māori residents of Whangaroa Harbour in northern New Zealand kill and eat between 66 and 70 people as revenge for the whipping of a young Māori chief by the crew of the sailing ship Boyd.
This is reputedly the highest number of Europeans killed by Māori in a single event, and the incident is also one of the bloodiest instances of cannibalism on record.
In retribution, European whalers attack the island pa of Chief Te Pahi about 60 km southeast, in the possibly mistaken belief that he had ordered the killings.
About 60 Maori and one European die in the clash.
News of the events delay the first missionary visits to the country, and causes the number of shipping visits to fall to "almost nothing" over the next few years.
