Musket Wars

The Musket Wars are a series of five hundred or more battles fought in New Zealand among Māori between 1807 and 1842, after Māori obtain muskets.Northern tribes such as the rivals Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Whātua are the first to obtain firearms, and inflict heavy casualties upon each other and on neighboring tribes, some of whom have never seen muskets.

The wars are characterized by their brutality and ruthlessness – with treachery, the burning of villages, killing of prisoners, torture, slavery, and cannibalism being commonplace.

Hongi Hika, who is later to lead Ngāpuhi raids across most of the northern North Island, sees two of his brothers killed in this debacle.

Hongi Hika actively seeks muskets and other technology from the west.

In 1814, as leader of the Ngāpuhi, Hongi goes to Sydney and encourages missionaries to establish themselves on his land.

He goes to England in March 1820 with the missionary Kendall.

He meets many people at Cambridge, including French adventurer Baron de Theirry, with whom he completes a land-for-guns transaction.

With the aid of a large musket-based army, Hongi Hika captures many slaves.

They are put to work producing cash crops that can be traded for muskets from passing ships.

This gives the Ngāpuhi a huge advantage in subsequent wars, until other tribes also acquire muskets of their own.

It is estimated that more than 18,500 Māori are killed, from a population of only about 100,000.

These early intertribal conflicts cause much territory to be won and lost between various tribes, which complicates dealings with European settlers wishing to gain land.

It also gives Māori experience in fighting with and defending against muskets, and may help explain why rebel Māori feel so confident in taking on the combined British and New Zealand forces in the New Zealand Land Wars in the 1860s.

No related events match the current filters.