Māori History
A brief overview of the history of Māori peoples.
Polynesian Exploration and the Great Fleet
The Māori, like other Polynesian peoples, are descended from seafaring explorers, settlers, and traders. Based on archaeology and oral histories, their ancestors likely reached the islands of New Zealand around 1300 CE. These explorers were part of a larger tradition of island-hopping across vast distances, made possible by an extensive knowledge of the sea and its patterns. Polynesian sailors learned to recognize signs of land by watching passing birds, cloud formations, and even the motion of waves. Their skills allowed them to colonize islands across the Pacific, branching into hundreds of different cultures. Many Polynesian peoples today share a story of Havai'i or Hawaiki, the mythical epicenter of their voyages. Today, Hawaiki is thought to be the island of Raiatea in French Polynesia, near Tahiti.
According to some accounts, the name Aotearoa was originally given to New Zealand's North Island by the wife of a navigator named Kupe. The name, meaning 'long white cloud,' is said to be derived from the cloud they spotted before the land itself. Historians like Michael King, however, have since dismissed this origin story as an embellished invention of 19th-century scholars. Multiple versions of Kupe's story exist, which more or less emphasize his role in the islands' discovery. Over time, the name Aotearoa came to encompass all of New Zealand.
Similarly, the legend of the Great Fleet, an embarking of seven or nine canoes carrying the early settlers of New Zealand, may be more of an anthropological narrative than true history. While Polynesian explorers almost certainly reached the islands through a series of canoe voyages in the 14th century, there is little evidence to support the Great Fleet theory.
The Māori Before European Contact
However they arrived, the ancestors of the Māori quickly spread across the islands to build new homes. There they diversified into different clans and tribes, each with their own unique customs and histories. Without a strong mammal population on land, most of their societies survived through fishing and hunting birds. Their hunters pushed the huge, flightless moa to extinction by about 1500. In addition, farmers brought plants like sweet potatoes, gourds, taro, yams, and cabbage trees. They built large walled fortresses and sailed to war in canoes that could carry as many as 70 people. Māori military tactics emphasized stealth, strategy, and personal bravery. Different clans traced their lineage through an oral history stretching back to settlers and the canoes that brought them there.
The Māori and the Pakeha
European contact with the Māori began in earnest in 1769, when English Captain James Cook landed at modern Poverty Bay. While Cook was searching for supplies and information, his discovery would forever change Māori life and society. Warfare escalated with the introduction of both muskets and potatoes, which enabled longer and more devastating raids between clans. The new arrivals were commonly referred to as Pakeha. By the mid-19th century, whalers and traders from several nations were stopping by New Zealand’s harbors to trade and resupply their ships. Unfortunately, they brought diseases like smallpox, tuberculosis, and influenza with them.
For the most part, relations between the Māori and outsider were characterized by mutual respect. Colonialism, however, soon saw European powers vying for influence on the islands. In 1840, in response to French aggression, a group of Māori chiefs entered the Treaty of Waitangi with British representatives. The treaty, a foundational document of New Zealand, promised the Māori ownership of their lands and full rights as British subjects.
The Treaty of Waitangi eventually proved to be disadvantageous to the Māori in the face of British settlement. Loss of land and the Māori peoples' way of life led to the New Zealand Wars of the 19th century. Waged between 1845 and 1872, the conflicts claimed thousands of lives on both sides. Each time the Māori conceded, the British seized more of their most desirable lands.
The result was a displaced and increasingly impoverished population. By 1896, there were about 42,000 Māori people remaining in New Zealand, compared to an estimated 200,000 at the time of Cook's arrival. Many turned to the cities as their chance to make a living and met discrimination instead. In the century that followed, Māori activists fought instead through New Zealand’s legal and political systems to preserve their land and culture. Today, the Treaty of Waitangi is held as an enduring symbol of relations between the Māori and their Pakeha neighbors.
References
Howe, K. R. “Ideas of Māori Origins.” Te Ara--The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, teara.govt.nz/en/ideas-of-maori-origins/print.
King, Michael. Penguin History Of New Zealand. Penguin UK. 2003.
McLintock, A.H. “1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand.” Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 13 Dec. 2012, teara.govt.nz/en/1966.
Metge, Joan. Rautahi: The Māoris of New Zealand. Routledge. 2004.
Pool, Ian. “6. – Population Change – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand.” Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, 13 July 2012, teara.govt.nz/en/population-change/page-6.
Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History. Atholl Anderson, Judith Binney, Aroha Harris eds. Bridget Williams Books. 2014.
Te Rangi Hiroa. The Coming of the Maori. Whitcomb and Tombes. 1950.
“The World Factbook: NEW ZEALAND.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 1 May 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nz.html.
White, John. The Ancient History of the Māori, Vol. 1. G. Didsbury, 1887.
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