northern war

The Treaty in practice

• 

  Amalgamating Māori into colonial settler society was a key part of British policy in New Zealand after 1840. Economic and social change, along with land-purchase programmes, were central to this process.

  Read the full article

• Page 1 - The Treaty in practiceAmalgamating Māori into colonial settler society was a key part of British policy in New Zealand after 1840. Economic and social change, along with land-purchase programmes, were

Treaty timeline

• 

  See some of the key events between 1800 and 1849 relating to the Treaty of Waitangi.

  Read the full article

• Page 1 - Treaty events 1800-49See some of the key events between 1800 and 1849 relating to the Treaty of Waitangi.

The Northern War

• 

  The Northern War, fought in the Bay of Islands in 1845-46, was the first serious challenge to the Crown in the years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Its opening shots marked the beginning of the wider North Island conflicts that are often referred to as the New Zealand Wars.

  Read the full article

• Page 2 – Origins of the Northern War

  Actions by the colonial government cost Bay of Islands Māori trade and other opportunities. Heke feared that chiefly authority was now subservient to that of the British Crown

• Page 3 – The sacking of Kororāreka

  The sacking of Kororāreka (Russell) shook the settler population. About £50,000 worth of property was destroyed, and there was panic in Auckland. Some settlers sold their land

• Page 4 – Puketutu and Te Ahuahu

  Māori learnt an important lesson at Puketutu: the British were a formidable foe in open battle. This would influence Māori tactics in future clashes

• Page 5 – Ōhaeawai

  Keen to cash in on Heke’s setback at Te Ahuahu, Henry Despard assembled the largest British force yet seen in the colony and moved to attack Kawiti’s new pā at Ōhaeawai.

• Page 7 – Ruapekapeka

  Ruapekapeka may have been a tactical victory for the British, but many consider the outcome a draw. Heke and Kawiti had escaped with their forces largely intact, and the terms

• Page 8 – Peace breaks out

  Historian James Belich contends that Grey won the propaganda war and Kawiti and Heke won the real war. Others argue that Belich's revisionism goes too far and maintain that