The Musket Wars, which occurred from the early 1800s to the 1840s, brought about a significant transformation in Mori society and warfare. This four-decades-long conflict was characterized by the widespread use of muskets, which had been introduced (both willingly and unwillingly) by European traders.Violence raged across the South and North Islands, including archipelagos such as the Chatham Islands. It affected civilians and warriors alike. After 40 years of conflict, the power dynamics among Mori tribes had been permanently altered. Tribal borders were redefined, and entire tribes were devastated. Some groups, such as the Moriori, were almost wiped out.Muskets and LandMembers of the Ngti Koata, Ngti Toa, and Ngti Kuia tribes, 1916. Source: Nelson Provincial MuseumThe years between 1807 and 1840 were marked by extensive inter-tribal warfare. For the first decade, that is, between 1807 and 1818, Mori warriors relied mainly on traditional weapons, such as stone or wood tools, as well as hand-to-hand combats. In 1821, however, Chief Hongi Hika of the Ngpuhi tribe (the Mori term for tribe is iwi) returned from Sydney with over 300 muskets.Muskets, long-barrelled muzzle-loaded shoulder firearms, could fire lead balls at what was back then a considerable distance, physically removing killers from their victims and increasing the surprise element.The bloodiest tribal battles took place between 1818 and 1840, although intertribal warfare involving muskets continued, to a lesser degree, after 1840. In most colonial countries, warfare was primarily caused by land issues, land ownership, land management, and land theft. This was true for Aotearoa (New Zealand) too.Flintlock muskets made of walnut wood. Source: Royal Museums GreenwichIn her A Concise History of New Zealand, historian Philippa Mein Smith writes that the musket wars, as they became known, could just as well be called land wars because so much territory changed hands in their wake. However, the Musket Wars were as much about manathe typical Mori concept of prestige, political status, and honoras they were about land.Inter-tribal conflicts were not new in Mori society, but the Musket Wars represented a catastrophe. Battles and outbursts of violence raged across the entirety of Aotearoa/New Zealand, from the South Island to the North Island. In a way, despite being fought primarily among Mori tribes, the Musket Wars were a colonial product, triggered and fueled by new colonial dynamics. The European newcomers, the Pkeh, had recently destabilized Mori society.The (Mori) Man Who Introduced Muskets to the MoriChiefs Waikato and Hongi Hika with missionary Thomas Kendall in England, by James Barry, 1820. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThree warrior chiefs emerged during the Musket Wars. One was Te Wherowhero (1770-1860) of the Waikato iwi (tribe), based in the western central region of the North Island. He took the name Ptatau after becoming the first Mori king in 1858. Te Rauparaha (1768-1849), the other important warlord during the Musket Wars, was chief of the Ngti Toa tribe. He was a descendant of Hoturoa of the Tainui waka (canoe) who, according to Mori tradition, had arrived from Polynesia to the North Island around 1400.The most important figure of the Musket Wars was, however, Hongi Hika (1772-1828), rangatira (chief) of the Ngpuhi people. His tribe occupied the Northland regions of the North Island, including the Bay of Islands (named by Captain Cook in 1769 and the first area in New Zealand to be permanently settled by Europeans), the Hokianga region, and Whangrei.Mori men and women performing haka, the traditional Mori war dance, painting by Joseph Jenner Merrett, 1845. Source: Wikimedia CommonsSome historians note that the Musket Wars would have happened regardless of European presence on the South and North Islands. While this might be true, the availability of European technology made the conflict bloodier and possibly more prolonged. Hongi Hika was instrumental in this. Before his 1821 journey to Sydney, his tribe already possessed (and knew how to use) muskets, but the incredible number of musketsat least 300that Hongi Hika brought from mainland Australia marked a turning point in Mori history.During his 1820 journey to England, Hongi Hika was also gifted a suit of armor, which he used during his campaigns to demoralize his enemies. Over the next few years, Hongi Hika and his warriors led one successful attack after the other. They attacked the Ngti Maru and Waikato tribes in 1822, then the Te Arawa on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua in 1823, and finally the Ngti Whtua at Kaipara.A Mori p (village), 1880s. Source: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaThey defeated all of them. Captives were put to work on potato crops. Hongi Hika eventually died of the same firepower that had sealed his success his mana. In 1827 he was shot during a battle in northern Hokianga. He passed from his bullet wound on March 3, 1828, at Whangaroa, in the northern part of the North Island, and his bones were buried in a secret location.Without their leader, the Ngpuhi lost most of their power. By the early 1830s, they were no longer a force to be reckoned with. The widespread use of muskets had already triggered a massive redistribution of population, especially in the North Island.What Are the Three Phases of the Musket Wars?Death of Tempsky, painting by Kennett Watkins, 1868. Source: National Army Museum Te Mata ToaScholars divide the Musket Wars into three phases, with each phase dominated by the evolving relationship between warriors and muskets and the increased availability of muskets. During the first phase, muskets were limited in number, old, and of poor quality. Mori warriors were also inexperienced in the use of muskets. Muskets-owning tribes were feared by their enemies, but the actual impact of muskets in warfare was limited. Warfare usually took place in the summer months to not impact the growing of kumara, the sweet potato introduced by the Europeans which Mori people often traded or sold in exchange for muskets.Some historians believe that the Musket Wars were triggered by the kidnapping (and subsequent killing) of high-ranking Ngpuhi women by a group of escaped convicts from Van Diemens Land, present-day Tasmania. The women were closely related to Chief Hongi Hika and his kin and ally, Te Morenga (1760-1834).Taranaki, home to the Ngti Mutunga and Ngti Tama tribes, in the North Island, photograph by Yoann Laheurte, 2019. Source: UnsplashWar began in the northern regions of the North Island and soon spread to the rest of Aotearoa/New Zealand, to the South Island as well as to the Chatham Islands, an archipelago east of South Island inhabited by the Moriori.The second phase began around 1821 when Hongi Hika returned from Sydney with his 300 muskets. The Ngpuhi quickly became the most powerful, well-equipped, and feared tribe in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Other tribes left the region of present-day Auckland, fearing raids from the Ngpuhi.In 1822, Hongi Hika and his men launched a massive attack against the Waikato-Tainui tribe, the tangata whenua, that is, the people of the land, of the Waikato region, in the northern part of North Island. The arms race had begun. In 1824, Te Pehi Kupe (1795-1828), leader of the Ngti Toa tribe (and uncle of feared leader Te Rauparaha), understood they needed more muskets.Mori Girl Learning the haka, by Gottfried Lindauer, 1907. Source: Wikimedia CommonsHe traveled first to England, then to Sydney, where he traded the gifts he had received and amassed in Europe, for muskets. His tribe was now ready to invade the South Island. During this phase, muskets continued to be extremely expensive.In the summer of 1827-1828, Te Rauparaha invaded the South Island. Their occupation and warfare lasted six years. The bloodshed was immense. Traditional weapons could do nothing against the force of the muskets. By 1827, the Ngpuhi and the Waikato tribes had the same amount of muskets.Many Mori p (traditional villages) became known as gunfighters or musket p, that is, villages designed for musket fighting, reinforced with stockades, firing parapets, angling slopes, and trenches, to better protect against the power of muskets. The final phase of the Musket Wars saw Mori warriors become experts in the use of muskets. Women typically helped them reload.European InterventionSouth Sea Whalers Boiling Blubber/Boats Preparing to get a Whale Alongside, by Sir Oswald Walters Brierly, 1876. Source: Hudson River Maritime MuseumWhile inter-tribal fighting was widespread among the Mori long before the coming of the Europeans, British captains, sailors, and whalers took advantage of it for economic reasons. In at least two (reported) instances, the violence of the Musket Wars was heightened by the presence of the Europeans.In 1830, Ngti Toa leader Te Rauparaha sought the assistance of Captain William Stewart (1776-1851) to restore his authority over southern tribes. He wanted to avenge the killing (and eating) of several Ngti Toa chiefs, including Te Pehi Kupe, that had occurred in 1829. The one responsible was Te Maiharanui (also known as Tama-i-hara-nui), chief and hereditary spiritual leader of the Ngti Rakimoa, an important hap of the Ngi Tahu tribe.Mori carvings, 1880s, Pulman & Son. Source: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaCaptain Stewart agreed to help in exchange for 50 tons of dressed flax. On October 29, 1830, Te Rauparahas warriors left Kapiti Island aboard Stewarts ship. When the Elizabeth finally anchored in Akaroa Harbour, Stewart contacted Te Maiharanui and convinced him to come aboard with the promise of trading guns for flax. Te Maiharanui met with him, followed by his wife and daughter.As soon as he stepped into the captains cabin, Te Rauparahas warriors seized him and handcuffed him. They went ashore and killed many of the Mori men and women living in the nearby village (p) of Takapneke. Dozens were enslaved and many women were raped. Te Maiharanui died a slow, painful death, tortured, according to some accounts, by the widows of the Ngti Toa chiefs killed at Kaiapoi.Chatham Islands, photograph by Mark Thompson, 2020. Source: UnsplashStewart was put on trial in Sydney as an accomplice to murder but escaped justice because there were no witnesses. In 1830s New Zealand, Mori men and women did not count as witnesses, because they were deemed too savage.The Europeans involvement in the second instance was completely involuntary. In 1835, two tribes from Taranaki, in the west of North Island, the Ngti Mutunga and Ngti Tama, migrated to Wellington, where they seized a brig and kidnapped its captain.With the newly acquired ship, they invaded the Chatham Islands, known among the Mori as Wharekauri. Its inhabitants, the Moriori, called them Rkohu, which translates as Misty Sun. The Moriori were a splinter group of the Mori and had inhabited the Chathams since the 1500s. They were mainly sedentary hunter-gatherers, who lived in a peaceful, non-violent society, drastically opposed to that of the Mori.The last Moriori woman, front row, second from left, photograph by E. Cornford, 1900. Source: Wikimedia CommonsWhen they formed a peace council to discuss the arrival of the 900 Mori invaders, the Ngti Mutunga and Ngti Tama mistook it for a war council. The Mori launched an indiscriminate attack on the Moriori and nearly exterminated them. According to Philippa Mein Smith, the Moriori population numbered 1660 in 1835, and 101 by 1862. Hundreds of men and women were enslaved. Up until 1863 when slavery was abolished, Mori kept Moriori slaves and forced Moriori women to have children with their Mori masters.After the Musket WarsMori family in front of their p in Masterton, photograph by James Bragge, 1875. Source: Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New ZealandThe Musket Wars had a profound impact on Mori society, affecting the entire population, warriors and civilians alike. Although the actual number of casualties is impossible to determine, historians estimate that around 20,000 people died over the course of four decades, with some groups, like the Moriori, nearly exterminated.Large areas, even entire districts across the North and South Islands, were depopulated or left sparsely settled as Mori men and women fled their homes and villages, either willingly or unwillingly. The displacement of thousands of people led some Mori tribes to seek assistance from the Europeans. This was seen as an opportunity for the Europeans to acquire the disputed land and the newly free regions, now open for future settlement. While some tribes lost power and prestige, others, such as the Ngpuhi in the North and the Ngti Mutunga and Ngti Tama from Taranaki, gained mana.Mori girls in their traditional clothes, 1905. Source: Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New ZealandThe wars caused tribal boundaries to be redrawn. Decimated tribes were forced to intermarry to survive. The end of the Musket Wars is interlinked with the spread of Christianity across Aotearoa/New Zealand. In 1814, Samuel Marsden (1765-1838), a chaplain from New South Wales, established the first mission, known as the Church Missionary Society mission, at the Bay of Islands, under the protection of Hongi Hika, who benefited from the protection and trade opportunities with missionaries and European traders. Missionaries, however, always refused to repair the Moris muskets, let alone trade in them. Thousands of Mori men, women, and children freely converted to Christianity in the 1830s and 1840s.Auckland from Takarunga/Mount Victoria, the highest volcano on the North Shore, photograph by Kirsten Dew, 2017. Source: UnsplashP. M. Smith also notes that the wars had the long-lasting effect of creating a large body of strategists with decades of expertise with guns and the know-how to employ European technology against Europeans, which heavily influenced the wars against colonialists that followed.The Musket Wars revolutionized traditional Mori warfare and society. They also proved the determination of the Mori people to adapt and embrace new, although deadly, technologies. A determination that continues today.