Welcome To New Zealand Wars
This website presents aspects of the New Zealand Wars fought between Māori and the Crown throughout most of the 19th century. This website emphasises Māori histories of these engagements, fought over land, in the global context of wars waged against native peoples.
This website was first launched in November 2001, at the Conference of the New Zealand Historical Association, Christchurch, during a session devoted to Māori history. Dr Manuka Henare presented a paper on the 1835 Declaration of Independence, followed by Dr Danny Keenan who presented a paper arguing that the cause of the New Zealand Wars was land. The session was convened by Dr James Belich.
Quite a few people have written parts of this website, and are part of a wider group writing and supporting our focus which is Māori, the New Zealand Wars, and Māori history in general. The main writer of this site though is Dr Danny Keenan (Ngāti Te Whiti, Te Ātiawa) from Taranaki.
Overview
Causes
Campaigns
Consequences
Current Focus
The Fate of the Treaty Principles
Distorting the Treaty Principles The Act-National-New Zealand First government plans legislation which will egregiously distort the Crown Treaty Principles. Far from perfect when first compiled, the principles were then described by Professor Jane Kelsey as a crude...
Featured Articles
Māori Knowledge Memory and History
Paepae as controlling site of memory The paepae is the place on the marae where elders stand to deliver their speeches and, as it so happens, to present their memories - or versions of history. The paepae provides context and legitimacy for the histories - and...
Pantheons at St Paul’s: Sir George Grey
The Pantheons Sculptures project is sponsored by the University of York and focuses on St Paul's Cathedral, London. Fifty historians. authors, poets and writers from around the world were invited to write/talk about one of the 50 statues at St Paul's Cathedral. The...
The Hunt for Willie Boy
This amazing book, The Hunt for Willie Boy, was published in 1994 and tells the story of a manhunt in Southern California in September 1929. The focus of the hunt was a young Chemehuevi Indian named Willie Boy who, it was falsely alleged, had drank too much, stolen a...
Aspects of the Wars
Contexts
Danny Keenan’s Publications
Over the years, Danny (who is the writer of this site) has published widely on Māori and New Zealand history. His focus has mainly been Māori-State relations in the 19th Century, of which the New Zealand Land Wars were of course an important part. This section contains copies of Dr Keenan’s writings which you are free to access. Our hope is to eventually upload here everything that Danny has published to date.
