The New Zealand Wars ended in 1872, at least, according to most historians. And, militarily speaking, this makes perfect sense.
But for Māori, the wars never ended, with the conflicts over land and te tino rangatirantanga – or sovereignty – moving from the battle fields into the Courts and Parliament.
The Native Land Court, in particular, proved to be a blunt weapon used by the Crown to acquire customary Māori land.
Parliament enacted the legislation necessary for this to happen.
This section examines this process in detail.