Consequences
Maori Land Loss
Māori Land
As Māori throughout New Zealand returned to their villages and crops to secure their future and the future of their descendants, the government embarked on a vigorous legislative programme to change the nature of Māori land holdings.
Māori land was to be changed from communal titles, to individual titles. The 'One-person' ownership meant that land was much easier to trade, this was the government's intention.
The changes were made possible through legislation - the Native Lands Act 1862. This Act initiated the process of converting Māori land from communal titles to individual titles. Land could then be traded by Māori as if it were a commodity, or so the government claimed.
The Act was amended in 1865 by introducing the Native Land Court, which would operate for more than a century and earned the nickname 'engine of destruction.' Māori generally resented the Court and made efforts to boycott its operations.
Land Confiscations
The government also moved to carry out large-scale confiscations of land from Māori who were deemed to have "borne arms against the Crown". The New Zealand Settlements Act 1863 allowed the Governor to declare lands forfeit if Māori had participated in the wars.
If you were Māori and felt aggrieved by these losses, you could appear before a special Compensation Court to argue for the return of your land. However, the Compensation Court soon proved to be inadequate for handling Māori land claims fairly.
Population Decline
When Europeans first arrived in New Zealand, the Māori population was approximately 90,000. By the time the conflict at Waitara began in 1860, the population had decreased to about 60,000. This decline continued after the war, and between 1874 (the first Māori census) and 1896 (the lowest point), the population fell by another 20,000, reaching 39,000.
Clearly, the impacts of colonisation upon Māori were severe. However, in the post-war period, when the government had the chance to address the population decline and support the remaining communities, it did neither. Instead, it launched an aggressive land acquisition program that exacerbated the situation. After the conflict, the Māori population experienced a sharp decline, which led to fears among Europeans that the Māori race might die out. This concern persisted into the 20th century and influenced how national histories were written.
Māori and European population figures compared
| Year | Māori | European | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | between 90 and 100,000 | 2000 | |
| 1859 | 60,000 | 60,000 | |
| 1874 | 45,470 | 295,946 | |
| 1878 | 43,595 | 432,519 | |
| 1881 | 44,097 | ||
| 1886 | 41,969 | 607,380 | *European numbers are from 1888 |
| 1891 | 41,993 | ||
| 1896 | 39,663 | 672,265 | *European numbers are from 1893 |
| - Beyond 1896 the population began to grow | |||
Gaining the Vote
Māori Franchise
In 1867, Māori were granted the vote, 27 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Māori Representation Act 1867 provided Māori with four special seats in Parliament. However, based on the same population calculations used to determine the number of European seats, Māori should have been allocated a minimum of fifteen seats.
Temporary Seats
The Māori seats were originally designed to be temporary. They were established primarily for two reasons: mounting pressure from the British Parliament and the electoral rules of the time. Under the existing electoral rules, any eligible voter was listed on the general roll. However, to qualify, one needed to own land as an individual. Since Māori customary ownership was communal, Māori did not qualify.
Converting Māori Land
However, the government expected this to change. Legislation had already been passed to begin converting Māori land ownership from communal to individual. Māori strongly resisted this because it inevitably led to significant losses. The government hoped that all Māori land would be individually owned within about five years. At that point, there would be no need for special seats. However, the process of converting land ownership was very slow, and when the initial 'temporary' timeframe concluded, it had to be extended. The title changes eventually lasted into the 20th century, resulting in the 'temporary' seats becoming permanent. In 1991, the New Zealand government used the same population calculations for both the general and Māori electorates, resulting in an increase in the number of Māori seats from four to seven.
The Economy
The Pre-Contact Māori Economy
Prior to European arrival in New Zealand, there was no formal economy to speak of. Māori were very skilled at growing, foraging, and storing food, but it was a subsistence-based society. Generally, there was no surplus for trade or exchange, although occasional exchanges did occur, it was not common practice. The concept of obtaining extra goods for sale was introduced by Europeans.
Introduction of the European Economy
After the 1830s, Māori began to adapt to European ways of food production for both barter and sales. Although money was used, most trades during this time were goods-based, such as trading flax for muskets. During this period, many tribes developed large plantations of crops for sale to expanding European towns. Business was good; in Waitara in the 1850s, Te Ātiawa possessed 35 ploughs, 20 pairs of harrows, 40 carts, 300 cattle, 150 horses, and a small flotilla of boats. Their produce contributed about £6000 to the Taranaki Treasury, even though European trading vessels were not allowed to call in at Waitara. Māori also took to livestock farming, particularly cattle and sheep farming in Hawke's Bay. However, it was not until the 1870s that individuals like Rapata Wahawaha began to farm sheep.
Impacts of War
Throughout New Zealand, before the wars, local tribes experienced some economic success. However, the war changed all of this. When the British Army marched into Rangiaowhia on 21 February 1864, they approached the village past fields of wheat, maize, and potatoes that extended for miles. The Rangiaowhia area, referred to as the 'breadbasket of the Waikato,' was put to the torch. This act brought about the economic collapse of the southern Waikato tribes.
As the government confiscated land at the end of the hostilities, they left little fertile land for the tribes. Farming became highly regulated, with controls around things like fencing and stock importation. Additionally, the development of railways and later road infrastructure further impacted the tribes' economic activities. Without finance or government assistance, Māori farming began to decline after 1870. Rapid changes to land ownership further hindered Māori efforts to improve their agricultural practices. The costs of surveying and legal fees were prohibitive, and access to grain, seeds, and transport became increasingly difficult. In 1894, Māori were also excluded from a government scheme that provided cheap credit to farmers.
Search for Māori Political Autonomy
Power prior to European Arrival
Prior to European arrival, local power was concentrated within the approximately 50 tribes. Within these tribes, day-to-day political power resided at the hapū (sub-tribe) level.
Māori jurist Eddie Durie has argued that real power was distributed throughout the hapū, with many individuals holding roles that implied a form of genuine 'communal' political power. This system of governance had served Māori well for centuries.
Europeans and Political Power
Māori soon realized that Europeans had a very different understanding of political power. When the Treaty was signed in 1840, Māori did not fully grasp how divergent European perceptions of political authority were. By signing the Treaty, Māori believed they were protecting the political system they had adhered to for generations. However, the Crown had a different perspective. The Crown viewed the Treaty as a means of acquiring sovereignty over New Zealand, allowing them to establish a Parliament that did not necessarily reflect Māori political interests. Initially, this Parliament did not even include Māori representatives.
When Hone Heke attacked the British flag on 11 March 1845 at Kororareka, it was a reaction to his disillusionment with the increasing power of the Crown over Māori. The wars that followed were a direct consequence of this disillusionment, particularly the conflict in Waikato in 1863. In 1858, the Māori King movement was established to assert Māori authority as a counterbalance to the growing power of the Crown. Viewing the Māori King as a threat, the Crown launched an attack on Waikato to dismantle the Kingitanga.
After the Wars
By 1872, the fighting had ended. The Māori King had been defeated at Rangiriri in 1863 and was now in hiding, leaving Māori political power in ruins. In 1867, Māori were granted four seats in Parliament. For some, this represented an opportunity to begin the struggle for real power, marking the start of the fight for Māori autonomy...