The New Zealand Wars / Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa Revision

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key terms, historical figures, battles, causes, and consequences of the New Zealand Wars (Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa).

New Zealand Wars / Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa

A series of conflicts fought in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872 involving Māori, the Crown, British forces, colonial forces and settlers.

Whenua

Land or territory. For Māori, whenua has important connections to identity, whakapapa, community, resources and mana.

Crown

The British monarch and, more broadly, the government and authority acting on behalf of the monarch.

Authority

The power or right to make decisions and control what happens.

Sovereignty

The right or ability of a people or government to govern themselves and make their own decisions.

Tino Rangatiratanga

Absolute chieftainship, self-determination, and full authority for Māori to govern themselves and control their own lands and resources.

Kawanatanga

Governorship or governance. The power given to the Crown to make laws and manage the country.

Conflict

A disagreement or struggle between two or more groups, which can sometimes lead to fighting.

Economic interests

The interests people have in relation to money, land, trade, resources and wealth.

Colonial

Relating to a country or government that controls another country or territory and its people.

Iwi

A Māori tribal group connected through shared ancestry.

Whakapapa

A person's or group's ancestry and connections to previous generations.

Mana

A person's or group's status, influence, prestige and authority.

Pā

A fortified Māori village or stronghold built with trenches, banks, and palisades (fences) for defense during battles.

Redoubt

A temporary fort or defensive earthwork built by soldiers (such as British or colonial troops) during military campaigns.

Utu

Revenge, reciprocity or pay back for an act.

Raupatu

Land confiscation; specifically, the forced taking of Māori land by the government following the New Zealand Wars.

Kiingitanga Movement

The Māori King Movement, established in 1858 to unite Māori tribes under one monarch to protect land and sovereignty.

Governor George Grey

A powerful British Governor of New Zealand (1845–1853, 1861–1868) who led military operations in the Northern War and later ordered the 1863 invasion of the Waikato, resulting in massive land confiscations (raupatu).

Governor Gore Browne

The British Governor of New Zealand (1855–1861) who sparked the First Taranaki War in 1860 by forcing the purchase of disputed land at Waitara despite Māori opposition.

Bishop Pompallier

New Zealand’s first Catholic Bishop who built strong ties with Māori communities and continuously urged both Crown officials and Māori chiefs to resolve conflicts peacefully during the 1840s.

Hone Heke

A Ngāpuhi chief who was the first to sign the Treaty in 1840 but later sparked the Northern War (1845–1846) by repeatedly cutting down the British flagstaff at Kororāreka to protest Crown authority.

Te Rauparaha & Te Rangihaeata

Prominent Ngāti Toa leaders who defended tribal lands against illegal settler expansion, leading Māori forces during the Wairau Affray (1843) and the Hutt Valley Campaign (1846).

Potatau Te Wherowhero

A respected Waikato chief who served as the first Māori King, founding the Kīngitanga movement in 1858 to unite tribes and stop forced land sales until his death in 1860.

Rāwhiri Purirake

A Ngāi Te Rangi chief and military strategist who famously led Māori forces to victory at Gate Pā during the 1864 Tauranga Campaign while insisting that wounded enemy soldiers be treated humanely.

Te Kooti

A Rongowhakaata leader and founder of the Ringatū faith who, after escaping exile on the Chatham Islands in 1868, led a four-year guerrilla war against government forces across the North Island.

Te Whiti-o-Rongomai & Tohu Kākahi

Spiritual leaders who founded Parihaka and led non-violent resistance against Crown land confiscations using peaceful plowing tactics, continuing until government troops invaded the settlement in 1881.

The Battle of Pukehinahina / Gate Pā

An armed resistance battle on 29 April 1864 where 230 Māori under the command of Ngāi Te Rangi Chief Rāwiri Puhirake defended their land against 1,700 British soldiers.

The invasion of Parihaka

A passive resistance action on 5 November 1881 where over 2,000 Māori under the leadership of Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi peacefully defended their land and rights against 1,600 invading Crown troops without using violence.

Mahinga kai

Traditional food gathering sites to which Māori lost access following the New Zealand Wars, contributing to economic ruin and impoverishment.