Kawiti - Kawiti Te Ruki Kawiti was a prominent Maori chieftain (c1770 -1854), with Hone Heke he successfully fought the British in the First Maori War. Descended from Nukutawhiti and Rahiri he was born in the north of New Zealand to the Ngati Hine hapu, one of the subtribes of the Ngapuhi. From his youth he was trained in leadership and warfare. He was present at the Battle of Moremonui when many of the Ngapuhi were slughtered by the Ngati Whatua, then almost twenty years later, in 1825, he was at the Battle of Te Ika a Ranganui when it was the Ngapuhi's turn to slaughter the Ngati Whatua. However he took captive a number of Ngati Whatua and refused to hand them over to Hongi Hika prefering.
Hone Heke - imposition of customs duties, the banning of the felling of kauri trees and government control of the sale of land all contributed to an economic depression for the Maori. Furthermore it became clear that the British considered the authority of the chiefs to be subservient to that of the Crown although the Treaty promised equal partnership. As a signal of his discontent, Hone Heke chopped down the flagpole carrying the British flag that flew over Korarareka. Unfortunately the British interpreted this as an act of rebellion and soon the two peoples were at war, the First Maori War. Heke took an active part in the early phases of the conflict, but he was severely wounded during the Battle of Te Ahu Ahu and did not rejoin the fighting until the closing.
First Maori War - traders that the British flag flying over the town of Kororareka signified slavery for the Maori. What made this intolerable was that the flag pole had itself been a gift from Hone Heke to the first British Resident. Then in June 1844 a girl from his tribe went to live with an English butcher in Kororareka and defied his orders to return to the tribe. Heke and his men went into the town, looted the butcher's shop and recovered the girl. Almost as an afterthought they cut down the flag pole. This is depicted in a painting by Arthur David McCormick, Hone Heke fells the flag pole at Kororareka In August 1844 Governor FitzRoy arrived in the bay backed by the navy and 170 men of the 96th Regiment. He summoned.
1845 - John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas. March 3 - Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state. March 3 - For the first time the United States Congress passes legislation overriding a presidential veto. March 11 - First Maori War: Chiefs Kawiti and Hone-Heke leads 700 Maoris in the burning of the white settlement of Kororareka, now known as Russel. May 20 - The HMS Erebus and Terror with 134 men under John Franklin sail from the River Thames beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage. July 4 - Near Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau embarks on a two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond (see Walden). August 28 - Scientific American begins publication October 10 - In Annapolis,.
Tamati Waka Nene - James Busby to regularize the relationships between the two races. In 1835 he signed the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand which proclaimed the sovereignty of the United Tribes At the negotiations leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi his influence was significant in persuading many of the tribes to sign the Treaty. However it is probable that he took the document at its face value; it is extremely unlikely that he saw himself ceding any of his authority as chief of his people. The next few years saw a considerable loss of revenue and influence for the Northern Tribes. The Capital of the new country was soon moved down to Auckland. Customs duties were also imposed. Then the Government began to interfere with the management of.
Maori Wars - subordinates. When their interests divereged from Pakeha interests they tended to go their own way. The Māori were fighting the Pakeha. They too can be divided into two groups. One was the Imperial Army, the forces of the British Empire, including ironically, Australians going overseas to war for the first time -- to fight New Zealanders! The other was the various militia formed from the Settlers which eventually evolved into the New Zealand Army, answerable to the New Zealand Government and not to London. The first war was fought by the Imperial Army, probably assisted informally by a few Settlers. The Taranaki War involved organized units of settler militia. The Imperial Government was increasingly reluctant to become involved in New Zealand Wars. To get their support for the Invasion of the.
