- Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha (1760s-1849) was a
Māori chief and war leader of theNgati Toa tribe who took a leading part in theMusket Wars . He was influential in the original sale of land to theNew Zealand Company and was a participant in theWairau Affray in Marlborough.Early days
At some time around 1815, muskets became the weapon of choice and changed the character of tribal warfare. In 1819 Te Rauparaha joined with a large war party of
Ngā Puhi led byTāmati Wāka Nene ; they probably reachedCook Strait before turning back.Migration
Over the next few years the intertribal fighting intensified, and by 1822 they were being forced out of their land around Kawhia. Led by Te Rauparaha they began a fighting retreat or migration southwards, one which ended with them controlling the southern part of the
North Island and particularlyKapiti Island , which became the tribal stronghold. Attempts by various Southern Māori tribes to recover Kapiti Island in 1824 were decisively defeated.Trade and further conquest
There were already numerous
Pākehā whaling stations in the area, and Te Rauparaha encouraged them, establishing a lucrative trade of supplies for muskets thereby increasing hismana and military strength. In 1827 he began the conquest of theSouth Island , and by the early 1830s he controlled most of the northern part of it.In 1831 he took the major
Ngāi Tahu pā atKaiapoi after a three month siege [http://www.waimakariri.govt.nz/library/history_files/KaiapoiPa.pdf] [http://library.christchurch.org.nz/TiKoukaWhenua/Kaiapoi/] , and shortly after tookOnawe pā in theAkaroa harbour, but these and other battles in the south were in the nature of revenge raids rather than for control of territory.Planned European settlement
insisted that he do so (Oliver 2007).
Te Rauparaha soon became alarmed at the flood of British settlers and refused to sell any more of his land. This quickly led to tension and the upshot was the Wairau Affray when a party from Nelson tried to arrest Te Rauparaha and 22 of them were killed. The subsequent government enquiry exonerated Te Rauparaha which further angered the settlers who began a campaign to have the governor,
Robert FitzRoy recalled.Capture and eventual death
Then in May 1846 fighting broke out in the Hutt Valley between the settlers and Te Rauparaha's nephew,
Te Rangihaeata . Despite his declared neutrality, Te Rauparaha was arrested, near a tribal village in what would later be calledPlimmerton , by the Governor, George Grey, and held without trial before being exiled toAuckland . He was allowed to return to his people at Otaki in 1848, where he died the following year,27 November 1849 .Haka
The most common
haka , or challenge, performed by theAll Blacks and many other New Zealand sports teams before international matches is "Ka Mate " - composed by Te Rauparaha to celebrate his escape from death in a battle in the early 1800s.External links
* http://www.ngatitoa.iwi.nz/te_rauparaha.htm
* http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/MaoriTribalHistory/AttacksOnTheSouthIsland/enReferences
*Oliver, Steven. 'Te Rauparaha ? - 1849'. "Dictionary of New Zealand Biography", updated 22 June 2007. URL: [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/]
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