Revision activities for NCEA Level 3 history

There are many features available in NZHistory.net.nz to help you prepare for the external achievement standards for NCEA Level 3 history, New Zealand in the nineteenth century. Many of the significant decisions and situations of the period are addressed by this site. You might want to consider discussing your answers with your teacher as part of your preparation for your exams.

1. The Musket Wars

Tens of thousands of Maori died in the nationwide intertribal Musket Wars of the 1810s, 1820s and 1830s. Thousands more were enslaved or became refugees. Muskets (ngutu parera) changed the face of intertribal warfare. In addition to the numbers killed and enslaved these conflicts drastically shifted the boundaries of areas that other iwi controlled.

The validity of the term ‘musket wars' has become a source of historical debate. Some historians argue that the musket contributed to Maori history rather than determined it and that these wars would have occurred regardless of European contact- the musket was merely a new tool.

Related links on NZHistory.net.nz

• Musket Wars
• New Zealand's 19th-century wars An overview from the end of the Musket Wars through to the end of the New Zealand Wars

Activities

See suggested activities for this topic (editable Word) - also available for download as pdf

2. Pre-1840 contact

The period before 1840 is sometimes described as the race relations apprenticeship. Several high-profile incidents in the period before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 gave the impression of poor relations between Maori and Pakeha. The British Resident from 1833, James Busby, painted a picture of 'extreme frontier chaos'. The impact on Maori of contact with Pakeha before 1840 was a significant issue in the 19th century.

The fact of the matter was violence between the races was the exception to the rule. Nevertheless taming this 'frontier of chaos' became a concern of groups like the Christian missionaries, after 1814, and of men such as James Busby. More is known of their views and efforts because they took the time to record their experiences while many other Europeans who were in daily contact with Maori did not. These other Europeans, sometimes known as intermediaries, were important in contact between Maori and Europeans in the period before the Treaty.

Related links on NZHistory.net.nz

• Exploration
• Sealers and whalers
• A frontier of chaos?
• Go-betweens
• Missionaries  
• Taming the frontier 

Activities

See suggested activities for this topic (editable Word) - also available for download as pdf

3. The Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand's founding document. It takes its name from the place in the Bay of Islands where it was first signed on 6 February 1840.The Treaty of Waitangi is central to understanding the broad survey of New Zealand in the 19th century. It represented a significant decision that affected the lives of New Zealanders in this period. Its impact on race relations and the evolution of settler government are also major themes in this broad survey.

Related links on NZHistory.net.nz

• Treaty of Waitangi

Activities

See suggested activities for this topic (editable Word) - also available for download as pdf

4. Maori leadership in the 19th century

The 19th century was a period of great change for Maori. Traditional forms of leadership and politics were placed under immense pressure. New leaders and styles of leadership emerged in the face of European colonisation. Attempts to create pan-tribal movements were met with resistance by some iwi as well as by Europeans.

The Kingitanga, or Maori King movement is an important and enduring expression of Maori unity. While, today, it holds an established place in New Zealand society, this has not always been the case. The establishment of the Kingitanga, the appointment of the first king in 1858 and the response to its formation are critical elements in the broad survey of 19th-century New Zealand.

In the Waikato War of the 1860s the government attempted to destroy the Kingitanga as it was seen as a threat to the authority of the British Crown. In the aftermath of the war, the confiscation of land and operation of the Native Land Court transformed New Zealand from a Maori world to a European one. However, the Kingitanga showed great resilience in surviving this turmoil, and it emerged from a period of isolation in the closing decade of the 19th century.

The emergence also of Pai Marire in 1862 was also an important development in new Maori leadership in response to massive changes in Maori society. This new religion grew out of the conflict over land in Taranaki. It was the first organised expression of an independent Maori Christianity.

Related links on NZHistory.net.nz

• The origins of the Maori King movement
• The Maori King movement 1860-1894
• Pai Marire 

Activities

See suggested activities for this topic (editable Word) - also available for download as pdf

5. The Taranaki War 1860-63

In March 1860 war broke out between Europeans and Maori in Taranaki following a dispute over the sale of land at Waitara. It was the beginning of a series of conflicts that would dog Taranaki for the next 21 years, claiming the lives of several hundred Maori and Europeans and leaving deep scars that persist to the present day.

The fighting in Taranaki can be seen in the wider context of the conflict that occurred in the North Island from the 1840s to the 1870s. From the Bay of Islands in the far north to Wellington in the south (and many points in between) British and colonial forces fought to open up the North Island for settlement. An estimated 3000 people were killed or wounded - the majority of them Maori - during what have become collectively known as the New Zealand Wars. The causes and consequences of these conflicts are an important part of the broad survey of New Zealand in the 19th century.

At the heart of these conflicts lay a volatile combination: contested issues of sovereignty following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, decreasing willingness to sell land to the government, and increasing pressure for land for settlement as the European population grew rapidly. Taranaki was a perfect illustration of these factors. The confiscation of Maori land which followed the fighting saw race relations in this country enter a new and, in some respects, more damaging phase. A whole new chapter in New Zealand's history was written as Maori responded to the initial seizure of over 1 million acres of Taranaki land following the conclusion of the war.

Related links on NZHistory.net.nz

• War in Taranaki 1860-63
• New Zealand's 19th-century wars An overview from the end of the Musket Wars through to the end of the New Zealand Wars

Activities

See suggested activities for this topic (editable Word) - also available for download as pdf