Musket Wars map
Māori also explored non-violent ways of resolving disputes. Diplomacy, arranged marriages, gifts and escape were all used to avoid fighting. When these methods failed, the common response was to seek an advantage by gaining more weapons.
Bay of Islands communities armed themselves with muskets for self-defence against Hongi’s hapū. Then the heavily armed northern tribes attacked those to the south, who had few or no muskets. Panic helped Ngāpuhi secure many of its victories.
