The "Fire in the Fern" War 1864-1872

The last of the wars, known to the Europeans as "the fire in the fern" and to the Maori as te riri pakeha, "the white man's anger," was fought from 1864 to 1872. Hostilities spread to virtually the whole of North Island. The main Maori combatants in the mid-60s were the fanatic Hauhau warriors. The British government wanted to conclude peace in 1864, but the colonial government, wishing to acquire more land, continued the war and assumed an increasing share of the fighting. In July 1865 Grey led the capture of Weroroa pa in southern Taranaki. European and supporting Maori forces (increasingly numerous after 1864) checked each new effort by the hostile tribes. From 1868 to 1872 the Hauhau were supplemented by a new warrior cult, Ringatu, founded and led by a guerrilla leader, Te Kooti.

All fighting ended in 1872. Great tracts of Maori land had been confiscated and Maori society permanently disrupted. The supporters of the King Movement retreated to King Country, in the west-central North Island.

References

How to Stop a War; Maori

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