Te iwi Māori me ngā tangata nō IngarangiMāori and the British

Māori and British first met when Captain James Cook visited these shores in 1769. Over the next 70 years contact increased, until the two cultures were linked by complex personal, political, and business relationships.

Learn how relationships between Māori and the British built up and led to the signing of the Treaty in 1840.

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I tūtaki tuatahi te Māori me te Pākehā i te ūnga mai a Kāpene Kuki ki konei i te tau 1769. E whitu tekau tau i muri ake ka maha haere aua whakapā, tae noa ki ngā hononga matatini – ā-tangata, ā-tōrangapū, ā-kaipākihi.

Mā tēnei wāhanga ka hurahia e koe ngā mahi me ngā rerekētanga i ahu mai ai te hainatanga o te Tiriti i te tau 1840.

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This content was originally written for the Treaty2U website in partnership with National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa and Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o Te Kāwanatanga in 2008, and reviewed in 2020.

A Māori world

Polynesian people stepped onto these shores some 800–1,000 years ago. Over the following centuries, this country was a place of independent tribal groups who looked after their own territories and lived close to the land, physically and spiritually. Eventually every part of the country was overseen by a particular iwi or hapū, each led by their own rangatira.

Coloured picture of buildings and a harbor

Māori and Pākehā early contact: Business and missionaries

The first visitors from Britain had no plans to settle in New Zealand. They were here on business: to explore, or to exploit this country’s natural resources.

Two buildings on a harbour front, with people sitting about. Many barrels are in the foreground. Washing hangs on the line.

Māori and British trade

British and other visitors to New Zealand were quick to realise the business opportunities this land offered. Likewise, Māori saw that the visitors offered new trading possibilities.

A group of Māori perform a haka with various weapons, including guns, raised in the air

War, migration, and change

One item the Pākehā visitors brought caused more upheaval than any other – the musket. At the start of the 19th century, these guns were the norm on European battlefields.

View of a beach and bay from above with waka sailing

Missionary impact

From 1814, Christian missionaries from Britain began building up friendly relationships with Māori. Mutual trust grew, and eventually this helped the British government gain influence here.

Weathered flag. It comprises of a white background with a red symmetric cross and in the top left quadrant a blue background with a smaller red symmetric cross and white stars in the quadrants

Political relationships

Before 1840, the British government had no legal power to protect its citizens while they were in New Zealand – nor could it make unscrupulous ones obey British laws. This was a problem. Māori, British traders, and missionaries all expressed their dissatisfaction.