Why read The Musket Wars?

Book cover of The Musket Wars: A History of Inter-Iwi Conflict 1806 – 1845

Book description

First published by Reed in 1999, with an introduction by Michael King, The Musket Wars established Ron Crosby’s reputation as a daring, original chronicler of New Zealand history. This best-selling history provides the first comprehensive account of the wars that ravaged the country in the early 1800s, when iwi with…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Musket Wars as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Kristyn Harman

Author

While many New Zealanders realize that frontier wars were fought following the country’s annexation by England in 1840, very few are aware of a series of bitterly contested battles that took place over the half-century prior to New Zealand becoming a crown colony. This book is significant as Ron Crosby reveals how, after Europeans began to visit the north of New Zealand, Māori traded with the newcomers. They grew food, and replenished supplies for whalers, timber getters, and even for missionaries in exchange for European trade goods that included muskets. Armed with muskets, Māori iwi (tribes) from the far north…

From Kristyn's list on the Frontier Wars fought downunder.