Main Causes of the Genocide:
1) European Imperialism
2) War between the Maori and the Moriori
3) Disease brought from the Europeans
4) Lack of resources
The Europeans came to Rekohu (renamed the Chatham Islands) as a part of the George Vancouver's expedition. British Lieutenant Broughton took over the Islands and claimed that it was now in possession of King George III. Europeans began whaling which killed off a source of the Moriori's food sources. The lack of food, diseases brought over by the Europeans that the natives did not have immunity to, and miscommunication led to numerous Moriori people deaths.
Māori of the Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama tribes from Taranaki, New Zealand came to the Chatham Islands on November 19, 1835 in search of new resources and land. 500 Maori fighters on the British ship Rodney with guns, clubs, and axes.
1,000 men at Te Awapātiki met to decide how to respond to the invasion. The younger men wanted to fight the Maori people, but the elders wanted to continue the peace.
As the massacres happened the Moriori continued to try to negotiate peacefully by promoting a new settlement. The act of the Moriori continuing to be peaceful even under physical attack caused the population to severely drop.
"[The Māori] commenced to kill us like sheep.... [We] were terrified, fled to the bush, concealed ourselves in holes underground, and in any place to escape our enemies. It was of no avail; we were discovered and killed - men, women and children indiscriminately". A Māori conqueror justified their actions as follows: "We took possession... in accordance with our customs and we caught all the people. Not one escaped....."