Genocide- What Happened?
From Michael King's Moriori-A People rediscovered"
The Maori people have existed in New Zealand for centuries upon centuries. However, it wasn't until the early 1500s that the Moriori group distinguished themselves as being culturally different, and moved to the Chatham Islands. The two groups lived separately and had little to do with each other until the 17th century came around, when Europeans introduced the Maori people to "modern" weapons. After this introduction, the war-like Maori traveled to the Chatham islands, where the genocide began. They had been deciding on an area to invade for some time and eventually chose the island because they knew of the Moriori and their pacifist ways. On November 19th, 1835 a ship carrying 500 Maori warriors arrived to start the genocide, followed by a ship of 400 more warriors arriving on December 5th.
Even while being brutally attacked, the Moriori maintained their peaceful beliefs and refused to fight back. There are however some accounts that they had tried to work out a peace agreement, but the night it was to take place was only an ambush in which the Moriori chiefs/elders were killed. It is also widely accepted that not only did the Maori kill their distant cousins, but also partook in cannibalism, rarely burying the dead bodies, but usually chopping them up to throw into the woods or to consume themselves.
Facts:
- The Maori population decreased by 40%
- 21,000 killed in warfare
- 120,000 other deaths