{"url":"https://www.stoneageherbalist.com/p/the-maori-genocide-of-the-moriori","title":"Māori invasion wiped out pacifist Moriori","domain":"stoneageherbalist.com","imageUrl":"https://images.pexels.com/photos/34732747/pexels-photo-34732747.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&h=650&w=940","pexelsSearchTerm":"Chatham Islands warriors","category":"World","language":"en","slug":"f285e3fe","id":"f285e3fe-971d-4a8f-a2ee-96fa35f99d13","description":"Stone Age Herbalist details the Māori invasion of the Chatham Islands and near-destruction of the pacifist Moriori people.","summary":"## TL;DR\n- Stone Age Herbalist details the Māori invasion of the Chatham Islands and near-destruction of the pacifist Moriori people.\n- In 1835, **Ngāti Mutunga** and **Ngāti Tama** warriors, displaced by Musket Wars, killed around **300 Moriori** (~10-20% of ~1,600-1,700) and enslaved survivors until 1863.\n- The events show how Moriori's centuries-old vow of peace enabled their conquest, challenging myths of pre-Māori origins while highlighting real inter-Polynesian violence.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moriori_genocide)\n\n## The story at a glance\nStone Age Herbalist recounts the 1835 Māori invasion of the Chatham Islands by **Ngāti Mutunga** and **Ngāti Tama** iwi, who massacred and enslaved the Moriori amid the Musket Wars. The Moriori, bound by their 16th-century pacifist covenant called Nunuku's Law, offered peace but faced slaughter and bondage until British intervention in 1863. This paywalled piece from September 2023 frames the episode as a genocide tied to broader intertribal conflicts introduced by European firearms.[[2]](https://www.stoneageherbalist.com/p/the-maori-genocide-of-the-moriori)[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musket_Wars)\n\n## Key points\n- Moriori ancestors migrated to the remote Chatham Islands (Rēkohu) around the 16th century from mainland New Zealand, developing a distinct pacifist culture under Nunuku's Law, which banned killing after internal wars.[[4]](https://teara.govt.nz/en/moriori)\n- Musket Wars (1806-1845) on the mainland killed up to 40,000 Māori and displaced tribes like Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama, who seized the ship *Lord Rodney* in Wellington to reach the Chathams seeking new lands.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musket_Wars)\n- About 900 invaders arrived in late 1835; Moriori (~1,600-1,700) held a council, chose non-violence, but invaders killed 220-300 outright, practiced ritual cannibalism, and enslaved the rest, banning marriages and lands.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moriori_genocide)\n- Moriori population fell to ~100 by 1870 due to killings, disease, overwork, and despair (*kongenge*); British ended slavery in 1863, but Native Land Court gave invaders most lands.[[5]](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/moriori-people-genocide-history-chatham-islands)\n- Historians like André Brett classify it as genocide for intent to destroy the group via killing, birth prevention, and harsh conditions; Moriori and Māori are Polynesian-related, not racially distinct.[[6]](https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-aotearoa-history-show/story/2018845378/season-2-ep-7-moriori)\n\n## Details and context\nThe Musket Wars stemmed from European-introduced guns fueling revenge cycles among iwi, depopulating regions and prompting migrations like this invasion.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musket_Wars) Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama, hardened fighters from Taranaki, saw the undefended Chathams as refuge after mainland defeats.\n\nMoriori tree carvings (*rākau momori*) and oral traditions preserved their history despite cultural suppression; they were not pre-Māori or Melanesian, as some outdated myths claimed—genetic and migration evidence shows shared Polynesian roots, with divergence due to isolation.[[7]](https://www.facebook.com/rnznewzealand/videos/the-aotearoa-history-show-s2-episode-7-moriori-rnz/2394294777377310)\n\nPost-invasion, invaders fought each other; Moriori endured until emancipation, but land loss persisted until modern settlements, including a 2020 government apology.[[8]](https://www.thecollector.com/moriori-aotearoa-people-peace)\n\n## Key quotes\n\"They commenced to kill us like sheep... wherever we were found.\" – Moriori survivor, recalling the initial attacks.[[5]](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/moriori-people-genocide-history-chatham-islands)\n\n“Within the theoretical framework of genocide, the Moriori case satisfies the standard definition of acts committed with intent to destroy an ethnic group.” – André Brett, *Journal of Genocide Research* (2015).[[6]](https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-aotearoa-history-show/story/2018845378/season-2-ep-7-moriori)\n\n## Why it matters\nThis episode reveals pre-colonial Polynesian warfare's brutality, amplified by guns, countering noble savage stereotypes in New Zealand's history debates. It means recognizing Moriori resilience and shared Māori-Moriori heritage aids accurate indigeneity discussions, avoiding misuse to downplay colonization. Watch ongoing iwi reconciliations and how Musket Wars legacies shape Treaty claims, though interpretations vary.[[9]](https://e-tangata.co.nz/reflections/moriori-still-setting-the-record-straight)","hashtags":["#history","#genocide","#newzealand","#maori","#moriori","#chatham-islands"],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.stoneageherbalist.com/p/the-maori-genocide-of-the-moriori","title":"Original article"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moriori_genocide","title":""},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musket_Wars","title":""},{"url":"https://teara.govt.nz/en/moriori","title":""},{"url":"https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/moriori-people-genocide-history-chatham-islands","title":""},{"url":"https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-aotearoa-history-show/story/2018845378/season-2-ep-7-moriori","title":""},{"url":"https://www.facebook.com/rnznewzealand/videos/the-aotearoa-history-show-s2-episode-7-moriori-rnz/2394294777377310","title":""},{"url":"https://www.thecollector.com/moriori-aotearoa-people-peace","title":""},{"url":"https://e-tangata.co.nz/reflections/moriori-still-setting-the-record-straight","title":""}],"viewCount":2,"publishedAt":"2026-04-13T22:13:46.119Z","createdAt":"2026-04-13T22:13:46.119Z","articlePublishedAt":"2023-09-28T14:11:25.000Z"}