Māori invasion wiped out pacifist Moriori

TL;DR

Stone Age Herbalist details the Māori invasion of the Chatham Islands and near-destruction of the pacifist Moriori people.
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.
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)

The story at a glance

Stone 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)

Key points

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)
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)
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)
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)
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)

Details and context

The 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.

Moriori 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)

Post-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)

Key quotes

"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)

“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)

Why it matters

This 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)