Background
The Boyd was a 395 ton brigantine convict ship that sailed in October 1809 from Sydney Cove to Whangaroa on the east coast of the Northland Peninsula to pick up kauri spars. She was under the command of Captain John Thompson and carried about 70 people.
Te Ara, the son of a Māori chief from Whangaroa, asked to work his passage on the ship. An incident occurred which resulted in him being flogged. One source states that he refused orders, claiming poor health and noble birth. Another states that the ship's cook accidentally threw some pewter spoons overboard and falsely accused Te Ara of stealing them to avoid being flogged himself. Alexander Berry, in a letter describing the events, said: "The captain had been rather too hasty in resenting some slight theft." Upon reaching Whangaroa, Te Ara reported his indignities to his tribe and displayed the whip marks on his back. In accordance with Māori customs, they formed a plan for utu (revenge). Under British law the master's word was law and whipping was the common law punishment for all minor crimes at that time. A British person could be legally hanged for stealing goods to the value of 5 shillings. There were 160 crimes for which the punishment was hanging. Under Maori lore the son of a chief was privileged figure who did not bow to anyone's authority. Physical punishment of a chief's son, though justified by British common law, caused the chief to suffer a loss of face (or "mana"). According to Māori norms, this warranted a violent retribution.
Read more about this topic: Boyd Massacre
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)