New Zealand Wars - Aftermath

Aftermath

Large areas of land were confiscated from the Māori by the government under the New Zealand Settlements Act in 1863, purportedly as punishment for rebellion. In reality, land was confiscated from both "loyal" and "rebel" tribes alike. More than four million acres (16,000 km²) of land was confiscated. Although about half of this was subsequently paid for or returned to Māori control, it was often not returned to its original owners. The confiscations had a lasting impact on the social and economic development of the affected tribes. However the ammount of confiscated land is tiny compared to the ammount of land sold to the government or leased after 1870. Amongst the biggest land sellers were the Waikato tribes in the early 1900s when 185,000 acres of farmland was sold each year . The land titles were only held only by chiefs who alienated the land from their people. Income from land sales was often very poorly invested and lost such as the 50,000 pounds compensation paid to the Kingite royal family who lost the lot in a land speculatuion company in 1910. The legacy of the New Zealand Wars continues, but these days the battles are mostly fought in courtrooms and around the negotiation table. Numerous reports by the Waitangi Tribunal have criticised Crown actions during the wars, and also found that the Māori, too, had breached the treaty.

As part of the negotiated out-of-court settlements of these tribes' historical claims (Treaty of Waitangi claims and settlements), the Crown is making formal apologies to tribes.