Frontier The Battle for the North Island of New Zealand by Peter Maxwell

Uncover the Complex Truth of the New Zealand Wars (1860–1872)

Good Condition – minor wear to the jacket edges, spine shows slight tilt from reading, but binding is tight, and all pages are clean and intact.

Many New Zealanders still believe that the conflict between Maori and pakeha was concluded in the first years of colonisation. They believe that the Treaty of Waitangi was a peace treaty signed after the wars. Many do not realise that while the first phases of the wars were fought in the era of sailing ships and muskets, the latter phases involved soldiers and warriors alike equipped with breech-loading carbines who circumnavigated our coasts in steamers. Many of the combatants lived well into the twentieth century - and many of the Maori chiefs we perceive as savages were on the government's payroll, and corresponded with its ministers in writing. Peter Maxwell provides an insight into the last decade of the fighting that explodes the misconception that the New Zealand wars were a simple conflict over land. In fact they were fought for pride and stubbornness, for power and for revenge. Neither race can claim innocence. "The Battle for the North Island" establishes that despite their differences Maori and European formed a bond during the Frontier period, and more significantly, it details the manner in which Maori themselves determined the outcome of the fighting.