You make the best case I have ever read - against pacifism. And really, defending oneself and one's family against an aggressor is very simple: ask the Ukrainians.
A) Their culture was obviously demonstrated to have a problem. If your culture has a problem, then you should fix it. Or should Westerners forget about trying to mitigate their impact on the environment because their culture is inherently consumerist?
B) Their culture didn't need to be completely abandoned. They didn't need to start *eating* the invaders, for starters.
one of the first things you are told as a new European in the Antipodes is that Maori and Aboriginals are nothing alike, the first fierce warriors the latter peaceful hunter gatherers.
Its simplistic of course but there really is no Aboriginal haka equivalent and their bands rarely seemed to have battles.
Moriori seem to have been a noble human experiment, worthy of a mention in history and I can tell you many modern NZers do know their story
Certainly they are very different cultures, the Maori are genetically closer to Europeans than Aboriginals. Australia is also a vast continent with different language families and different groups. Some did engage in warfare, of a quite ritualised variety, raiding was also common. But you're right that it doesn't compare to the Maori, who built fortified villages, war canoes, specialised weaponry etc.
The Maori were also more technologically advanced than the Aboriginals. Heck, the ancestors of the Maori and Polynesians more generally were even more advanced. They lost technology due to the need to periodically simply their culture to what can fit in a canoe as they expanded across the pacific.
"Europeans came along and taught Maori how to be racist" is such a hilariously stupid idea that it's immediately clear that an academic have came up with it.
"Colonial encounters motivated behaviour that diverged radically from Māori custom" - this sentence summarizes the entire, the self districtive, mindset of the modern liberalism.
Except that what were seeing from our current batch of self-haters is not liberalism. That fine tradition is to be found in the works of Locke, Smith, Mill et al.
Slight editing note: "It might be somewhat unfashionable to say today, but there can be doubt that the Māori were a proud ..." appears to be missing a " no " between "... there can be doubt that ..." which is critical to making the author's point.
I would've emailed the author directly but I'm not sure how to message them here.
Andre Brett writes: "On the Chatham Islands, colonialism shaped the broader context of warfare and population movement, introduced ideas and language of racial hierarchy to justify extermination and facilitated the encounter between Māori and Moriori. Colonial encounters motivated behaviour that diverged radically from Māori custom."
Yet in 1870, a Māori chief, Te Rakatau Katihe, told the Native Land Court: "We took possession ... in accordance with our custom, and we caught all the people. Not one escaped. Some ran away from us, these we killed; and others also we killed – but what of that? It was in accordance with our custom. I am not aware of any of our people being killed by them."
That was not all Michael King said about "Moriori". He went on to debunk the claims of Percy Smith and Elsdon Best. The idea of Moriori being separate from Maori serves to justify the New Zealand wars including the Musket War which was little more the a colonial missionary induced arms race.
Moral of the story: If your neighbors say they are going to kill you, throw away your pacifist ideas and learn to fight.
And in the process become your neighbours, abandoning all that made you a distinct culture... Not as simple as you might think.
Step 0: Don't have a stupid culture.
Nothing stupid about avoiding internal violence.
Everything stupid about expecting an aggressive neighbour to play nice.
Avoid both mindless violence and mindless pacificism
Well they lived on an isolated island. Thus for centuries they had no interactions with any neighbors.
"...all that made you a distinct culture...."
Better than an extinct culture.
You make the best case I have ever read - against pacifism. And really, defending oneself and one's family against an aggressor is very simple: ask the Ukrainians.
I thought of this. But:
A) Their culture was obviously demonstrated to have a problem. If your culture has a problem, then you should fix it. Or should Westerners forget about trying to mitigate their impact on the environment because their culture is inherently consumerist?
B) Their culture didn't need to be completely abandoned. They didn't need to start *eating* the invaders, for starters.
A cautionary tale for modern Europeans. Bravo!
one of the first things you are told as a new European in the Antipodes is that Maori and Aboriginals are nothing alike, the first fierce warriors the latter peaceful hunter gatherers.
Its simplistic of course but there really is no Aboriginal haka equivalent and their bands rarely seemed to have battles.
Moriori seem to have been a noble human experiment, worthy of a mention in history and I can tell you many modern NZers do know their story
Certainly they are very different cultures, the Maori are genetically closer to Europeans than Aboriginals. Australia is also a vast continent with different language families and different groups. Some did engage in warfare, of a quite ritualised variety, raiding was also common. But you're right that it doesn't compare to the Maori, who built fortified villages, war canoes, specialised weaponry etc.
The Maori were also more technologically advanced than the Aboriginals. Heck, the ancestors of the Maori and Polynesians more generally were even more advanced. They lost technology due to the need to periodically simply their culture to what can fit in a canoe as they expanded across the pacific.
How come there was no Polynesian colonisation of Australia?
"Europeans came along and taught Maori how to be racist" is such a hilariously stupid idea that it's immediately clear that an academic have came up with it.
Only somebody that smart could say something that ridiculous - could be most of academia at this point
"Colonial encounters motivated behaviour that diverged radically from Māori custom" - this sentence summarizes the entire, the self districtive, mindset of the modern liberalism.
Except that what were seeing from our current batch of self-haters is not liberalism. That fine tradition is to be found in the works of Locke, Smith, Mill et al.
One of the most interesting reads this year !
That's quite the compliment, thank you!
Thanks for this.
The story of each human group, however small, gives us an insight into human nature in general--including our own.
Interesting also how difficult it was for the Moriori to abandon their beliefs, even when, rationally, they were very counterproductive.
It shows how powerful beliefs are for both traditional and contemporary societies.
Totally agree. It is only through examining the worst and best of ourselves that we can begin to understand human nature.
Slight editing note: "It might be somewhat unfashionable to say today, but there can be doubt that the Māori were a proud ..." appears to be missing a " no " between "... there can be doubt that ..." which is critical to making the author's point.
I would've emailed the author directly but I'm not sure how to message them here.
Excellent article old chap - I had never heard of these series of wars before - very interesting indeed.
It certainly adds to my view on human historical interactions.
In short form :
Pacifism is the cowardly refuge of Poets.
Warriors cannot maintain the peace.
Warrior-Poets can rule a world filled by the other two.
Doesn't even seem real, and so recent! A lesson in humanity for sure. Pacifism is only as strong as your nearest neighbor. Great article, thanks!
Great article
Thanks! Happy so many people liked it
Great article!!! Thanks for enlightening me about this sorry part of history. Yep, it's not about just the "bad white men".
Excellent piece!
Thank you, appreciate it
I thought only white colonisers committed atrocities
I'm performing the anti-racist function of highlighting how equally violent most cultures were
That's the essence of the "stolen land built on stolen labor" narrative that seems to go unrebutted in elite discourse.
Someone needs to write a book about all the bad things non-European cultures have done.
Andre Brett writes: "On the Chatham Islands, colonialism shaped the broader context of warfare and population movement, introduced ideas and language of racial hierarchy to justify extermination and facilitated the encounter between Māori and Moriori. Colonial encounters motivated behaviour that diverged radically from Māori custom."
Yet in 1870, a Māori chief, Te Rakatau Katihe, told the Native Land Court: "We took possession ... in accordance with our custom, and we caught all the people. Not one escaped. Some ran away from us, these we killed; and others also we killed – but what of that? It was in accordance with our custom. I am not aware of any of our people being killed by them."
That was not all Michael King said about "Moriori". He went on to debunk the claims of Percy Smith and Elsdon Best. The idea of Moriori being separate from Maori serves to justify the New Zealand wars including the Musket War which was little more the a colonial missionary induced arms race.