Europeans and Maoris

The transition from tribalism to feudalism in England occurred after the Anglo-Saxon invasions. ‘The Teutonic tribes had been ruled by Ealdormen in times of peace, by Heretogan in times of war. The union of the peaceful functions of the former with the military functions of the latter formed the basis of English kingship. The advantages of the new institution guaranteed its permanency, and it was gradually adopted by all the invading tribes.’

            The early Anglo-Saxon king was head of his race, not lord of the land. His claim to descendency from a supernatural being added divine prestige to his personal merit. The subsequent increase in royal power came about both by a stronger alliance between the Church and the State, and the creation of a nobility of service dependant on the Crown.

            The battle of the kingdoms, then inhabiting England, was won by the Wessex king who then became recognised as the overlord of all England.

            As a result of the increase in the king’s power, his position changed, and his relation to his subjects became territorial. This occurred around AD 900 in the time of Alfred. By the time of Edward III, 400 years later in the mid 1300s, a Parliament was asking for legislation to overcome the arbitrary decisions of judges about laws which often concerned the offence of treason against the Crown. At this time the first Maoris were landing in New Zealand, and until they briefly encountered Tasman 300 or so years later in 1642, but more importantly, Cook another 127 years later in 1769, they lived a fully tribal life, which, because their populations outstripped the ability of their technology to access resources, came to increasingly compete with each other. After Cook, their tribal structures came under threat in a more profound way than they had faced up until that time. An arms race occurred between their tribes which caused, directly or indirectly, a third of their estimated 150,000 population at contact to be wiped out. This occurred less than two hundred years ago. By 1900, the population was down to 40,000, but then began slowly rebounding, before the Spanish flu two decades later killed thousands more. Now, the Maori population has rebounded strongly to around half a million, more than it has ever been.  

Don Armitage © 2004

Reference- ‘A Short Constitutional History of England’ by H. St.Clair Feilden, MA Corpus Christi College, Oxford. 1911