{"product_id":"the-zealand-wars-1820-72","title":"The Zealand Wars 1820-72","description":"\u003cp\u003eBetween 1845 and 1872, various groups of Maori were involved in a series of wars of resistance against British settlers. The Maori had a fierce and long-established warrior tradition and subduing them took a lengthy British Army commitment, only surpassed in the Victorian period by that on the North-West Frontier of India. Warfare had been endemic in pre-colonial New Zealand and Maori groups maintained fortified villages or pas. The small early British coastal settlements were tolerated, and in the 1820s a chief named Hongi Hika travelled to Britain with a missionary and returned laden with gifts. He promptly exchanged these for muskets, and began an aggressive 15-year expansion. By the 1860s many Maori had acquired firearms and had perfected their bush-warfare tactics. In the last phase of the wars a religious movement, Pai Maarire ('Hau Hau'), inspired remarkable guerrilla leaders such as Te Kooti Arikirangi to renewed resistance. This final phase saw a reduction in British Army forces. European victory was not total, but led to a negotiated peace that preserved some of the Maori people's territories and freedoms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Osprey Games","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56048201892218,"sku":"ZOS-9781780962771","price":9.25,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0916\/9970\/8282\/files\/The-Zealand-Wars-1820_E2_80_9372.jpg?v=1760976818","url":"https:\/\/zatu.com\/products\/the-zealand-wars-1820-72","provider":"Zatu Games","version":"1.0","type":"link"}