Musket Wars Page 2 - Overview
Between 1818 and the early 1830s, thousands of Maori were killed in a series of conflicts often called the Musket Wars. Many more were enslaved or became refugees. Although estimates vary, more deaths may have been caused by these conflicts than the 18,000 New Zealand lives lost in the First World War. At a time when the total population was perhaps 100,000 (compared to more than a million in 1914-18), the Musket Wars had a massive impact on these islands.