The Maori Race - Slaves and Servitude

The position of a slave among the Maoris was a peculiar one and depended somewhat on the manner in which a man or woman entered into captivity. If only a member of an enslaved tribe such a  person might continue to dwell among his or her people, and the  condition of servitude was more that of a tributary than of personal  service. A tribe was considered enslaved if by a crushing defeat it had  lost all military prestige. Probably the majority of both men and women  would be spared, only a few of the finest women being carried off to the  homes of the victors. The rest of the tribe would be ordered to bring  presents now and then of food to their conquerors as a token of  inferiority, but saving this they would live much as they did before.  The subject-tribes cultivated their lands as usual but sent their choicest products to the victors. Even then these tributes often received  acknowledgment by presents being made in return.
http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-TreRace-t1-body-d9-d2.html

Popular posts from this blog

Te Rauparaha Sacked Kaikai-a-waro (Kaiapoi Pa) 1831

Sir Apirana Ngata’s Speech at the Centennial of the Treaty of Waitangi, 1940