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Story: History and historians

A. S. Thomson's chart of Māori progress, 1859

1770 1836 1859
Cannibals. Cannibalism practised. No instance of cannibalism since 1843.
Wars frequent. Wars frequent. No general civil war for eighteen years.
Knowledge of the art of war without firearms. Knowledge of the art of war with firearms. Knowledge of the art of war to resist Europeans.
Murders frequent from superstition. Murders less frequent than in 1770. Murders less frequent than in 1836.
Child-murder common. Child-murder less frequent than in 1770. Child-murder less frequent than in 1836.
Strangers not to be tolerated. Strangers tolerated. Anxiety to have English settlements near villages.
One tenth of the people slaves. One tenth of the people slaves. Slavery extinct.
Population estimated at 100,000. Population variously estimated. Population estimated at about 56,000.
Language unwritten. Language written, parts of Scripture translated. All of the Scriptures translated, several books printed in Maori.
Not protected from smallpox. Not all protected from smallpox. Two thirds of the people vaccinated.
No potatoes, pigs, or cattle. Potatoes and pigs abound, few cattle. Potatoes, pigs, and cattle numerous.
Plough unknown. Plough unused. Plough in frequent use.
Wheat unknown. Wheat rarely cultivated. Extensive wheat cultivation.
No commerce. Trade limited to ships. Extensive trade with English settlements.
Native laws in force. Native laws in force. Occasional reference to English Courts, anxiety for English laws.
Huts badly ventilated. Huts badly ventilated. Huts badly ventilated, a few wooden houses.
Native dress in use. Blankets in occasional use. Blankets and imperfect European dress common.
Native food. Native food, with pigs and potatoes. Native food, with pigs, potatoes, and wheat.
Dead not interred Dead occasionally interred. Dead almost always interred.
No half-castes. A few half-castes. Nearly 2,000 half-castes.
No fire-arms. Fire-arms and ammunition abundant. Double-barrelled guns and ammunition abundant.
Tea and sugar unknown. Tea and sugar never used. Tea and sugar in frequent use.
No European settlers. About 1,000 Europeans in the country. Nearly 60,000 Europeans in the country.
European ships plundered. Ships occasionally plundered. Ships never plundered.
Tobacco and spirits unknown. Tobacco-smoking in use, spirits rarely used. Tobacco-smoking universal, spirits occasionally drunk.
Iron, nails, and coloured clothes taken as payment for curiosities. Gunpowder, tobacco, and blankets, taken in exchange for flax, pigs, and potatoes. Money alone an article of exchange, no idea of interest for money.
Women subjected to much labour. Women lead lives of labour. Women do much labour.
Native cookery in use. Native cookery in use. Pots, pans, and native cookery.
Christianity unknown. 1,500 Christians. 35,000 Christians.
Believed in a future state. Believed in a future state. Believed in a future state.
Property in common. Property in common. Movable property individualised, land occasionally.
Wars, tapus, feasts, subjects of conversation. Wars, fire-arms, selling land, Christianity, the subjects of conversation. Trade, ships, land, flour, laws, ploughs, horses, wheat, etc the subjects.
Tribes kept apart by ancient feuds. Tribes kept apart by ancient feuds. Union of some ancient foes for mutual protection.
Stimulated to work by hunger. Stimulated to work by hunger and the wish for fire-arms etc. Stimulated to work by hunger, and to obtain various articles of use and luxury.
The people distrusted each other. The people distrusted each other. With a few exceptions, the people trust each other.
“Come on shore and we will kill you and eat you” were the most defiant words addressed to some of the early navigators. Several chiefs dying about this time exhorted their followers to protect the missionaries, even if they waged war against the traders. “Were we to turn against the settlers, we should be shutting up the road by which we receive many advantages”, said Moanui, in his lettter to the Hawke's Bay Journal in 1857.

Arthur Thomson was a doctor with the British forces in New Zealand from 1847 to 1858. He wrote the country’s first history – The story of New Zealand(1859) – in which he was keen to show that the coming of European ‘civilisation’ had been a progressive development for Māori. His book includes this table in which Thomson sought to compare the situation among the ‘New Zealanders’ (that is, Māori) in 1770, 1836 and 1859, to show ‘progressive civilisation’. However, close attention to the table will reveal several questionable marks of progress – notably a decline in the population from an estimated 100,000 in 1770 to an estimated 56,000 in 1859 and the fact that tobacco and spirits were unknown in 1770, but by 1859 tobacco smoking was universal and spirits were ‘occasionally drunk’.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Arthur S. Thomson, The story of New Zealand: past and present - savage and civilised. London: John Murray, 1859, pp. 294-6

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, History and historians – Recording history before 1900, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/43529/a-s-thomsons-chart-of-maori-progress-1859 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 6 December 2013.