Pōmare II, i te wā e taitamariki ana ia, ko Whiria tōna īngoa karanga. I whānau mai i te wāhanga mutunga o te rau tau 1700–1799. I noho i te tonga o Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands), i te rohe o Ngāti Manu o Ngā Puhi. Tōna hono ki tēnei hapū nā roto i tōna whaea, i a Haki, te tuahine kaumātua o Whētoi, ērā atu o ōna īngoa ko Pōmare, arā a Pōmarenui. Iti iho te rangatiratanga o te matua o Whiria, ēngari he rangatira anō. Ko tōna īngoa ko Tautoro, he uri nō Rangiheketini me Hineira. He whanaunga a Whiria ki a Tara o Kororāreka (Russell) me tana tohu, a Te Whareumu o Ngāti Manu.
I te tau 1815 ko Whiria te rangatira o tētahi papa kāinga i te takiwā o Waikare. E ai ki ngā kōrero a ngā mihinare i tae tuatahi mai, he tangata kakama, he tangata pakari, he tangata kaha, he tangata paingia e te wahine. E hia kē āna wāhine me āna tamariki, tētahi he tama tāne, e iwa tau pea te pakeke. Kua tino kaha kē tana hokohoko i waenganui i ngā kaipuke o ngā Pākehā; i kaha anō tana hiahia kia noho mai ngā Pākehā ki tōna takiwā.
I te matenga o tana matua kēkē, a Pōmare, i tana whakaekenga i a Waikato i te tau 1826, ka tango a Whiria i ngā īngoa Whētoi me Pōmare hei whakamahara tonu i tōna iwi ki te utu ranaki i te matenga o tō rātou ngārahu o mua. I te tau 1828 ka whakamatea a Te Whareumu me Tiki, te tama tāne mutunga a Pōmare I. I whakamatea rāua e Te Māhurehure o Waimā i tētahi totohe ā rātou. Ahakoa i mōhiongia ko Kiwikiwi te teina o Te Whareumu, tana tohu, kāhore i tino nui tōna mana. I konei ka tīmata a Pōmare II ki te puta mai hei tino rangatira.
I te tau 1830 ka tino kaha te mana o Pōmare hei rangatira. I taua tau tokorua ngā wāhine o Ngā Puhi e noho tahi ana ki a Kāpene W. D. Brind i roto o Ngāti Manu i Kororāreka. E kaukau ana rāua i tētahi rā me te tākaro, kātahi ka rumakina rāua ki te wai e ngā wāhine o Ngāti Manu; mea rawa ake kua taki whawhai rātou. Ka haere mai a Te Urumihia, wahine a Kiwikiwi, ki te āwhina i ngā wāhine o Ngāti Manu, ka kangahia ngā wāhine a Brind, arā a Pēhi, tamāhine a Hongi Hika, me Moewaka, tamāhine a Rewa. Ka whākina te kanga ki te whanaunga o Hongi Hika, ki a Ururoa, ko Rewharewha tētahi o ōna īngoa. Nāna i mau mai he taua nō Whangaroa ki te muru i ngā māra a Ngāti Manu. Ka whawhai rātou, nō muri ka mōhiotia ko te 'Pakanga Kōtiro' (Girls' War). Neke atu i te kotahi rau o ngā iwi e rua i mate, ēngari ko Pōmare rāua ko Kiwikiwi i toa.
Ko Hengi o Ngāti Rēhia, he hoa haumi nō Ururoa, tētahi o ngā rangatira rongonui i mate i tēnei pakanga. I muri mai i te rironga o tōna tinana, ka whakatika a Tītore ki te utu i tōna matenga. I mea ia ki te whakaeke i te pā o Kororāreka, ki te kore a Pōmare rāua ko Kiwikiwi e whakawātea i te ata i muri mai. Ka whakawātea a Ngāti Manu i tō rātou nohoanga, ka puta mai. I te tuatahi ka haere ki Paihia, i muri ka haere ki te pā i Ōtūihu. I reira ka hangaia e rātou he pā hou, he mea hanga e rātou kia tika ai mō ngā pū repo. Ahakoa i noho tonu a Kiwikiwi hei rangatira, tōna tūranga he noho punanga i te takiwā o Pōmare. Ka kaha kē ake te mana o Pōmare i roto i a Ngāti Manu.
Nā te mea ko Kororāreka te taunga tino nui, me te wāhi hokohoko tino nui o Pēwhairangi, kua hia tau kē te hiahia o ngā hapū haumi o Ngā Puhi ki te tonga ki tēnei matapopore. Ko te totohe a ngā wāhine nei i whai take ai rātou. Nā runga i te kaha tonu o te iwi nā rātou nei i tango te wāhi nei ki te pupuri tonu, te kaha hoki o Pōmare ki te tango mai anō, he maha ngā tau i taukumekumengia ai tēnei take i waenganui i ngā Māori o tēnei wāhi. I puta te kōrero wawara i 1832 me 1834 ko te whakaekengia a Pōmare i Ōtūihu e ngā hapū o Ngā Puhi o te raki.
I pau ngā kaha o Pōmare ki te whakatika i a Ōtūihu kia kore ai e taea te whakaeke e te tangata, ā, me te whakapaipai hoki, hei tāwhai i a Kororāreka, kia haere katoa mai ai ngā Pākehā ki Ōtūihu. Ākuanei ko ia tonu te tangata nui mō te hokohoko waipiro; e hia kē ngā toa hoko wairama i whakahaerengia i roto i te pā, i a ia anō pea tana mea mahi i te wairama. I hokohoko anō ia i te poaka, i te rīwai me ngā rākau. I whiwhi oranga ia i ngā wāhine taurekareka o te pā e hokona ana hei wāhine tīweka, ā, i whakatenatena ki ngā mahi rota.
Ehara noa iho anō mō ngā totohe mō Kororāreka ngā whawhai i whawhaitia e Pōmare. Nāna i ārahi ngā ope taua ki te tonga i ngā tau 1827 me te tau 1832. I te tuatahi o ēnei pakanga i mate a Te Hou i a ia, ka hokongia tana mātenga mokamokai ki te tangata torowhenua o Wīwī, ki a Dumont d'Urville. I roto anō a Pōmare i ngā whawhai ki a Ururoa i te tau 1832 ki te tau 1833, me Waikato o Rangihoua i te tau 1836.
Kāhore rawa a Pōmare i rata atu ki ngā whakatumatuma mai a te Pākehā ki a ia, ā, ki ana taonga rānei. Tangohia ana e ia ā rātou taonga hei utu mō ēnei mahi, ā, ka tangohia e ia te waka tohorā o Te Kerenene (James Reddy Clendon) i te tau 1832, me te kaipuke o Thomas King i te tau 1833, ā, nā tēnei mahi āna ka tutū te puehu i waenganui i a ia me te rehireneti (British Resident), a Te Pūhipi (James Busby). I taua wā tonu ka tau mai i a Te Karu Whā (Henry Williams), he mihinare nō te Rōpū Hāhi Mihinare (Church Missionary Society); ko te manuao, ko te Alligator, i ū mai i waho tonu atu i te pā o Pōmare. Me kore ake i a Te Karu Whā nāna nei i wawao tēnei raruraru, ā, i tau ai te puehu.
Ahakoa e toru marama te pakanga ki a Tītore i te tau 1837, kāhore tonu anō i tau te noho. I tētahi wā ka tonoa e Tītore e 40 waka me ngā toa e 800, ki te whakaeke i a Ōtūihu. I ētahi wā, e 3,000 pea ngā toa e mau pū ana. I āwhinatia a Pōmare e ngā Pākehā 131 e noho ana i roto i tana pā. Nā Tāreha i whiriwhiri tētahi kawenata maungārongo, ā, ko te matenga o Tītore i muri mai i mutu ngā tautohetohe. He hōhonu rawa atu ngā āhuatanga o te pakanga nei, nō te mea i āta kitea ā-kanohitia tonu e Kāpene Hopihona (William Hobson) o te manuao Rattlesnake. Nā āna pūrongo, āpiti atu ki ngā karere kōrero a Te Pūhipi me te inoi a ngā mihinare, ka tau mai ngā iwi o Ingarangi ki Aotearoa.
I hainatia e Pōmare te Tiriti o Waitangi i te 17 o Pēpuere 1840, ā, i te marama o Mei ka puta tana kupu whakaari, māna a Tirarau me Kawiti e tohe kia haina i te Tiriti. I mahi pono ia ki tana kupu whakaari, ahakoa te mōrikarika ki a ia o ētahi o ngā tikanga a te kāwanatanga o Ingarangi. Kua tau ōna whakaaro kia whakamutua te utu tāke mai i ngā kaipuke i whiwhi ai rātou mō ngā tau maha, ā, ko te mānukanuka o rātou o ngā ngārahu o te iwi Māori ki te āhua o te takatakahi a Ingarangi i runga i ō rātou mana. He tautohe pea nō rāua ko Kawiti, i noho kūpapa ai a Pōmare i te wā i whakatara ai a Hōne Heke rāua ko Kawiti ki te kāwanatanga o Ingarangi i te tau 1844 ki te 1846. Ēngari i whiwhi hau taonga anō ētahi o ngā iwi o Pōmare i te wā i pāhuatia ai te tāone o Kororāreka. Ko te kī a te kāwanatanga he mea haukoti e ia ngā reta whakamoho a Pōmare ki a Pōtatau Te Wherowhero. Hei tikanga whakatūpato ka mau hereherengia a Pōmare i tana pā i te 30 o Āperira 1845, ka wehewehea tana iwi, ka tahuna tana pā, ahakoa e tare ana tana haki rangaawatea. Ka tonoa e Pōmare he kupu ki a Heke me te kōrero: hore kau ia e hiahia ana kia takatū mai rātou mōna te take, nā te mea e pai ana tā rātou tiaki i a ia.
I mauria a Pōmare ki Ākarana (Auckland) i runga i te North Star, ēngari ka tukuna kia haere. Ko Tāmati Wāka Nene te kaitakawaenga. Ka hoatu he waka mōna hei utu i tā rātou mahi hē ki a ia. Nō muri mai ka whakatūngia e Pōmare he taua ki te whawhai i a Heke, ēngari i tana wehi pea, i tana noho kūpapa ka puta mai i te whawhai i Ōhaeawai i te rā tuatahi o Hūrae 1845. Nā tana noho kūpapa i nui ai tōna mana i roto i ngā kōrero maungārongo.
I rangimārie te noho a Pōmare i ana tau whakamutunga. I whakaae ia ki ngā takawaengatanga a te kāwanatanga i ngā tautohe mō ngā whenua. I te tau i mate ai ia, i huri ia ki te hāhi hei Karaitiana. I mate ia i te marama o Hūrae, o Ākuhata rānei, i te tau 1850.