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Story: Māori

Māori land loss, North Island

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Māori land loss, North Island

Māori lost large areas of tribal land in the 19th century. Following the New Zealand wars, some tribes considered to be in rebellion against the Crown had thousands of acres confiscated. The individualisation of title also made possible the sale of much Māori land. The red areas of this map are Māori land which had been sold by 1860, before the wars of the 1860s.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Centennial Historical Atlas Collection

Reference: MapColl-CHA-6/2/6-Acc.38315

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, Māori – The arrival of Europeans, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/4283/maori-land-loss-north-island (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal, published 3 March 2009.