QUALITATIVELY ASSESSING THE COLONISATION OF NEW ZEALAND

How can we decide whether colonisation of New Zealand has been bad or good, overall?

The contemporary safe and orthodox view in “Aotearoa” New Zealand is that colonisation – the arrival of non-Māori in New Zealand and the ensuing development of humanity on those lovely landmasses – was and is an unmitigated disaster for the original Māori and their descendants. In “progressive” circles there is animated talk of the drastic need for “decolonisation”. But modern Māori live on average much longer than they did before colonisation and enjoy trappings - cars and iPhones and the like – which owe their arrival to colonisation.

So perhaps the truth about the merits or otherwise of colonisation is complex and lies somewhere between the extremes of abhorrently bad and golden good.

By what measures, then, can we legitimately assess the pros and cons of colonisation?

Wokery

Wokery provides by far the most easily applied standards by which to assess colonisation. The colonisers were predominantly from Western Europe and white-skinned. Māori were not from Europe, are generally acknowledged as the first to arrive in New Zealand and had dark skin. It necessarily follows that, for the ardent Wokester, the colonists were abominable, their ideas, approaches and philosophies were diabolical and everything that has happened to the majestic Māori, living before dreadful colonisation in perfect harmony with each other and the natural environment, has been atrocious. Done and dusted. End of story.

Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is the school of thought that promotes, as the prime objective of human society, maximising over time the overall net level of human welfare i.e. aggregate human pleasure/happiness/wellbeing minus aggregate pain/suffering.

There are all sorts of arguments for and against utilitarianism as a guiding philosophy and tool of analysis. But one doesn’t have to take a position on the merits or otherwise of utilitarianism to be forced to acknowledge that, assessed through a utilitarian lens, colonisation may well stack up for Māori.

There are a number of ways in which colonisation can be judged through utilitarianism. We could, for example, judge the aggregate welfare in overall Māoridom before colonisation against the aggregate welfare of Māori today. But arguably that doesn’t quite work, because modern Māori welfare would be augmented simply by virtue of the fact that the pre-colonisation Māori population was about 100,000, whereas the number of people in New Zealand identifying as Māori nowadays is about 900,000. So even if Māori these days are on average half as happy as pre-colonisation Māori were, that would still mean that current aggregate Māori welfare would be four times what it was pre-colonisation.

So, let’s try average welfare per Māori individual. Was average Māori pre-colonisation welfare per capita better or worse than average Māori welfare these days? While who could claim to know, the following factors seem germane to any conclusion:

·        Māori society pre-colonisation was essentially in a perpetual state of inter-tribal warfare. And while some combatants in war find waring exciting and fun, for most people being at war with others, with the incessant creeping feeling one is about to be killed or maimed, aint no fun at all. Civil wars are not a feature of today’s New Zealand. In a state of perpetual war, most women were reduced to roles as breeders of male warriors. Female infanticide was widely practiced in traditional Māori society, as was enslavement of captured members of other tribes. Whatever else colonisation brought, once things settled down there has been peace.

·        Māori tribes had no abundant, reliable sources of protein. Jared Diamond in his authoritative tome Guns, Germs & Steel makes a compelling argument that a key to the development of a civilised, technological human society was the availability of a farmable, edible animal. Europe of course had sheep and cattle. Africa had nothing suitable (Ostriches are decidedly tricky to farm). South America had lamas, which were sort-of farmable.  Polynesians had nothing along those lines. Once Māori had eaten and otherwise exterminated New Zealand’s seven now-extinct species of moa, it was lean pickings. (It’s an intriguing albeit now – sadly - academic speculation as to whether any species of moa would’ve been farmable in modern New Zealand.) Without having invented the bow and arrow and slingshot, Māori resorted mainly to snares in order to catch birds. Coast-dwelling Māori enjoyed gathering shellfish, but a lack of nylon and metal hooks pretty much ruled out effective line fishing. Flax nets for netting fish were useful. Seals were substantially eliminated from the North, South and Stewart Islands. Kumara, a staple Māori carbohydrate, weren’t like they are today. They were smaller – more like yams – and didn’t keep for long. Protein-rich legumes were non-existent. Bracken fern root was an important staple for many iwi, but eating that root increased susceptibility to cancer and the fibrous Māori diet in general (together with the sand contained in eaten mollusks) meant Māori tended to wear their teeth out, which over time led to malnutrition, disease and death. So Māori were, and without colonisation would have remained, largely hunter-gathers when it came to protein which, combined with the constant state of war, negated the prospect of Māori developing anything like a public bureaucracy or intelligentsia. Māori society remained tribal, without any central administration. Justice was based on endless cycles of revenge (“Utu”). The opportunity to cannibalise the vanquished was partly ritualistic but also a welcome protein supplement.

·        The lack of an overarching intelligentsia and bureaucracy of public servants, combined with the brutality of daily life, meant that, without colonisation, the prospect of major technological advances for Māori would have remained slim or at least extremely long dated. Over the centuries, Māori would have invented the wheel and more effective ways of hunting (bows-and-arrows etc) but metallurgy would have remained out of reach. The lack of a written language meant that there was no way of storing knowledge inter-generationally and technological competence could readily be lost. For example, while Māori clearly had ocean-going water craft in order to arrive in New Zealand, that expertise had been lost by the time New Zealand was colonised. As impressive as waka are, they’re ill-suited for open water voyaging, something that the peace-loving Moriori of the Chatham Islands had good cause to be extremely grateful for. (A significant contributor to the loss of seafaring vessel expertise may well have been a massive Tsunami that struck the east coast of the North Island in about 800 AD, shortly after initial Māori arrivals in New Zealand. That Tsunami would have wiped out coast Māori settlements along those coastlines and killed the vast majority of those with that unrecorded expertise.)

·        On the other hand, pre-colonisation Māori lives would have possessed a meaningfulness that most modern Western lives lack. Except for the enslaved, communal endeavours to simply survive must have engendered a remarkable immediacy, authenticity and raw richness. Death was ever-present. Although average life expectancy was below 30, that was not materially different to Europe. Many diseases that afflicted Western societies (plague, venereal diseases, typhoid etc) were absent from traditional Māori populations.

·        Colonisation significantly disrupted Māori societies, for the better and the worse. Colonisation opened up opportunities for trading. Flax was ideally suited for ropemaking and a booming flax exporting business developed, especially in the Bay of Plenty. Māori quickly adopted sheep and cattle farming and readily to horse riding like ducks to water. But with colonisation came disease and, most disastrously, muskets. Firearms supercharged inter-tribal warfare. In their inter-tribal Musket Wars prior to the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori killed 20-40% of their own population and enslaved each other en masse. (Perhaps the greatest shortcoming of the British Crown in relation to colonisation was its failure to at least try to curtail muskets falling like rain into bloodthirsty Māori hands.)

·        There were land confiscations from Māori by, or endorsed by, the British Crown. There were unconscionable land deals. All of this has been well covered, with inconsistent degrees of historical accuracy and not insignificant mythmaking (Māori oral histories are demonstrably unreliable), by the Waitangi Tribunal. Settlements have been struck between the Government and various tribes, of varying defensibility. Descendants of Māori from the main historic population bases (Northland, Auckland and the Bay of Plenty) remain largely uncompensated. Ngai Tahu, a tribe that originated around Gisborne and arrived in the South Island about 200 years ago, and which at the time of colonisation comprised about 300 individuals scattered throughout the South Island, was and continues to be massively compensated and is currently claiming dominion over all South Island waterways. Increasingly, those benefitting from the settlements are in general descended as much from the colonists as from Māori ancestors.

·        Counterfactuals involve interesting speculations. Given the whole of human history has been characterised by “colonisation” (i.e., groups of people conquering and taking over the territory of other groups), it was inevitable that Māori would be colonised at some point. So, what if Māori had been colonised by the French (like Tahiti) or the Spanish? What if Māori had only been colonised in, say, 1900?

·        Applying utilitarian principles to a notion as amorphous as race is decidedly tricky. If a person with a quarter Māori ancestry has a welfare “number” of 8 out of 10 (decidedly happy), is only 2 of a 10 attributable to Māori “identity”?

ChapGPTism

Rather than applying Wokeism or Utilitarianism, we can now simply ask ChatGPT what it thinks of colonisation and related matters. Below are my questions to ChatGPT, and ChatGPT’s answers. Much has been made of the prospect, or for some impending reality, of ChatGPT thinking for itself. Based on ChatGPT’s answers below however, one gets the distinct impression that, on this, ChatGPT is not exactly thinking for itself at all but, rather, just diving into the orthodox current and swimming with the flow.

Was colonisation of New Zealand good for New Zealand?

The colonization of New Zealand is a complex and controversial topic, and opinions on its consequences vary. It's important to consider multiple perspectives and understand the historical context.

For the indigenous Māori people, the colonization of New Zealand had a significant and often detrimental impact. The arrival of European settlers led to land confiscation, conflicts, and the loss of traditional Māori territories and resources. The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840 between the British Crown and Māori chiefs, was intended to protect Māori rights, but it was often not honoured, leading to ongoing grievances.

On the other hand, New Zealand's colonization brought about economic development and modernization. It introduced new technologies, infrastructure, and institutions that contributed to the growth of the country. The settlers established towns, industries, and agricultural systems that brought prosperity to New Zealand.

It's worth noting that colonization also resulted in cultural exchange and the creation of a diverse society in New Zealand. While the negative impacts on Māori culture and identity cannot be overlooked, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of Māori language, customs, and traditions in recent years, and efforts have been made to promote cultural revitalization and reconciliation.

Ultimately, whether colonization was "good" for New Zealand depends on the specific aspects being considered and the perspective from which it is examined. It is essential to acknowledge the historical injustices and their lasting effects while also recognizing the contributions made by various groups to the development of the country.

Did colonisation of New Zealand increase Māori longevity?

The colonization of New Zealand did have some positive impacts on Māori health and longevity, but it is important to view this in the broader context of historical and socio-economic factors.

Prior to European contact, Māori had their own traditional healing practices and a strong connection to the land. With colonization came the introduction of Western medicine and improved healthcare systems. This led to advancements in healthcare, sanitation, and the control of diseases, which had a positive impact on Māori health outcomes.

Additionally, access to new food sources and agricultural practices brought by the settlers contributed to better nutrition for Māori communities, reducing malnutrition and related health issues.

However, it is crucial to note that colonization also had significant negative impacts on Māori health. The introduction of new diseases by European settlers, such as measles, influenza, and tuberculosis, had devastating consequences for the Māori population, who had little resistance to these diseases. Māori experienced high mortality rates due to epidemics and the displacement caused by land confiscation and conflicts.

Furthermore, colonization disrupted traditional Māori lifestyles and cultural practices, which had long-term effects on the overall well-being of Māori communities. The loss of land, cultural identity, and social cohesion had negative implications for mental health and contributed to health disparities.

It is challenging to make a definitive assessment of the overall impact of colonization on Māori longevity. While certain aspects of Western influence and modernization improved health outcomes, the negative consequences of colonization cannot be overlooked. The effects of colonization on Māori health and well-being continue to be an ongoing issue that requires attention and efforts toward addressing historical injustices and health disparities.

What is a Māori?

The Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand, originally Polynesian settlers who arrived in the country around 1,000 years ago. They have a rich culture, language, and history that is deeply intertwined with the land and natural environment of New Zealand.

Traditionally, Māori society was organized into various iwi (tribes) and hapū (sub-tribes), each with its own distinct identity and customs. They had a strong connection to their ancestral lands, practiced sustainable resource management, and engaged in hunting, fishing, and horticulture.

The Māori language, known as Te Reo Māori, is an official language in New Zealand alongside English. It is still spoken by a significant portion of the Māori population, although there has been a historical decline in its usage that has sparked efforts to revitalize and promote the language.

Māori culture encompasses various aspects, including art, music, dance, storytelling, and carving. Traditional arts, such as whakairo (carving), kapa haka (performing arts), and tā moko (tattooing), continue to be valued and celebrated as expressions of cultural identity.

In recent decades, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of Māori culture, language, and rights in New Zealand society. Efforts have been made to address historical injustices, promote cultural revitalization, and foster partnerships between Māori and the government in areas such as education, healthcare, and resource management.

It is worth noting that Māori identity is diverse and encompasses a range of experiences, beliefs, and perspectives. Not all Māori individuals or communities have the same customs or practices, as there is regional and individual variation within Māoridom.

Is there a genetic marker for being Māori?

No, there is no specific genetic marker that can definitively identify someone as being Māori. Genetic markers are variations in our DNA that can be used to trace ancestry or identify population groups, but they are not specific to a single ethnic or cultural group.

Māori people are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. Their ancestry can be traced back to the Polynesian islands of the Pacific, and their cultural heritage is deeply rooted in New Zealand. However, like any population, the genetic makeup of Māori individuals can vary, and there is no single genetic marker exclusive to the Māori population.

Genetic testing can provide information about a person's ancestry and genetic heritage, but it cannot definitively determine if someone is Māori or any other specific ethnicity or culture. It is important to recognize that cultural identity and belonging are not solely determined by genetics but also involve personal, familial, and societal connections, traditions, and self-identification.

What does decolonisation of Aotearoa mean?

Decolonization of Aotearoa (the Māori name for New Zealand) refers to the process of addressing and undoing the impacts of colonization on Māori communities and working towards a more equitable and inclusive society. It involves acknowledging and rectifying historical injustices, promoting Māori self-determination, and revitalizing Māori culture, language, and rights.

Decolonization in Aotearoa encompasses various aspects, including:

1.      Treaty of Waitangi: The Treaty of Waitangi, signed between the British Crown and Māori chiefs in 1840, is a foundational document in New Zealand. Decolonization involves honouring the principles of the Treaty, which include the protection of Māori rights, partnership, and active participation of Māori in decision-making processes.

2.      Land and Resource Rights: Land confiscation and loss of traditional territories have been significant issues for Māori communities. Decolonization seeks to address land grievances and support Māori land and resource rights, ensuring a fair and equitable distribution of resources.

3.      Cultural Revitalization: The revitalization of Māori language, culture, and customs is an essential aspect of decolonization. Efforts are made to promote the use of Te Reo Māori in various spheres of society, support cultural practices, and preserve traditional knowledge and arts.

4.      Education and Health Equity: Decolonization involves addressing disparities in education and healthcare outcomes for Māori communities. It aims to provide culturally appropriate education, healthcare, and social services that meet the needs of Māori and reflect their perspectives and values.

5.      Recognition and Respect: Decolonization entails acknowledging and respecting Māori history, experiences, and aspirations. It includes fostering understanding, promoting positive relationships, and challenging systemic racism and discrimination.

Decolonization is an ongoing and complex process that requires engagement and collaboration between Māori and non-Māori communities, as well as institutions and the government. It is about creating a more inclusive and just society that values and supports Māori aspirations, culture, and well-being.

Where have we got to?

So where can we legitimately stand on colonisation? At least on that question we can simply and safely agree with ChatGPT that “The colonisation of New Zealand is a complex and controversial topic”. And we can steadfastly dismiss the current orthodoxy that colonisation was, for the Māori race, a one-way, no-return-ticket, to a dystopian hell. To be useful, future debate about the merits or otherwise of colonisation must reject the current acceptability of mythmaking and solidly ground itself in fact, logic, proper ethics and historical evidence. But won’t humans always remain religious story tellers?…