Sealers' War | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Māori – European early contact | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Māori | Sealers | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
>31 | 43 |
The Sealers' War (1810–1821) in southern New Zealand (then part of the Colony of New South Wales), also known as the "War of the Shirt", was a series of often indiscriminate attacks and reprisals between Māori and European sealers. Initially minor misunderstandings between the two peoples quickly led to armed conflict. This resulted in a period of mistrust and animosity between Māori and sealers fueling several conflicts, leading to the deaths of about 74 people and the burning of the village of Otakou on the Otago Peninsula. Records exist from both sides of the conflict but not from any impartial observers.[1][2]