Outbreak of the First Taranaki War

Background. Tensions centred on Governor Thomas Gore Browne's provocative 1859 purchase of a disputed block of land at Waitara, which set the government on a collision course with the Kīngitanga movement; the government interpreted the Kīngitanga response as a challenge to the Crown's authority. The Pekapeka block, identified from the later Waitara dispute passage, lay at the heart of the initial dispute with Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke, who opposed the sale. Teira received a £100 deposit for the land in December 1859, and earlier feuding after the January 1858 killing of Katatore, an opponent of land selling at Waitara, had already prompted the formation of the Taranaki Militia in 1858 and the Taranaki Volunteer Rifle Company in 1859.

Escalation to Conflict. Following the refusal to sell land, Māori obstructed surveyors, prompting Browne to declare martial law in Taranaki on 22 February 1860. On 5 March, Browne ordered the military occupation of the disputed land. This action directly precipitated the outbreak of war twelve days later, as British forces prepared to enforce the purchase against Māori defenders who had established fortified positions.

Outbreak of Hostilities. The first shots were fired on 17 March 1860, when 500 British troops began a bombardment of Te Kohia pā, built by Kingi's followers two days prior. This event marked the beginning of the First Taranaki War. The conflict was fueled by lingering resentment over the land sale and the government's interpretation of Māori resistance as a refusal to acknowledge Crown authority.