The Moriori and Maori Conflict as a Natural Experiment

Key Insight

In December 1835, centuries of independence for the Moriori people of the Chatham Islands, 500 miles east of New Zealand, ended brutally. On November 19, 1835, 500 Maori arrived on a ship, followed by 400 more on December 5, armed with guns, clubs, and axes. They declared the Moriori their slaves, killing objectors. The Moriori, numbering about 2000, outnumbered the Maori two to one, but their tradition of peaceful dispute resolution led them to offer peace and shared resources instead of resistance.

Before the Moriori could make their offer, the Maori launched a mass attack. Over several days, hundreds of Moriori were killed, many bodies were cooked and eaten, and the survivors were enslaved, with most eventually killed at the Maori's whim. A Moriori survivor recounted, '[The Maori] commenced to kill us like sheep. . . . [We] were terrified, fled to the bush, concealed ourselves in holes underground, and in any place to escape our enemies. It was of no avail; we were discovered and killed—men, women, and children indiscriminately.' A Maori conqueror stated, 'We took possession . . . in accordance with our customs and we caught all the people. Not one escaped. Some ran away from us, these we killed, and others we killed—but what of that? It was in accordance with our custom.'

This tragic collision was a predictable outcome of contrasting societal developments, serving as a 'natural experiment' illustrating environmental influence. Both groups originated from a common Polynesian population less than a millennium earlier (around AD 1000). The Moriori, isolated hunter-gatherers on the cold Chatham Islands, developed simple technology, no war experience, and lacked strong leadership; they renounced war and controlled population by castrating male infants, supporting only about 2000 people. In contrast, the Maori of New Zealand's North Island became intensive farmers, had a population exceeding 100000, engaged in constant warfare, possessed advanced technology, and operated under strong leadership. These divergent evolutionary paths, molded by their respective environments, predetermined the Maori's overwhelming conquest of the Moriori.