NZ History MapAotearoa 1800–2000
Government & law

Hongi Hika travels to England

When
1820
Where
Bay of Islands · Pēwhairangi
Reach
Local

The Ngāpuhi leader met King George IV in London, then converted the gifts he received into muskets on the return journey through Sydney.

Hongi Hika sailed with the missionary Thomas Kendall, helping compile the first grammar and dictionary of te reo Māori at Cambridge. He was received as a visiting chief and given a quantity of presents, most of which he traded in Sydney for firearms. The campaigns he launched on his return, into the Hauraki and Waikato, were the most devastating phase of the Musket Wars.

Regions affected

Northland

Sources

Written for this project from these references rather than copied from them. Follow a link to check the account against the original.

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