In 1870, the Native Land Court heard from Moriori and Maori over their claims to the Chatham Islands. The court recognised the Maori people’s conquest, and they were awarded more than 97 percent of the land.
Newshub
Tribes took other tribe’s land via conquest both before Europeans arrived in New Zealand and after their arrival. When I was a history teacher I often mused that if the settlers had just taken the land by force rather than in most cases paying for it in New Zealand there may have been fewer problems down the track as Maori recognised ownership via conquest as a valid way of gaining land.
