Waikato Confiscation

The early 1860's began the era of confiscation (raupatu) of land from Māori. Pākehā settlers followed instructions of the Crown to revoke land from Māori who had rebelled against the Queen. The annulment of land began in 1863, after the New Zealand Settlements Act approved of the confiscations. An estimated 1.3 million hectares of land owned by Māori was lost. Not only did these actions impact Māori possessions of land, but played a significant role in the rapid spread of disease as many iwi were forced to retreat into small, overcrowded areas.

A record of the minutes, agreements and miscellaneous papers around the confiscations were presented to the University of Waikato by Dr Evelyn Stokes.