Talk:Tītokowaru

Inventions
Maybe something could be added about how he invented trench warfare and guerilla tactics.Tarzipan 08:47, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

The only problem is he didnt invent either. The French and Dutch in particualr had used far more sophistocated fortifications 150 years previously. Many other Maori chiefs had used similar construction many years before in Northland, the Waiakto and Tauranga. His was a development of previous designs. He was probably not as succesful a guerilla as Te Kooti but it should be noted they had similar flaws when it came it women.Te Kooti was a notorious womaniser. This together with his fondness for rum were two of his down falls. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.58.185.98 (talk) 22:28, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Attack on Tauranga ika Pa/fortress
The more detailed account from the Fox Boy book by Walker makes it clear that that there WAS a significant British attack (during the night). I have not included all the details -but the Maori defenders were attacked prior to the main attackthe day before, in a gully that the government forces wished to use as an approach route. Maori disputed the approach and there was a hot running battle for some time which forced Maori out of the gully. What makes the illegal fornication story questionable as a reason for the flight of the Maori is the time table is tight. The peak of the battle was at 3am and the battle continued until daybreak, with the British approaching at dawn. This was the NZ summer ,so dawn was say 6am and by then the pa was deserted.So when did the dirty dead take place? It was a standard tactic of Maori to build a pa and often leave it after a token defence. No evidence is presented about ammunition, guns, food or lack there of. It is very clear that Maori were outgunned and outnumbered. It is quite possible that Maori were low on food ammunition etc. It may be they just got frightened and took off. This would not be the first time this had happened. In the Battle of Rangiriri in 1863 more than 60% of the defenders took off in the middle of the night ie during the battle. The "Maori" reason given was they needed to plant crops! This apparently was a split in the loyalties of the various iwi ie Maniapoto took off as it was not their land so they felt it was ok to leave. One of the things we know about the young Belich is that he was weak on his military research and knowledge -making some outlandish statements about Maori fortifications that have been roundly condemned by military historians. Anything at all could have resulted in a loss of heart-though nominally christian the Maori mind was easiy swayed by "signs"or what we would call bad luck. If something happened to a leader the people would lose heart immediately and become totally deflated.


 * Would you care to supply a reference to back up your assertion that "the Maori mind was easiy swayed"? Or, even better, find a reference anywhere to back up the assumption inherent in the preceding statement that there is any difference between a Māori mind and a Pākehā mind? If there is any such finding in a scientific journal, I'm surprised it hasn't set the whole science community on its head. Daveosaurus (talk) 05:35, 12 July 2012 (UTC)