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James Belich
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The Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict: The Maori, the British, and the New Zealand Wars (Volume 107) (McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History) Paperback – November 1, 1989

by James Belich (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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In The Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict James Belich shows that the legend of New Zealand race relations is not only flawed, it is inaccurate. He notes that typical stories "emphasize inevitability, minimize the importance of conflict and the Maori success in it, and present a pattern of nineteenth century race relations which is like a simple slope -- short, straight, and for the Maori downwards." Belich goes on to present a strong argument that this perspective is wrong and to show how Victorian attitudes toward race have distorted the way military and social historians have viewed the Maori-British wars. Winner of the prestigious Trevor Reese Memorial Prize, The Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict is a meticulous reassessment of one of the great racial wars of the nineteenth century, the conflict between the Maori and the British in New Zealand. Belich's insights are extremely relevant to work in North American history and to the growing body of literature surrounding the struggles of indigenous people as they have fought against European domination.
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  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    McGill-Queen's University Press
  4. Publication date
    November 1, 1989
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0773507396
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0773507395
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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"Fruit of a stunning quantity of research ... This book is one that can rightly be called seminal. It will be impossible for anyone to write about the New Zealand Wars again without reference to its arguments; and I doubt if its conclusions will be seriously challenged. It is a powerfully persuasive book." Auckland Metro "James Belich's book is a tour de force. In a brilliant new analysis, he demolishes the received version of the course and outcome of the New Zealand Wars of the colonial period, explains how we came by that version and why it is all wrong, and substitutes his own interpretation...It is a vigorous and splendidly stylish contribution to our own historiography." New Zealand Listener

About the Author

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ McGill-Queen's University Press (November 1, 1989)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0773507396
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0773507395
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

About the author

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James Belich

James Belich

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James (Jamie) Belich is a historian whose books combine original and provocative scholarship with good reading. They have won literary as well as history prizes. He is Beit Professor in Commonwealth and Imperial History at Oxford University and co-founder of its Centre for Global History. His first two books changed understandings of the New Zealand Wars, 1845-72: a lively account of Titokowaru’s War, (‘I Shall Not Die’), and The New Zealand Wars, a multiple prize-winner and bestseller, later made into a top-rating TV documentary series. He then wrote a much-praised two-volume history of New Zealand, Making Peoples and Paradise Reforged. In 2011, he won the Prime Minister's Literary Award for career-long achievement in non-fiction. In 2009, Belich received stellar reviews for his comparative study of settler societies, Replenishing the Earth: The Settler Revolution and the Rise of the Anglo-world, 1783 -1939. His latest book, The World the Plague Made. The Black Death and the Rise of Europe, which will revolutionise conceptions of the global impact of the Black Death, is to be published by Princeton University Press in July 2022.

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Top reviews from the United States

  • A.R.Cox
    5.0 out of 5 stars A classic
    Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This book changed kiwi undertanding of their history.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Ryan Mcgonigle
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2002
    I recently returned from North Island and toured the Waikato with James Belich's book in hand. As an indepth review of the New Zealand Wars or a primer for British-Maori relations, the book is indispensible.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Skh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant writing and vital history.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2016
    Notwithstanding the tea spluttered on the anoraks of the "military historians" who have seized on some perhaps (and probably deliberately) over egged claims, this is a landmark piece of New Zealand historical writing. In contrast the criticisms levelled at it seem shrill and inconsequential. The revelation of the formerly virtually unknown Titokowaru to the wider New Zealand public is itself enough to elevate this book far above the carping and quibbling of Professor Belich's critics.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • RJ Taylor
    3.0 out of 5 stars 'Authoritive' history lacks balance.
    Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2005
    Twenty years after its publication, this remains one of the most controversial interpretations of an aspect of New Zealand history. The book opens with an inequivocal statement of intent: "This is a revisionist history of the New Zealand Wars." Although it was initially hailed as a brilliant new interpretation, however, large sections have since been discredited in detail.

    As examples, Belich claims (incorrectly) that Maori invented modern trench warfare; that the Ngapuhi chiefs Hone Heke and Kawiti 'won' the Northern War of 1845-6; that the British never understood, and therefore could not counter, Maori strategy; that the British defeat at Gate Pa in 1864 was the result of a Maori 'ambush'....the list goes on. What is interesting is that no military historian - Maori or non-Maori - has ever endorsed his interpretation.

    Belich's reputation suffered a blow in 1998, when a television series based on this book was parodied by satirists and ridiculed by military historians. His reputation suffered what should have been a fatal blow in 2000, when it was revealed that some of the references in the book did not exist, but had been 'created' to support the argument. Belich's dwindling number of supporters are now reduced to making silly comments about his critics, rather than debating points on their merits.

    Notwithstanding, this book is worth reading. However, it must be read alongside the earlier works that Belich dimisses with such contempt (particularly Cowan's 'New Zealand Wars'). Readers should be aware that Belich has no standing as a military historian. This is most clearly demonstrated by his use of the terms 'strategy' and 'tactics' indiscriminately, and his complete lack of comprehension of operational art.

    Probably the book's greatest value is as a demonstration of revisionism 'gone too far', and what happens when a historian arranges the 'facts' to suit his or her thesis, rather than testing his or her thesis against the facts.
    20 people found this helpful
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  • D. Morris
    1.0 out of 5 stars Distorted Anti-Colonial Revisionism
    Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2009
    The first thing that you need to realise is that Belich is a social historian, not a military historian and is widely known for his radical anti-colonial views. This book is essentially a vehicle for promoting his revisionist agenda. Much of the content has already been shot down by a variety of military historians, including current Senior Lecturer of War Studies at Sandhurst, Christopher Pugsley.

    Belich reels off a series of ludicrous claims including:

    - The Maori 'invented' trench warfare in the mid-19th century (trenches had already been used in European conflicts, with the Lines of Torre Vedras being case in point)

    - Gate Pa took heavier shellfire per square inch than any point of the Somme in WW1 ( Gate Pa had an 8-hour bombardment with 16 field pieces and one large-calibre naval gun, as compared to 950 large-calibre modern artillery pieces deluging Bazentin Ridge with 650lb of shells per metre)

    - In the Anglo-Zulu War, Ulundi wasn't a 'great victory' (2,000+ Zulu dead, the capture of Cetshwayo and the burning of the Zulu capital apparently doesn't constitute a 'great victory')

    The book is a heavily distorted version of events coloured not only by the author's political bias, but by the fact he simply doesn't understand the mechanics of 19th century warfare and has no frame of reference to work from. He also deliberately omits key facts when they conflict with his views and cherrypicks quotes (often out of context) while ignoring contradictory material from the same source.

    A classic example is in Chapter 5, where Belich devotes 8 pages to the battle of Puketakuuere (which is fair enough), while the crushing Maori defeat at Redoubt No.3 (one of the heaviest by either side in the whole campaign) is covered in a single sentence with no mention of casualties. The later abortive Maori attack on Sentry Hill is also covered in a single sentence, with no reference to the 30+ Maori killed in the action. An interesting aside is that the Maori at Sentry Hill believed their 'Hau Hau' incantations and hand gestures would magically protect them from bullets as they casually sauntered towards the redoubt in open order. Predictably, Belich doesn't touch this with a bargepole.

    Then there's the more serious matter of Belich being caught making authoritive reference to fabricated quotes. When confronted about this, he attempted to claim that the 'quotes' he invented reflected the general views of the historical figure in question and it was something they 'would have said'. This kind of thing is generally referred to in academic circles as LYING.

    Basically, Belich has no credibility as a military historian whatsoever and this book was written expressly to rewrite history to match his ideals.
    26 people found this helpful
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  • A. Ellison
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Authorative Work On The Land Wars
    Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2005
    Unlike the previous reviewer whose academic qualifications are unknown, James Bellich is a well-known historian in this country. Whenever anyone in this country attempts to portray the truth about a shameful episode in this country, they are met with howls of protest and outright lies. History has always been taught here from the perspective of the so-called winners, very few Non-Maori know the true facts and sadly even less care. Anyone who wants to read the truth should read this book.
    4 people found this helpful
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