Who lived in New Zealand in 1840?

 Quick Summary

In 1840, there were around 80,000 Maori and 2,050 non-Maori. However, Pekaha were already setting up businesses and further British people were arriving in rapid waves from Britain.

Population

The population in New Zealand in 1840 was mainly made up of Maori English, Scottish and Irish people. However, other people also came from other areas of Europe and people from China and India.

 

The Population After the Treaty

After 1840, the Maori population gradually decreased. While this was happening, the British population was rapidly increasing due to the large amount of waves of settlers who were arriving from parts of Europe. In 1858, both populations evened out to 56,000 people from each side. After this, the Pakeha population grew even more rapidly while the Maori population was still decreasing. In fact, by the end of the 19th century, there were 770,000 Pakeha while there were only 46,000 Maori left. The population in New Zealand has dramatically changed in the last half a century.

Causes of Decreasing Populations

One of the biggest contributions to the decrease of the Maori population was warfare. Between 1810 and 1830, tens of thousands of Maori may have died in the Musket Wars. Most of the several thousand people killed during the New Zealand wars were Maori while the land of survivors was confiscated due to the Maori opposing the British.