Portrait of Te Pehi Kupe by John Sylvester

Te Pēhi Kupe (–1828) was a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

rangatira In Māori culture, () are tribal chiefs, the hereditary Māori leaders of a hapū. Ideally, rangatira were people of great practical wisdom who held authority () on behalf of the tribe and maintained boundaries between a tribe's land and that ...

and war leader of

Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its ''rohe'' (tribal area) extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston N ...

and the uncle of

Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha (c.1768 – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars, receiving the nickname "the Napoleon of the South". He was influential in the original ...

. He took a leading part in what became known as the

Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori between 1807 and 1837, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an intertribal arms ra ...

. He led the force that captured

Kapiti Island Kapiti Island () is an island about off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand. It is long, running southwest/northeast, and roughly wide, being more or less rectangular in shape, and has an area of . Its name has been used s ...

for Ngāti Toa, then in 1824 managed to brazenly force passage on a ship to England where he was presented to

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

, learned to ride, recorded his

moko In the mythology of Mangaia in the Cook Islands, Moko is a wily character and grandfather of the heroic Ngaru. Moko is a ruler or king of the lizards, and he orders his lizard subjects to climb into the basket of the sky demon Amai-te-rangi Acco ...

and had his portrait painted. On his return journey he sold the various presents he had received in Sydney to purchase arms and ammunition, and was soon part of fellow Ngāti Toa chief

's 1828 raids on the South Island. After sacking the pā at Kaikoura and

Omihi Omihi or Ōmihi is a rural community in the Hurunui District of the Canterbury Region, on New Zealand's South Island. It is located 21km north-east of Amberley. Translated from Māori, it means place of (''Ō'') greeting, wailing or lamentation ...

they went further south to the major Ngāi Tahu pā at

Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River. It is con ...

, where they wished to trade. Learning that Te Rauparaha intended to attack them in the morning,"Ngāi Tahu: Wars with Ngāti Toa"
Te Ara and being aware of the attacks on their people at Kaikoura, the Kaiapoi people attacked the Ngati Toa. Te Pēhi was one of three Ngāti Toa chiefs killed as they slept overnight there, and this incident led to the revenge raids by Te Rauparaha in 1830 with the capture of

Tama-i-hara-nui Tama-i-hara-nui (17?? – 1830/1831), also known as Te Maiharanui and Tamaiharanui, was a New Zealand Māori people, Māori chief of Ngāi Tahu. He was described as "strong and ruthless" and was a central figure in the 1820s "kai huanga" feud ...

from

Takapūneke Takapūneke, with the location also known as Red House Bay, is a former kāinga—an unfortified Māori village—adjacent to present-day Akaroa, New Zealand. Takapūneke was a major trading post for the local iwi (tribe), Ngāi Tahu, as there w ...

near present-day Akaroa and the three-month successful siege of KaiapoiKaiapoi
Christchurch City Libraries and sacking of Ōnawe the next year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Te Pehi 1795 births 1828 deaths Musket Wars Ngāti Toa people

See also

References