The New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, are a series of conflicts that take place in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872.

The wars are fought over a number of issues, most prominently Māori land being sold to the settler (white) population.The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, had guaranteed that individual Māori iwi (tribes) should have undisturbed possession of their lands, forests, fisheries and other taonga (treasures).

Some early colonial land-sale deals had had a dubious basis, and the parties involved sometimes concluded sales before the signing of the Treaty.

To avoid such situations happening again, the newly constituted British colonial authorities have decreed that Māori can sell land only to the Crown (the Right of Preemption).

However, many settlers do not appreciate that Māori own their land communally and that permission to settle on land does not always imply sale of that land.

Under pressure from settlers, the colonial government has gradually ignored the provisions of the Treaty of Waitangi and permitted settlers to settle in areas that had uncertain ownership.

Māori have begun resisting the occupation of their land by British settlers, and the whole process sows the seeds of eventual war.The Wairau Affray on June 17, 1843, also known as the Wairau Massacre in most older texts, is the first serious clash of arms between the Māori natives and the British settlers of New Zealand, or Aoteoroa, after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the only one to take place in the South Island.

Four Māori die and three are wounded in the incident, while among the Europeans the toll is 22 dead and five wounded.

Twelve of the Europeans are shot dead or clubbed to death after surrendering to Māori who are pursuing them.