Te Rauparaha A New Perspective by Patricia Burns. 1980, First Edition.

Te Rauparaha A New Perspective by Patricia Burns.

Publisher: A. H. and A. W. Reed Ltd; Wellington, 1980, First Edition.

Very good hardback with jacket, some compression to base of spine. No inscriptions. Pages excellent, minor marks, small abrasion to edge of ffep. Jacket has a faded spine and minor marks. 346 pages, illustrated.

Before European settlement of New Zealand began the name Te Rauparaha (TR) was known and feared by Maori tribes in the South Island and the southern areas of the North Island. This warrior chief had led his tribes-people on a campaign that first conquered Maori in the southern North Island before before moving to subdue the southern tribes.Such was the power of TR and influence he had developed that he was seen as a threat to European settlement, with access to land the major obstacle.TR 's reputation as a warrior in conquering his own race was of notoriety and savagery was accepted by settlers as his main traits. A number of books on TR have been published and Patricia Burns' will rank high among them. While not overlooking the darker side of TR the author's "New Perspective" on him sets out to examine these past impressions and present a more balanced and rounded account of this Maori leader who was a pivotal figure in those early days of colonisation. Using contemporary documents from those and latter days she presents an impartial analysis of TR to conclude that the most feared of Maori leader was not "the sinister, treacherous or savage" many historians had made him out to be.

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