Making Peoples - From Polynesian Settlement to the End of the Nineteenth Century By: James Belich 497 Pages Book is in great condition with dust cover

This book reshapes our understanding of New Zealand history. It challenges traditional views on many fronts and asks questions that have not been asked before. Making peoples is the first book in a major two-volume work by James Belich. It covers the period from Polynesian settlement to the end of the nineteenth century. Making peoples examines the Maori and Pakeha backgrounds. Maori settlement and pre-contact history. It re-interprets Maori European relations from 1642 to the early 1900s, suggesting a new ‘living’ version of the Treaty of Waitangi. It traces European settlement and unravels the myths and realities which drove the colonisation process. Finally, it presents a new picture of the colonial economy and society and re-examines the origins of Pakeha. A recurring theme is the construction of peoples, Maori and Pakeha: the response of each to the great shift from extractive to sustainable economics; their relationship with their Hawaikis, with each other, and with myth. The immensely readable book, full of drama and humour as well as scholarship, is a watershed in the writing of New Zealand history. In making many new assertions and challenging many historical myths it seeks to re-interpret our approach to the past. It is essential reading for everyone interested in New Zealand history. And in the history of new societies in general