| Summary: | <p>This thesis is a study of Maori chiefship, based on historical evidence. Very soon after the discovery of New Zealand by Cook in 1769 the Maori began to change and the traditional way of life was left behind. At the same time the Maori are one of the world's most documented people. In the accounts of the early explorers, missionaries, traders, and settlers, from Cook's time onwards there is a wealth of ethnographic material. the accounts were taken up by surveyors, native agents, and Maoris themselves either deliberately recording the passing way of life, or indirectly revealing many of its features while giving evidence in the land courts. Throughout the period we have the observations of amateur ethnographers as Colenso, Maning, White, Gudgeon, Tregear, Downes and others. The era of such observers culminated in the works of Elsdon Best.</p> <p>[Abstract continued in thesis]</p>
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