Was there a massive killing of the Maori in New Zealand similar to the killing of Aborigines in Australia?
Thanks for the A2A. While the Australian colonists did not enact an official policy of genocide against the Indigenous Australians, many were killed as settlers took their land while others died from exposure to European diseases. Unlike New Zealand, the United States, and Canada, the Australian settlers never signed any treaties with the Indigenous Australian tribes. They assumed that Australia was terra nullius because the Indigenous Australians did not cultivate land, war clothes, and build buildings unlike the Maori of New Zealand.[1] [2]In New Zealand, there was no official policy of genocide by the British settlers against the indigenous Maori. The British Crown even signed a treaty called the Treaty of Waitangi which established a system of regulating the sale of land and resources to the Maori tribes and gave Maori the rights and protections of British subjects. There is some dispute over whether the Maori tribes ceded sovereignty over New Zealand to the British. In the Maori version of the Treaty, the missionaries Henry and Edward Williams used the word kawanatanga (governance) instead of sovereignty because the Maori did not have a word for sovereignty at the time. [3]This confusion over the Treaty led to conflict between the European settlers and Maori tribes during the 19th century. There was a series of wars during the 19th century called the Land Wars between the settlers, pro-Crown Maori tribes and so-called “rebellious” Maori tribes. As a result of the Land Wars, the “rebellious” tribes had their lands expropriated by the Crown. Prior to the Treaty of Waitangi, Maori tribes also purchased muskets from European traders which led to the so-called musket wars.[4] [5]There certainly was a decline in the Maori population during the 19th century as a result of inter-tribal fighting, wars with the Crown, exposure to European diseases, and poorer healthcare. Before the Europeans came, Maori did not have cooking pots so many lost their teeth by their 40s. One good book I recommend is Alistair Woodward and Tony Blakely’s The Healthy Country?: A History of Life and Death in New Zealand. [6]Footnotes[1] Tasmania's Black War: a tragic case of lest we remember?[2] My Place for teachers[3] The Treaty in brief[4] Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand[5] New Zealand's 19th-century wars[6] The Healthy Country? A History of Life and Death in New Zealand
Did helen keller ever had a boyfriend?
The original answer stated that she married a man called James Keller. Despite the unlikelihood of her finding a man with the exact same last name, this answer is disputed by relatives of Helen's. At this site, her great-grandniece says that Helen was once engaged in her 30s, but the marriage never happened. Marriage was a dream of Helen Keller's. At the age of 36, Helen was a beautiful woman. She was interested in men, but she also felt conflicted about love and marriage. She wondered who would want to be burdened with someone like her. She said, "I can't imagine a man wanting to marry me." However, in the summer of 1916 things changed for Helen. Anne, Helen's teacher, was sick and put on strict bed rest to recover, and Helen's secretary, Polly Thomson, was gone on vacation to Scotland. A man by the name of Peter Fagan was helping Helen in Polly's absence. Helen was overwhelmed and depressed when Peter approached her. He took her hand tenderly and confessed his feeling towards her. He even told her that he hoped to marry her. Helen later wrote, "His love was a bright sun that shone upon my helplessness and isolation." Helen was delighted. The two took walks together, enjoyed each other's company, and fell deeply in love. Helen wanted to tell her mother and Annie about Peter, but he convinced her not to. He even applied for a marriage license. Before Helen could tell her mother of this, a newspaper article appeared and mentioned the marriage license application. Helen was taken to her sister Mildred's home in Alabama. Peter managed to get letters to Helen in braille telling her of his plans for them to elope (run off and get married), and Helen did manage to sneak out of the house with her bags packed, but Peter never showed up. Helen had no way of knowing what happened. She was very disappointed and heartbroken, but she came to believe that it was for the best. She referred to this time of love as her "little island of joy," but Helen Keller would never marry.