The period of early European contact with Maori from 1806 to 1845 has come to be known as the Musket Wars. But as Matthew Wright writes, there were many factors besides muskets at play in the to-and-fro of utu (revenge) that ravaged Maori society, causing death and displacement on a massive scale.

Analysing the full range of battles that erupted with early settling of scores by Hongi Hika and Ngapuhi in the Far North, and extended deep into the South Island through the ruthless campaigns of Te Rauparaha, Trading Blows investigates what lay at their cause. As such it is not a military history, but focuses on the far-reaching social changes driven by an economic revolution.

Incisively written, with helpful maps, this is an important contribution to historical writing about events that fundamentally shaped New Zealand physically and politically, feeding into the race relations and economic conditions of today.