During the 1600s, Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first European explorer, discovered New Zealand. The first meeting between the Europeans and the Maoris’ was an aggressive one leading to carnage. On this trip Tasman was only able to partly chart the coastline and was unable to actually set foot on New Zealand. It was more than one hundred years later when James Cook, a British explorer, and Jean Francoise Marie de Servile, who was commanding a French trading ship arrived in New Zealand. Despite travelling at the same time, neither explore saw the other or new of their whereabouts. The leader of the Ngapuhi tribe was Hongi Hika who came from a long lineage of warriors. Through Thomas Kendall, a British missionary, Hongi was introduced to the Christian faith and later converted. He was offered a trip to England so that he could support in translating a bible into the Maori language. Hongi accepted, however his main intention was to get double barrelled guns to avenge the defeat of his tribe by the Ngati Whatua. In 1820, Hongi sailed for England where he met King George IV and was awarded several gifts in recognition for his introducing Christianity to the Maori. On his way back to New Zealand in 1821, Hongi stopped at Sydney where he exchanged the king’s gifts for guns and ammunition. Many Maori tribes turned to the European traders to get guns and ammunition. The traders were more than willing to trade with them in exchange for embalmed heads. Embalming heads was a Maori custom and the heads were usually returned to the family of the dead warrior. When the British heard about this they were scandalised and immediately banned from trading in the country. With the passing of a new law, the head for musket trade was reduced tremendously. The Musket Wars finally ended in 1835, after more than 15 years of fighting. Today, New Zealand is an independent nation within the British Commonwealth. This means that although the British monarch is the constitutional head of state, they do not in any way govern the country. The governing and administration of New Zealand is managed by the New Zealand government which is led by a Prime Minister, who is elected by a general public voting system. | 
