Making Peoples: A History of the New Zealanders From Polynesian

Book excerpt: A new paperback reprint of this best-selling and ground-breaking history. When first published in 1996 Making Peoples was hailed as redefining New Zealand history. It was undoubtedly the most important work of New Zealand history since Keith Sinclair's classic A History of New Zealand.Making Peoples covers the period from first settlement to the end of the nineteenth century. Part one covers Polynesian background, Maori settlement and pre-contact history. Part two looks at Maori-European relations to 1900. Part three discusses Pakeha colonisation and settlement.James Belich's Making Peoples is a major work which reshapes our understanding of New Zealand history, challenges traditional views and debunks many myths, while also recognising the value of myths as historical forces. Many of its assertions are new and controversial.