When Maori were defeated at Orakau in 1864 and the Waikato War ended, Tawhiao, the second Maori King, and his supporters were forced into an armed exile in the Rohe Potae, the King Country. For the next twenty years, the King Country operated as an independent state - a land governed by the Maori King where settlers and the Crown entered at risk of their lives. Dancing with the King is the story of the King Country when it was the King's country, and of the negotiations between the King and the Queen that finally opened the area to European settlement. For twenty years, the King and the Queen's representatives engaged in a dance of diplomacy involving gamesmanship, conspiracy, pageantry and hard headed politics, with the occasional act of violence or threat of it. While the Crown refused to acknowledge the King's legitimacy, the colonial government and the settlers were forced to treat Tawhiao as a King, to negotiate with him as the ruler and representative of a sovereign state, and to accord him the respect and formality that this involved. Colonial negotiators even made Tawhiao offers of settlement that came very close to recognising his sovereign authority. Dancing with the King is a riveting account of a key moment in New Zealand history as an extraordinary cast of characters - Tawhiao and Rewi Maniapoto, Donald McLean and George Grey - negotiated the role of the King and the Queen, of Maori and Pakeha, in New Zealand.Author BiographyMichael Belgrave is a professor of history at Massey University, the author of Historical Frictions: Maori Claims and Reinvented Histories (Auckland University Press, 2005) and From Empire's Servant to Global Citizen: A History of Massey

NZ delivery is usually within 1-2 business days using tracked courier. Please see About Store for more detailed shipping information and our returns policy. We love happy customers - so please get in touch if you have questions or concerns before leaving feedback!