Hongi Hika (c. 1772 – 6 March 1828) was a New Zealand Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe). Hongi Hika was one of the first Māori leaders to understand the advantages of European muskets in warfare, and he used European weapons to overrun much of northern New Zealand in the early nineteenth century Musket Wars. He encouraged Pākehā (European) settlement, built mutually beneficial relationships with New Zealand's first missionaries, introduced Māori to Western agriculture and helped put the Māori language into writing. He travelled to England and met King George IV. His military campaigns, along with the other Musket Wars, were one of the most important motivators for the British annexation of New Zealand and subsequent Treaty of Waitangi with Ngāpuhi and many o