Background
The Boyd was a 395 ton brigantine convict ship that sailed in October 1809 from Sydney Cove to Whangaroa on the east coast of the Northland Peninsula to pick up kauri spars. She was under the command of Captain John Thompson and carried about 70 people.
Te Ara, the son of a Māori chief from Whangaroa, asked to work his passage on the ship. An incident occurred which resulted in him being flogged. One source states that he refused orders, claiming poor health and noble birth. Another states that the ship's cook accidentally threw some pewter spoons overboard and falsely accused Te Ara of stealing them to avoid being flogged himself. Alexander Berry, in a letter describing the events, said: "The captain had been rather too hasty in resenting some slight theft." Upon reaching Whangaroa, Te Ara reported his indignities to his tribe and displayed the whip marks on his back. In accordance with Māori customs, they formed a plan for utu (revenge). Under British law the master's word was law and whipping was the common law punishment for all minor crimes at that time. A British person could be legally hanged for stealing goods to the value of 5 shillings. There were 160 crimes for which the punishment was hanging. Under Maori lore the son of a chief was privileged figure who did not bow to anyone's authority. Physical punishment of a chief's son, though justified by British common law, caused the chief to suffer a loss of face (or "mana"). According to Māori norms, this warranted a violent retribution.
Read more about this topic: Boyd Massacre
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