Captured by Maori: White Female Captives, Sex and Racism on the Nineteenth-century New Zealand Frontier - Softcover

Bentley, Trevor

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9780143019237: Captured by Maori: White Female Captives, Sex and Racism on the Nineteenth-century New Zealand Frontier

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143019236 ISBN 13: 9780143019237

Publisher: Penguin, 2004

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The capture of white women by Maori in the nineteenth century was often accompanied by high hysteria and moral outrage. Trevor Bentley tells these women's stories, including those of Charlotte Badger, Ann Morley, Caroline Perrett and Elizabeth Guard, exploring contemporary myths that all of these women were mistreated and held against their will. The white settler population was at once fascinated and appalled by these stories- what did the women have to do to survive, how did they live and, well, what about sex? The settlers were obsessed with the virtue of these women and in the retelling of their experiences most enjoyable aspects of living with Maori were suppressed. Bentley reveals that two of these women actually chose to remain in the Maori world.

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Synopsis:

The collision of Maori and Pakeha cultures in the nineteenth century has produced some or our greatest stories, among them the capture by Maori of white women such as Elizabeth Guard, Ann Morley and Caroline Perrett. This book tells of the often terrifying encounters endured by these women and six others for much longer. Two actually chose to remain in the Maori world. The women's stories often caused a public outcry in European communities. Were they mistreated and held against their will? What was their relationship with their captors? And what of their virtue? What did they have to do to survive? Might they have actually enjoyed their experiences? In this unusual and surprising book, the author of Pakeha Maori casts fascinating light on a neglected aspect of New Zealand history.

About the Author:

Trevor Bentley was educated at the universities of Auckland and Waikato and has a special interest in researching, teaching and writing about the interaction of Maori and Pakeha in pre-Treaty New Zealand. He is the author of two previous books, both published by Penguin- Pakeha Maori (1999) and Captured by Maori (2004). Bentley is an adult education manager for four colleges in the South Waikato, as well as an inveterate surfer and traveller. He lives in Tauranga with his wife Helen.

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