History of New Zealand and Its Inhabitants

Book excerpt: History of New Zealand and its Inhabitants is the English language translation of a lively, opinionated book by Dom Felice Vaggioli, an Italian monk who was one of the first Benedictine priests to be sent to Aotearoa NZ. While working in Auckland, the Coromandel and Gisborne during the years 1879-1887, he observed lifestyles and customs and gathered information about the country's history, including first-hand accounts of the signing of Te Tiriti and the conflicts in Taranaki and Waikato. Back in Italy, he published his history of New Zealand in 1896, only to have most of this Italian edition destroyed by the British because Vaggioli, who was not backward in coming forward with his anti-Protestant and anti-British views, was so critical of the colonialist project. The book nearly disappeared completely, but a few copies survived. About a century later, John Crockett was doing some research in the archive of the Auckland Catholic Diocese when the archivist showed him an old book in Italian - Storia della Nuova Zelanda by Dom Felice Vaggioli. Crockett realised he was holding a unique interpretation of the impact of colonisation on Maori and set about translating the book into English. Crockett's vivid translation of Vaggioli's work was published by Otago University Press in 2000. Out of print for several years, that edition is hard to find and much sought-after. Now reprinted with a striking new cover, the 2023 edition of History of New Zealand and its Inhabitants brings Vaggioli's unique document into the public eye once more. This lively and sometimes controversial account of prominent historical events in nineteenth-century Aotearoa New Zealand provides a remarkable resource for people interested in Maori-Pakeha relations or the history of colonisation.