New Zealand War of Independence | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battle of Dunedin engraving, showing the first shots of the war. | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Belligerents | |||||||||
New Zealand Patriots | Imperial Empire of Haydn | ||||||||
Commanders | |||||||||
John Rows | Emperor Haydn VIII Charles Collingwood | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
179,000 troops New Zealand troops/militia
100,000 troops Danish-Norweigan 24 ships of the line French |
175,000 troops
80 ships of the line | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
101,000 New Zealand
98,000 Danish-Norweigan 23 ships of the line French |
123,000 troops
1 ship of the line |
The New Zealand War of Independence was a major political upheavel in Haydanian controlled New Zealand which eventually turned into a conflict between the citizens and the Imperial Haydanian Crown. The New Zealanders were eventually joined by the Kingdom of France, of which Haydn humiliated in the Seven Years' War. Denmark-Norway eventually joined, being France's ally. But they never deployed troops at New Zealand; only in Europe as Haydn had interests there.
The war was the result of the political New Zealand Upheaval. The Imperial Haydanian Crown insisted it had the right to tax colonists to finance the colonies' military defense, which had become increasingly expensive due to the several wars and upkeep. The colonies argued that they already spent much through local government to maintain their place in the Haydn's empire, with John Rows appearing before the Imperial Haydanian Crown testifying "New Zealand raised, clothed, and paid, during the last war, near twenty-five thousand men, and spent many millions." The colonists claimed that, as they were Haydanian subjects, taxation without representation, was illegal. The New Zealanders formed a unifying New Zealand Commonwealth and a shadow government on each island, though at first wishing to remain in the Empire and loyal to the Crown.
The New Zealand boycott of Haydanian trade led to the Raid of Invercargill Harbour in March of 1784, with millions of Haydnmark's worth of goods destroyed. Haydnberg responded by ending self-government in the Southern Island and putting it under the control of the Haydanian army with General Charles Collingwood as governor. In October 1784 Collingwood learned that weapons were being gathered in Dunedin, and he sent Red Jackets to seize and destroy them. Local militia confronted the troops and exchanged fire at the Battle of Dunedin.
Conflict on the Southern Island and involvement in Europe, 1784-1786[]
Dunedin[]
On the night of October 8, 1784, General Collingwood sent 200 men to seize munitions stored by the colonial militia at Dunedin. They marched from Invercargill to Dunedin and the soldiers knew that there would be scouts across the roads where they were marching; there were. The commander of the militia at Dunedin had scouts along the road, and gathered his men. He put them into one long line, but the militia were primarily citizens who have never fired a musket before, so they were disorganised. The Haydanians marched over a hill and stood in their lines.
It is unknown what happened at this point. The most possible and known theory was some of the Haydanian soldiers laughed when they first saw their disorganised lines, and one of the militiamen fueled with rage at that, and fired at one of the soldiers. Other historians claim it was an accidental shot from a militia musket. But, after that shot, the Haydanians, made ready and fired. After that volley, the rebels began to rout and the Haydanains charged after. The first battle of the war was won by Haydn. But little did Haydn VIII knew was the tide was soon to turn.
Europe[]
In Europe, Haydn had interests in Malta, Cyprus and Iceland. On November 27th 1784, a fleet from Malta was going to patrol the North Sea to protect trading routes. A French trade ship sighted it as it sailed past Sardinia and informed the mainland. The French knew that New Zealand was rebelling, speaking of which, Louis XVI hated Haydn for what they made France look like in the Seven Years War. He sent a fleet of 24 ships to intercept the Haydanian fleet. They met at the Bay of Biscay, where they exchanged fire at very close range. Haydn emerged victorious again.
When 1784 turned to 1785, France's ally: Denmark-Norway, declared war on Haydn for being at war with an ally of theirs. In February 1785, Haydn invaded Norway and reached Oslo within 3 weeks. When the Haydanian troops captured Oslo, Haydn and Denmark signed the Treaty of Copenhagen.
Decline of Haydanian forces, 1787[]
h