Entanglements of empire [electronic resource] : missionaries, Māori, and the question of the body / Ballantyne Tony.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-342) and index.

Exploration, empire and evangelization -- Making place, reordering space -- Economics, labor, and time -- Containing transgression -- Cultures of death -- The politics of the "enfeebled" body.

"The first Protestant mission to New Zealand, established in 1814, saw the beginning of complex political, cultural, and economic entanglements with Māori. Entanglements of Empire is a deft reconstruction of the cross-cultural translations of this early period. Misunderstanding was rife: the physical body itself became the most contentious site of cultural engagement, as Māori and missionaries struggled over issues of hygiene, tattooing, clothing, and sexual morality. Author explores the varying understandings of such concepts as civilization, work, time and space, and gender - and the practical consequences of the struggles over these ideas. The encounters in the classroom, chapel, kitchen, and farmyard worked mutually to affect both the Māori and the English worldviews. Ultimately, the interest in missionary Christianity among influential Māori chiefs had far-reaching consequences for both groups. Concluding in 1840 with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the new age it ushered in, Ballantyne's book offers important insights into this crucial period of New Zealand history"--Publisher's information.