Māori Confront Abel Tasman, New Zealand, 1642. My Collage for LMAC #197
Defending Paradise
Humans--we are a restless species. Restless, and aggressive. Is this an expression of natural selection? Do we colonize the planet, and even space now, in order to insure the survival of our DNA? I don't know. But I do know this: as we look around the world today, in every corner of it, there is conflict or potential conflict. We vie for turf, whether or not someone else seems to be inhabiting it.
Today's collage highlights one moment in human's colonizing history. The picture originated with @shaka's template image for LMAC Collage Contest #197.
My interpretation of that template image depicts a geographic paradise that is about to become a place of conflict. The men on the rocks are Māori warriors. They are looking out to sea, where European ships approach. The first Māori contact with Europeans is believed to have occurred in 1642. The man at the helm of the European expedition was a Dutchman, Abel Tasman. There were two ships in his party.
As his ships approached shore, Māori warriors paddled out in canoes. The outcome of this encounter was five dead--one Māori and four from Tasman's party.
After this, Tasman called the bay in which the encounter occurred Murderers Bay. He reported back to his country that the place was inhabited by a violent people and that it would have no value for the Netherlands.
Rendering of Māori/Tasman Encounter by Contemporaneous Artist
Isaack Gilsemans. 1642. Gilseman was the artist onboard Tasman's ship. Public domain.
In the years after that first contact, Europeans visited New Zealand (which was called Aotearoa by the Māori). Contact with Europeans varied: escaped prisoners, whalers, missionaries, and others. As was usually the case with indigenous peoples, contact was not advantageous to the Māori.
Finally, in 1848 the indigenous people signed the Treaty of Waitangi with the British Crown. This treaty became the foundational document of New Zealand, which then officially became part of the British Empire.
My Collage: Sources and Process
I borrowed from LIL, the LMAC library and from public domain sources to make my collage.
From LIL
Shell
@muelli
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/3877Plant
@yaziris
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/7631Flower
@redheadpei
https://www.lmac.gallery/lil-gallery-image/6553
From Public Domain Sources
Hawaii
https://pixabay.com/photos/hawaii-idyllic-landscape-mountain-1867850/Volcano
https://pixabay.com/photos/volcano-sabancaya-eruption-active-3895614/
Gif That Shows a Few of the Steps
LIL is not only a valuable image resource for the Hive community, but is also a way for community members to participate in LMAC. Anyone on Hive can contribute to the library and everyone can borrow from it. Learn about the procedure here.
Every week we offer prizes to fifteen finalists in the contest, but it's not only the prizes people create for. I, for example don't compete, but spend hours giving vent to my imagination. Others in the community have developed the habit of 'speaking' through collage.
As @shaka has said many times, everyone is an artist. I may not be an artist in the technical sense, but LMAC allows me to nurture my own unique artistic voice.
Thank you for reading. Peace and health to all.
The world is certainly in turmoil these days and no end in sight. Nice how you changed the background into a more rugged terrain to compliment the warriors. Love your depiction of the three warriors with primitive tools ready to defend their homeland.
We are having a snow storm today and temps around freezing so not too bad. This is the most snow we have had all winter.
Thanks for including my lil image of the flowers. They look great at the bottom corners.
Keep well my friend A.G.
Hello my dear friend. Snow!! We have scant evidence of it here this year, and I am grateful. I hope you don't see any more of those dreadful storms that hit you in the last couple of years.
As a history teacher, I paid a lot of attention to colonialism and imperialism. It seems we all point the finger at someone from sometime. And yet, if we look in our backyards we can see our ancestors (if not our contemporaries) have engaged in such activity. Somehow, we always find a way to justify the behavior😇 Of course, you and I are creatures of peace🌷🦋.
Keep warm. Take care of your, dear @redheadpei
Are we so aggressive though? Yes, there is conflict all around us but is this perhaps because the scum seems always to rise to the top and thus power is in the hands of the worst and most unscrupulous of us?
I like to believe that the majority of us would live in peace if not for the machinations of TPTB pitting us against each other, having us believe that in a world of abundance, we must compete for scarce resources. Or perhaps I'm just naive. Either way, interesting collage!
Hello my friend. You don't think we are aggressive? Maybe not. Maybe it is just the aggressors that rule the day. If we look at New Zealand, it is actually one of the more peaceful places on earth. Even when they were colonized, it wasn't with war but by treaty.
I'm less optimistic than you are about our species, but I'll try to be more positive. 🦋
Thanks for your comment. I wish I could visit New Zealand--or Ireland for that matter. Not going to happen🌷.
Be well.
Your collage of an island is stunning and it looks just like a paradise, with the greenish vegetation, the calm waters around it and the colorful sky overhead. It's so sad to see the world destroyed and wrecked by senseless conflicts and peace seems more elusive than ever. I hope we humans are able to realise our mistakes before we destroy ourselves, maybe through a third world war. Thanks for sharing and have a great week.
I think the popularity of post-apocalyptic media is evidence that the sense of insecurity in the world today crosses cultures. There is a sense of dis-ease, of impending disaster that seems to hang over us. There is war, and ecological destruction. How much of this discomfort is due to hype and how much is due to true threats? Hard to tell.
Each one of us finds a private space, a bit of peace, where all those threats don't exist. For me, that space often resides in making a collage--or writing. I'm sure you have your own refuge.
Thank you for commenting so kindly.
I actually and also feel that humans are aggressive. If not, we won’t be having the rate of conflict that we usually have everyday in the world
Conflict here and there and the ones we have not even heard of. It is really sad
Thank you for commenting, @rafzat
I love it how you took the template image and gave us not only a collage but a story behind your work. The Māori people defending against the Tasman’s party is reflection of the conflicts that are still occurring in some parts of the world. I live in a state where border dispute is more like a regular drill. I do not know if those people are provoked by someone or they are willingly trying to broaden their geographical agricultural area, where the borderline areas are covered with tea gardens. This thing now started to look like both parties came into a settlement as the government of both the state had to intervene.
Have a great day ahead and a happy weekend @agmoore :)
I'm happy to hear the conflict is reduced in your area. In my country (the U.S.) it seems divisions are growing between groups of people. I don't think my country has been this divided since the Civil War (1861-1865). We're not fighting for land today, but I think it's about political power. It's quite upsetting.
Thank you for that insightful comment. Much appreciated.
Humans is born with this nature to be always resilience attitude and this always goes a long way in how we see things and do things at times. An average human being is a very determined one
Greetings Lady @agmoore, a very artistic, creative, and history-enriched collage. Conquests in history, most of them, generate a great bitter taste in my mouth. Deaths, domination, and a lot of sadness included, all for a capricious power? Your publication invites a deep reflection. Today many of our spaces are sadly invaded by aggressiveness and apprehension, kindness and solidarity are scarce.
Thank you for generating these reflections.
Happy Sunday Lady.
!LUV
Hello @almajandra,
Thank you for that expressive comment. Indeed, the fight is for capricious power. After the fight, there are few winners. Everyone loses. Kindness and solidarity may be scarce, but not here! Here in this little community we share and and encourage. It's one of the reasons I am so committed.
May there be peace in your life, @almajandra.
So true Lady @agmoore, so much truth in your words, you give off and transmit, so much positive energy and understanding. This is a wonderful Community, where creativity, art, solidarity, and kindness abound. I enjoy being here, I feel part of it, making collages has helped me to express myself in many ways.
My gratitude for your good wishes is appreciated.
Not every human being can make something like this. You have done a lot of hard work. First you have created a concept and then you have worked on it and then you have put all these pictures together and it has become a beautiful picture that we all have. There is a lot of liking when a person goes to such places, it seems that a person has entered the paradise. All these natural sights are very pleasing to the heart.
Nice informatic post. i heard about Maori community first time. Art collages are incredible.
Thank you. I appreciate the comment!