The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the Colony of New Zealand in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island from March 1860 to March 1861.
The war was sparked by a dispute between the colonial government and the Te Āti Awa people, led by Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke, over the disputed sale of the Pekapeka land block at Waitara. The deal was orchestrated by minor Te Āti Awa rangatira Te Teira Manuka. Initially a conflict over individual title and collective land ownership, all-out war broke out and soon spread throughout the region.