Before people there was the land. We start the story of New Zealand 100 million years ago as tectonic forces tear apart Gondwana and Zealandia/Te Riu-a-Maiu is formed.

In part one of The Aotearoa History Show, Zealandia is formed, volcanoes and ice ages make their mark and we ask what happened to our mammals.

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By William Ray

I used to think that the Treaty of Waitangi was signed after the New Zealand Wars ended.

That's how wars are supposed to end, right? After the fighting is over you get around a table and work out a deal.

We'd been taught about the Treaty at school and I was vaguely aware of the New Zealand Wars. I knew both were connected somehow so I just leaped to what seemed like the logical conclusion.

Over the past year I've had a chance to talk to a bunch of history teachers and historians and I found out this sort of fundamental misunderstanding of our history is pretty common. When we learn history we usually focus on one facet in isolation - the Goldrush, Gallipoli, the Treaty of Waitangi, the New Zealand Wars, the Nuclear Free Movement. What we often miss is how those facets fit together. Year after year, one person inspiring another, one policy sparking a reaction.

It's past time we start to join the dots.

That's what we set out to do in the Aotearoa History show. We are connecting the pieces so people can see the wider picture of how our land and people have been shaped, and some of the forces that did that shaping.

This series traverses a hundred million years, all way from this land's geological origins, through discovery, and war, and innovation, and political wrangling through until the modern day. Though, to be fair, most of those millions of years are done and dusted in episode one.

What happened to Aotearoa's mammals? How did Aotearoa's first people arrive? What were the geopolitical forces underpinning British colonisation? How come our stereotype of your typical Kiwi bloke looks like that guy from the Speights commercials?

The answers to these questions can go off in all kinds of weird directions. And sometimes they can challenge your assumptions…

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Around 850 years ago Polynesian explorers found an empty land and the story of people in Aotearoa began. A new culture emerged; tangata whenua had arrived and started to thrive.

In part two, Polynesian explorers reach new shores far to the south; a land unlike anything they had seen before. It's a story of technological innovation, new horizons and becoming a new, distinct people.

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Topics covered:

• The origins of Polynesian people.
• Technological development of ocean-going waka.
• Polynesian exploration and occupation of Pacific islands.
• Discovery of Aotearoa/New Zealand by Polynesians.
• Origins of the Moriori and myths about Moriori.
• The challenges faced by early Māori.
• Extinction of the Moa and other large birds.
• Development of distinct Māori culture.
• The basics of Tikanga Māori.

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Abel Tasman and James Cook's first contacts with Māori were complex and sometimes violent. Europeans brought new technologies, food and ideas, such as muskets, potatoes and Christianity. In some cases this worked out well for Tangata Whenua - but in other cases it was devastating.

In part three, Tasman and then Cook visit and before long Europeans come to stay. Muskets, missionaries and international trade change the country as two cultures seek to make sense of each other.

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Topics covered:

• Tasman's voyage to Aotearoa/New Zealand and his interaction with Māori.
• James Cook's voyages to Aotearoa/New Zealand. Including the role played by Tupaia, violence between his expedition and Māori as well as the wider forces behind his journey and how it paved the way for colonisation.
• Early Pākehā settlers and how they interacted with Māori.
• The Musket Wars and their impact on Māori people.
• The role of early missionaries in the musket wars, their attempts to convert Māori and suppress elements of Māori culture.

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In Europe, factions debated the future of Aotearoa, while Māori had their own ideas how to handle the growing number of Pākehā here. In the end, Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed, but the early promise leads ultimately to war.

In part four, Māori and Pākehā wrestle with how to share Aotearoa, the New Zealand Company is formed and Te Tiriti o Waitangi is signed. But before long disputes arise, prompting the Wairau Affray and Northern War.

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Topics covered:

• Frustration over Pākehā behaviour at Kororāreka/Russell
• The foundation of the United Tribes of New Zealand and their declaration of independence
• Outline of the different European factions - the French, Wakefield and the NZ Company, the British Colonial Office, Missionaries and British humanitarian movements
• The signing of the Treaty and problems with translation, including some possible explanations for the mistranslation.
• The Wairau Affray.
• Hōne Heke, Te Ruki Kawiti and the chopping down of the flagstaff at Russell
• The Northern War, including discussions of Māori "trench warfare" and why some Māori chose to fight alongside the British.

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Hunger for land and the rise of Kingitanga prompted Governor George Grey to invade Waikato in 1863. Fighting spread over years and into the Bay of Plenty, devastating Maori. But it was not as one-sided as the British had expected.

In part five, Governor George Grey send troops south from Auckland, invading the Waikato. But Kingitanga fight back and a new phase of warfare begins in New Zealand that would see thousands of lives lost.

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Topics covered:

• The relationship between Waikato Māori and Pākehā colonists.
• The foundation of the Kiingitanga Movement.
• The Hutt War and the First Taranaki War.
• The Waikato War, including the Battle of Rangiaowhia and the siege of Ōrākau.
• Gate Pā and the Tauranga War.
• Frustrations of the British Authorities with Governor Grey's actions in NZ.

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As British troops leave, settler militia enter the fray. Some Māori chose to fight alongside the Crown while others join new religious movements, which seem to promise a way out of the conflict.

In part six, religious movements such as Pai Mārire & Ringatū arise to oppose settler expansion. While British troops withdraw, local militia take up the fight and we see atrocities committed by all sides.

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Topics covered:

• Te Ua Haumene and the rise of Pai Mārire
• Māori and Pākehā perceptions of Pai Mārire
• The rise of Pai Mārire on the East Coast, including the execution of Carl Völkner.
• The wars on the East Coast and Taranaki involving Pai Mārire followers.
• The exile of Te Kooti, foundation of the Ringatū Church and his guerilla campaign in the North Island.
• Tītokowaru, his attempts at peace and his success as a war leader.
• The departure of British troops, increasing government reliance on settler militia and kūpapa Māori.
• Atrocities committed during the later years of the NZ Wars.
• Confiscation and the long-term effects of the NZ Wars.

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After the wars, politicians had to figure out how to run the new country. Bold choices saw huge spending on infrastructure, the right of women to vote and the start of refrigeration, helping us out of The Long Depression. A new politics arose but old values remained.

The New Zealand Wars are over... what comes next? A whole lot of political wrangling over how to run the new colony - centralism or provinces? Plus - how refrigeration saved the Kiwi economy from the brink of disaster and how women won the right to vote.

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Topics covered:

• Provincialism versus Centralism
• Julius Vogel and the "Grand Go-Ahead policy"
• The Long Depression and its impact on New Zealanders
• How the invention of refrigerated shipping saved the economy.
• Disputes over voting, including gold miners and Māori representation in Parliament.
• How women won the right to vote
• The exclusion of Chinese people from NZ society.
• The early Labour Movement and the Great Strike of 1913

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Through the final quarter of the 19th Century Pakeha settler numbers swelled. The immigrants sought land and started to create a new, distinct culture. But their land gain came at the cost of Maori, as new laws and courts changed ownership patterns. Plus, the story of Parihaka.

As the number of European settlers and a new Pakeha culture grew, so did the immigrants' demand for land. The government didn't launch a war to get it, they instead introduced new laws and the Land Court, which undermined Maori ownership traditions. This led to one of New Zealand's darkest days - the raid on Parihaka.

Watch the video version of the episode here

Topics covered:

• Early colonists and how they created the stereotypical image of a kiwi bloke
• Deforestation, the introduction of new mammal predators and the decline of native wildlife
• Sheep barons and the desire for more land
• The Native Land Court, why it was set up and how it worked
• The Wi Parata Case.
• Māori population decline in the 19th century
• The Parihaka Raid

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details