The fate of the New Zealanders was still unknown. Though their resistance possessed an innate justice and had indeed succeeded in history, Franz did not believe they could create another miracle.
The nineteenth century was, after all, an age where power did the talking, and the Maori were far weaker than Britain.
The Maori had succeeded in history partly because the British authorities in New Zealand had been weak, but more importantly because the Maori had proved their strength to the British, making Britain feel that the costs outweighed the gains and choose peace negotiations instead.
Yet the Maori now faced Palmerston, a man famed for his hardline stance and wholly determined to return to London. The odds of him making concessions to the Maori were virtually zero, and he cared even less about a trifling amount of losses.
First, Palmerston did not believe he would remain in New Zealand for long. All he needed was to fire this lot up and have them fight the natives to the death, turning it into an achievement of his own.
As for the fate of the New Zealanders, the wisdom of later generations would sort it out.
Second, Palmerston possessed the mindset of a typical hawk. To him, expanding territory, eliminating threats, and consolidating rule mattered more than anything else.
Palmerston would not fall into self-doubt. On the contrary, he would become even more unscrupulous and spare no effort in accomplishing it all.
One could condemn Palmerston as a person on moral grounds, but one could not deny his abilities, much less deny that his words—"There are no eternal friends, only eternal interests"—laid bare the essence of modern diplomacy, influencing the world to this very day.
Thus, from the outset, the Maori might face several times the pressure they had faced in