Edward Gibbon Wakefield and movement for systematic colonization, 1829-1850 (South Australia, New Zealand, British empire) [microform]
- Bib ID:
- 3287603
- Format:
- Book and Microform
- Author:
- Lee, Tai-Sook
- Description:
- 337 p.
- Summary:
-
This study attempts an assessment of the contribution made by Edward Gibbon Wakefield and his followers through their colonization movement to the development of the British colonies and the concomitant evolution of the British Empire during the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Through an analysis of Wakefield's writings, it is shown that Wakefield's principles of colonization, which he claimed would render colonization systematic and beneficial both to the mother country and colonies, were based upon a preference for large scale farming.
It is argued that most of the weakneses of his scheme of colonization are attributable to this unfounded assumption. Although it is generally accepted that Wakefieldians exerted considerable influence on the British policy towards Australian colonies, especially with regard to the disposal of Crown lands and emigration, the British government's attitude towards the expansion of settlements may be considered eclectic, based far more upon consideration of practical problems than was the Wakefieldian position. The Wakefieldian charge of government's hostility or inertia towards imperial expansion reflected their own expectations rather than government's actual attitudes. Wakefieldian colonization of South Australia and New Zealand led to a formal augmentation of British colonial possessions in the South Sea, though Wakefieldian recruitment of emigrants and capital was slight compared to the entire emigration and overseas investment of the era.
In the operation of colonization, Wakefieldians failed to achieve their avowed goal, namely rapid economic growth in the colonies by maintaining an optimal proportion between labour and land. Labour was glutted in the colonies, and their subsequent survival owed more to fortuitous circumstances rather than to Wakefieldian measures. On the other hand, by facilitating unprecedentedly large scale emigrations to the region, Wakefieldian colonization practices and ideas were instrumental in raising the relative importance of Australasian colonies within the British Empire. By investigating the financiers of the Wakefieldian colonization who bought colonial lands or shares of colonization companies, the study reveals the major role of small British investors, whose investment did not exceed two hundred pounds, in rendering the Wakefieldian part of imperial expansion feasible.
- Notes:
-
- (UnM)AAI8624832
- Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-07, Section: A, page: 2704.
- Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, Berkeley, 1986.
- Reproduction:
- Microfiche. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International.
- Subject:
- History, European
- Other authors/contributors:
- University of California, Berkeley
- Copyright:
-
Copyright Undetermined
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- Reason for copyright status:
- Since 70 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Unpublished
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