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Building Better Britains?

Building Better Britains?

Settler Societies in the British World, 1783-1920

by Cecilia Morgan

Published by: University of Toronto Press

Imprint: University of Toronto Press

Digital download
9781442607538
Published: September 2016

Digital download
9781442607545
Published: September 2016

Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

The impact of empires and the lingering presence of colonialism continue to be major preoccupations for scholars in the twenty-first century. This concise text explores the spread of settler colonies within the British Empire over the course of the nineteenth century, specifically those in New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and Australia.

In Building Better Britains?, Cecilia Morgan examines how imperial powers reshaped the lives and landscapes of millions through colonial relationships with Indigenous peoples, and the processes of migration and settlement that facilitated the British Empire’s global expansion. Identity and culture in geographically diverse settler societies are compared, highlighting shared histories and the nuances that differentiated them. Morgan encourages readers to consider settler societies from multiple perspectives, including those of the colonists themselves. Eight maps and eight illustrations enhance the text, along with a bibliography and index.

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Maps

Introduction: Better Britains?: Settler Societies Within the British Empire 1783–1920

1. Colonial Frontiers and Contact Zones: Indigenous Peoples and Settler Encounters

2. "Peopling," Settling, and Governing

3. Settler Economies: Local Contexts and Imperial Networks

4. Creating Civil Society

5. Creating Settler Identities

Conclusion: Better Britains?

Select Bibliography

Index

Cecilia Morgan is a professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at OISE, University of Toronto.

‘A useful addition to the growing field of settler colonialism, this book is an excellent introduction to the topic… Highly recommended.’
~C.V. Reed, Choice Magazine vol 55:02:2017

‘The text is incredibly timely… Morgan successfully uncovers the complexities of the British world colonial encounter… Future historians can now build upon the platform and further broach questions of interaction between settler societies, and whether settles societies were really better Britains.’
~Katie Pickles, Canadian Historical Review vol 99:01:2018

"Building Better Britains? Is a well-crafted and necessary study of the complexities of emergent settler polities in the nineteenth century…This book will be a welcome addition to those teaching or studying the complicated histories of settler colonialism or nineteenth-century British imperialism."
~T.J. Tallie, Victorian Studies, Indiana University-vol 60.2 Winter 2018

"[Building Better Britians?] is the most ambitious volume in the series, in terms of both its geographical and its chronological reach."
~Phillip Buckner, University of New Brunswick, British Journal of Canadian Studies, vol 31 no 1