The Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict: The Maori, the British, and the New Zealand Wars (Mcgill-queen's Studies in Ethnic History)

Belich, James

ISBN 10: 0773507396 / ISBN 13: 9780773507395

Published by McGill-Queen's University Press, 1990

About this Item

Seller Inventory # c363111

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict: The Maori, the British, and the New Zealand Wars (Mcgill-queen's Studies in Ethnic History)
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0773507396
• ISBN 13: 9780773507395
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: As New
• Seller catalogs:
  • Social Sciences
  • Politics
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

In The Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict James Belich shows that the legend of New Zealand race relations is not only flawed, it is inaccurate. He notes that typical stories "emphasize inevitability, minimize the importance of conflict and the Maori success in it, and present a pattern of nineteenth century race relations which is like a simple slope -- short, straight, and for the Maori downwards." Belich goes on to present a strong argument that this perspective is wrong and to show how Victorian attitudes toward race have distorted the way military and social historians have viewed the Maori-British wars. Winner of the prestigious Trevor Reese Memorial Prize, The Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict is a meticulous reassessment of one of the great racial wars of the nineteenth century, the conflict between the Maori and the British in New Zealand. Belich's insights are extremely relevant to work in North American history and to the growing body of literature surrounding the struggles of indigenous people as they have fought against European domination.

About the Author