A View of the Art of Colonization: With Present Reference to the British Empire: in Letters Between a Statesman and a Colonist

Wakefield Wakefield

ISBN 10: 0461357364 / ISBN 13: 9780461357363

Published by HardPress Ltd, 2021

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Seller Inventory # B9780461357363

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A View of the Art of Colonization: With Present Reference to the British Empire: in Letters Between a Statesman and a Colonist
• Publisher: HardPress Ltd
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0461357364
• ISBN 13: 9780461357363
• Binding: Paperback / softback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 526 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A View Of The Art Of Colonization: With Present Reference To The British Empire: In Letters Between A Statesman And A Colonist by Edward Gibbon Wakefield. The work articulates a 19th-century policy vision: colonization as a coordinated program in which waste land is sold at a fixed sufficient price to fund emigration of labourers to the colonies, rather than land being given away or sold by auction. Delivered as a sequence of letters between the Colonist (advocate), the Statesman (Parliamentary advocate), and Mr. Mothercountry (a satirical Colonial Office figure), the dialogue analyzes how land policy, emigration funding, and colonial governance should be arranged to promote rapid, orderly settlement and imperial wealth. It argues for uniform land pricing, rigorous surveys, and selective emigrant intake (young married couples where possible), with revenue from land sales supporting passages and colony development. The text critiques central bureaucracy, proposes devolved colonial governance within an imperial framework, and engages with examples from New South Wales, South Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia Felix. An epistolary, polemical treatment of policy, economics, and constitution aims.