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

Edward Gibbon Wakefield

ISBN 10: 0461923785 / ISBN 13: 9780461923780

Published by HardPress Publishing, 2021

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Seller Inventory # B9780461923780

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 Publishing
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0461923785
• ISBN 13: 9780461923780
• Binding: Paperback
• 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 — Edward Gibbon Wakefield. The work presents a mid-19th-century, epistolary attempt to systematize colonization by linking emigration, land policy, and governance. Through a dialogue between a Colonist and a Statesman, it argues for Wakefieldian reform: sell colonists’ waste land at a fixed, sufficient price, use the proceeds to fund emigration, and require extensive surveys to inform land choice. It critiques mismanagement, squatting, and central-bureaucratic control, while urging devolved colonial administration under broad imperial rules and selective emigration to accelerate settlement and imperial wealth. The text explores land reserves, pasturage questions, and the municipal-federative model for governance, with appendices and historical case references to New South Wales, New Zealand, Canada, and other colonies. Its overarching aim is a practical theory—tested by Parliament—that channels capital and labor into productive colonies, reducing domestic distress and expanding empire.