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

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.