Review (PDF)

Possessing The Pacific: Land, Settlers, And Indigenous People From Australia To Alaska

During the nineteenth century, British and American settlers acquired a vast amount of land from indigenous people throughout the Pacific, but in no two places did they acquire it the same way. Stuart Banner tells the story of colonial settlement in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. Today, indigenous people own much more land in some of these places than in others. And certain indigenous peoples benefit from treaty rights, while others do not. These variations are traceable to choices made more than a century ago--choices about whether indigenous people were the owners of their land and how that land was to be transferred to whites. Banner argues that these differences were not due to any deliberate land policy created in London or Washington. Rather, the decisions were made locally by settlers and colonial officials and were based on factors peculiar to each colony, such as whether the local indigenous people were agriculturalists and what level of political organization they had attained. These differences loom very large now, perhaps even larger than they did in the nineteenth century, because they continue to influence the course of litigation and political struggle between indigenous people and whites over claims to land and other resources. Possessing the Pacific is an original and broadly conceived study of how colonial struggles over land still shape the relations between whites and indigenous people throughout much of the world.

Hardcover: 400 pages

Publisher: Harvard University Press; First Edition (1st printing) edition (November 30, 2007)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0674026128

ISBN-13: 978-0674026124

Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.2 x 9.3 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,458,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #97 in Books > Law > Administrative Law > Indigenous Peoples #439 in Books > History > Australia & Oceania > Oceania #745 in Books > History > Australia & Oceania > Australia & New Zealand

In one place this weaves together how and why Native Hawaiians fared far better than aboriginal Australians and native tribes in California but not as well native Tongans. For anyone wanting a background in native land rights or the sweep of "first world" imperialistic powers across the Pacific in the late 1800's and early 1900's this is a seminal and invaluable work

Possessing the Pacific: Land, Settlers, and Indigenous People from Australia to Alaska Wild Flowers of Australia and Oceania: An Illustrated Guide to the Floral Diversity of Australia, New Zealand and the Islands of the Pacific Ocean Flavors of Africa Cookbook : Spicy African Cooking - From Indigenous Recipes to Those Influenced by Asian and European Settlers The indigenous peoples of Trinidad and Tobago from the first settlers until today Settler Sovereignty: Jurisdiction and Indigenous People in America and Australia, 1788-1836 (Harvard Historical Studies) Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 How To Analyze People: Mastering Analyzing and Reading People: (How To Read People, Analyze People, Psychology, People Skills, Body Language, Social Skills) Alaska 2!: Biking the Iditarod, Aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the History of Gold in Alaska, Bear Hunting, Guiding, Human Interest and More (Erickson's Outdoor Adventures Book 5) Indigenous Women and Feminism: Politics, Activism, Culture (Women and Indigenous Studies Series) Ser feliz en Alaska / Being Happy in Alaska (Spanish Edition) Alaska's Forest Resources (Alaska Geographic Series, Volume 12 Number 2) Indigenous Australia for Dummies Indigenous American Women: Decolonization, Empowerment, Activism (Contemporary Indigenous Issues) The Transit of Empire: Indigenous Critiques of Colonialism (First Peoples: New Directions Indigenous) UNEXPLAINED DISAPPEARANCES & MISSING PEOPLE.: MISSING PEOPLE CASE FILES; UNEXPLAINED DISAPPEARANCES; MISSING PEOPLE. (UNEXPLAINED DISAPPEARANCES : MISSING PEOPLE Book 2) French Canadians, Furs, and Indigenous Women in the Making of the Pacific Northwest A Revolution for Our Rights: Indigenous Struggles for Land and Justice in Bolivia, 1880–1952 Land, Indigenous Peoples and Conflict (Routledge Complex Real Property Rights Series) Early Settlers of the Bahamas and Colonists of North America Notes Upon The Island Of Dominica (british West Indies): Containing Information For Settlers, Investors, Tourists, Naturalists, And Others...