The Great Land Rush and the Making of the Modern World, 1650-1900
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Published: May 2003
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 520
ISBN-13: 9780773525276
Subjects: Land rights; World history: c 1500 to c 1750; World history: c 1750 to c 1900; c 1500 to c 1600; c 1600 to c 1700; c 1700 to c 1800; c 1800 to c 1900; History: American; Great Britain; History - General History; World - Colonial Studies; Canada; Land tenure; Modern - General; General; Colonies; Colonization; History; Right of property
Description: "The Great Land Rush and the Making of the Modern World, 1650-1900 describes European appropriation and distribution of land in the new world. Integrating the often violent history of colonization of this period and the ensuing emergence of property rights with an examination of the decline of an aristocratic ruling class and the growth of democracy and the market economy, John Weaver describes how the landscapes of North America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa were transformed by the pursuit of resources. He underscores the tragic history of the indigenous peoples of these regions and shows how they lost "possession" of their land to newly formed governments made up of Europeans with European interests at heart. Weaver shows that the enormous efforts involved in defining and registering large numbers of newly carved-out parcels of property for reallocation during the Great Land Rush were instrumental in the emergence of much stronger concepts of property rights and argues that the period was marked by a complete disregard for previous notions of restraint on dreams of unlimited material prosperity."--BOOK JACKET.