Possessing the Pacific: Land, Settlers, and Indigenous People from Australia to Alaska

Banner tells the story of colonial settlement in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. 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.

Table of Contents:
Contents Introduction: The Pacific World and Its Atlantic Antecedents 1. Australia: Terra Nullius by Design 2. New Zealand: Conquest by Contract 3. New Zealand: Conquest by Land Tenure Reform 4. Hawaii: Preparing To Be Colonized 5. California: Terra Nullius by Default 6. British Columbia: Terra Nullius as Kindness 7. Oregon and Washington: Compulsory Treaties 8. Fiji and Tonga: The Importance of Indigenous Political Organization 9. Alaska: Occupancy and Neglect Conclusion: What Produced Colonial Land Policy? Abbreviations Notes Index Illustrations Map of the Pacific colonies in the nineteenth century 1. Thomas Medland, View of a Hut in New South Wales (1789) 2. Donald McLean with Maori landowners (1865) 3. Crowd outside Native Land Court, Ahipara, New Zealand (late nineteenth century) 4. King Kamehameha III of Hawaii (mid-nineteenth century) 5. Paul Emmert, View of Honolulu from the Harbor (ca. 1854) 6. Anonymous, drawings of ¿Digger¿ Indian dwellings (ca. 1850) 7. Songhees woman, in a photo by Frederick Dally (ca. 1860) 8. James Douglas, first governor of British Columbia (ca. 1860) 9. Isaac Stevens, first governor of the Washington Territory (mid-nineteenth century) 10. Two white men overseeing a Fijian workforce (ca. 1875) 11. William Hodges, Afia-too-ca: A burying place in the Isle of Amsterdam (1777) 12. Chilkat Tlingit women and girls (1890s)

Review :
[Banner's] overarching argument is an important one: dispelling the myth that colonization patterns were driven by policies set at home. This original and significant study will appeal to readers hoping to understand an issue whose ramifications are still felt today. -- Publishers Weekly In a style that is lucid and direct, Stuart Banner builds an extensively researched comparative study of settler societies that span the Pacific Ocean. He forces us to rethink the prevailing interpretations of the rise of Anglo-American dominance and the dispossession of indigenous peoples in the nineteenth century. -- Michael Adas, author of Dominance by Design: Technological Imperatives and America's Civilizing Mission This comparative study of the ways that the lands of Australasians, Polynesians, and North American Pacific coast tribes were taken by British and American governments is rich in evidence and wise in analysis. A wonderful addition. -- Peter Karsten, University of Pittsburgh Fascinating, convincing, and beautifully written, this is popular legal history that tells an important story about British and American settlers' perception and treatment of native rights to Pacific lands. A major new book in the field. -- Bruce Kercher, Macquarie University Remarkable for its breadth, vision, and mastery of native title and land expropriation issues, Possessing the Pacific is graced by brilliant writing. Stuart Banner's meticulous research, good judgment, and crisp prose combine to make this book a marvelous contribution to comparative history. An all-round triumph! -- John Weaver, McMaster University