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John West (1809-1873) was an English-born minister who received a Colonial Missionary Society post in Tasmania in 1838. West became an outspoken opponent of the ongoing government policy of transporting convicts from Britain to Tasmania. Around 1847 a wealthy supporter approached West to write the colony's history, although it had been a British territory only since 1803. West accepted the task and, amid his campaigning and other responsibilities, completed this two-volume work which was published in 1852. It is divided between a straightforward narrative of events and thematic issues such as the treatment of the Aboriginal peoples and the issue of the convict transport system. Volume 1 covers the development of the colony, starting with the arrival of the Dutch in the seventeenth century, who named the island Van Diemen's Land, through to British control and its subsequent settlement as the colony of Tasmania.
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John West (1809-1873) was an English-born minister who received a Colonial Missionary Society post in Tasmania in 1838. West became an outspoken opponent of the ongoing government policy of transporting convicts from Britain to Tasmania. Around 1847 a wealthy supporter approached West to write the colony's history, although it had been a British territory only since 1803. West accepted the task and, amid his campaigning and other responsibilities, completed this two-volume work which was published in 1852. It is divided between a straightforward narrative of events and thematic issues such as the treatment of the Aboriginal peoples and the issue of the convict transport system. In Volume 2, the first ten sections discuss the early encounters with Europeans and the subsequent mistreatment of the native people in Tasmania. The remainder of the volume considers the island's development as a penal colony.
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This first-hand account of the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-6) was written by Captain Frederick Doveton of the Royal Madras Fusiliers and published in 1852. Intending to feed the contemporary British fascination with tales of Burma and its people, Doveton gives a brief history of the conflict, placing it into the context of the events leading up to the outbreak of the Second War (1852-3). He then offers a 'personal narrative' of his experiences, aimed at a popular rather than professional readership. His descriptions of Burmese life, landscape, and customs are full of anecdotes. These include his surprise at the natives playing chess, and his experience of having a tattoo; but he also shows respect for a people with an ancient history and culture, and conveys vividly the complexities and hardships of warfare and army life in an inhospitable terrain.
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In 1850, a small squadron of British naval vessels, under the command of Horatio Austin, sought to locate the missing Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin. The ships were trapped in ice by September 1850 and the men were forced to endure the forbidding Arctic winter, finally returning to England in October 1851. This book, published in 1852 and reissued here in the second edition that quickly followed the first, is a collection of articles which appeared in the Aurora Borealis, a newspaper edited by the surgeon James John Louis Donnet (1816-1905) aboard HMS Assistance. It features contributions from the likes of Sir John Ross, Leopold McClintock, fellow officers and several crew members. Despite the serious nature of the mission and the difficulties of the Arctic conditions, the contributions are often light-hearted, making this work a colourful reflection of life on a polar expedition.
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First published in 1852, and in its third edition by 1854, this description of pioneer immigrant life in Canada by Susanna Moodie (1803-85) is unsentimental and frank. In contrast to similar works, which often seem to be advertisements aimed at potential immigrants, Moodie's book emphasises not only the triumphs but also the tribulations as she and her family begin their new lives. Initially criticised in Canada for painting an unflattering picture of the country, it was later recognised as a key work of early Canadian literature, and has influenced writers up to the present day. In Volume 2 the family continue their efforts as farmers, moving to a second property in the hope of better prospects. However, neither husband (a former soldier) nor wife were well equipped for their lives as pioneer immigrants, and they finally leave for the town of Bellville when Dunbar Moodie obtains a government post.
Regions & Countries - Americas --- History & Archaeology --- Canada
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