Synopses & Reviews
An original interpretation of the development of Australian colonial society and economy.
Synopsis
This is an original interpretation of the path of development of Australian colonial society prior to Federation in 1901. The transition from a patriachal wool-growing colony to a liberal-nationalist form of capitalist development is explained within the context of the changing fortunes of British hegemony in the nineteenth-century world economy.
Table of Contents
Map of Australia; List of tables; Preface; 1. The social structure of British hegemony; Part I. The Colonial Economy Enters the World Market (1788-1830): 2. The transition from penal to commercial colony; 3. The world-economic origins of colonial wool growing; Part II. The Squatting Phase of Pastoralism (1830s and 1840s): 4. Squatting and colonial politics; 5. Merchants and growers; 6. Pastoral enterprise in the colonial economy; 7. The conservative character of pastoralism; Part III. Confronting the Agrarian Question (1840-1900): 8. The 1840s crisis and social transition; 9. Foundations of the agrarian question; 10. State formation and transformation of the landed economy; Conclusion; Appendixes; References; Index.