The Power of Knowledge by Jeremy Black

Author:Jeremy Black
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780300167955
Publisher: Yale University Press

Imperialism

While non-Western peoples were categorised in colonies, the land there was commodified, often without regard to the cultural and social references provided by long-established populations. Indeed, the latter were often driven off the land or used as cheap labour. Precision in measurement and depiction encouraged the Western emphasis on straight lines for dividing and recording property as part of this process of commodification. This process was seen not only in Western colonies but also in expanding Western states, such as the USA, Texas (when independent from 1836 to 1845), Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Mapping often contained references to value. John Arrowsmith's much-copied Map of Texas (London, 1841) recorded in its title its source, ‘compiled from surveys recorded in the Land Office of Texas and other official surveys’, and included editorial comments such as ‘excellent land’, ‘valuable land’ and ‘rich land’.

Turning land into territory and then establishing a history of possession were core reasons why cartography was in the vanguard of arguments advanced to justify colonial rule.68 With title guaranteed upon registration, it was important to ensure that the registration was as clear as possible. The land was used for plantation farming, ranching and forestry, in accordance with the assumptions of the settlers and the information available to them. Agricultural techniques made profitable by rapid, cheap transport by rail and steamship, and by a new harvesting technology based on the reaper, helped drive the settler boom.69

The combination of plentiful land, inexpensive transport and new agricultural technology ensured that cheap food could be imported in sizeable quantities from the 1870s into Europe, notably mutton from Australia, lamb from New Zealand, beef from the pampas of Argentina and grain from the Great Plains of North America, both the USA and Canada. These imports proved especially damaging to British agriculture due to a political commitment to free trade, and helped cause a serious agricultural depression from 1873 until 1914. However, cheap food fuelled industrialisation by encouraging British workers to move off the land, by leaving them more money to spend on industrial products and by lowering labour costs. Again, this situation serves as a reminder of the social texturing of information and technology. Land rights contributed to the stability of this developing world agrarian system.

The idea of colonies as estates ripe for development represented a move away from the more trade-centred and oceanic account of colonial activities that had been dominant in the eighteenth century. Experts, a term which increasingly meant scientists of some description, played an expanding role in the development of these estates.70 In turn, this usage was linked to an idea of development in which the efficiency of the settlers helped justify their sway.71 Life as a trust from and for God, was an attitude that lent itself to this usage.

The importance attached to colonies encouraged greater attempts by government both to acquire information about them and to scrutinise and improve administrative practices. In Britain, the Colonial Office pushed forward such acquisition of information from the 1820s, ensuring that the earlier reliance on material provided by personal links became less significant.

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