Slavery; Geography and Empire in Nineteenth-Century Marine Landscapes of Montreal and Jamaica is among the first Slavery Studies books - and the first in Art History - to juxtapose temperate and tropical slavery. Charmaine A. Nelson explores the central role of geography and its racialized representation as landscape art in imperial conquest. One could easily assume that nineteenth-century Montreal and Jamaica were worlds apart; but through her astute examination of marine landscape art; the author re-connects these two significant British island colonies; sites of colonial ports with profound economic and military value. Through an analysis of prints; illustrated travel books; and maps; the author exposes the fallacy of their disconnection; arguing instead that the separation of these colonies was a retroactive fabrication designed in part to rid Canada of its deeply colonial history as an integral part of Britain's global trading network which enriched the motherland through extensive trade in crops produced by enslaved workers on tropical plantations. The first study to explore James Hakewill's Jamaican landscapes and William Clark's Antiguan genre studies in depth; it also examines the Montreal landscapes of artists including Thomas Davies; Robert Sproule; George Heriot and James Duncan. Breaking new ground; Nelson reveals how gender and race mediated the aesthetic and scientific access of such - mainly white; male - artists. She analyzes this moment of deep political crisis for British slave owners (between the end of the slave trade in 1807 and complete abolition in 1833) who employed visual culture to imagine spaces free of conflict and to alleviate their pervasive anxiety about slave resistance. Nelson explores how vision and cartographic knowledge translated into authority; which allowed colonizers to 'civilize' the terrains of the so-called New World; while belying the oppression of slavery and indigenous displacement.
#3016250 in Books Palgrave Macmillan 2007-11-08 2008-01-22Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .75 x 5.50l; .99 #File Name: 1403999899246 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Made an interesting topic totally boringBy Book HawkThis book was a very hard read. The author labored in the details of all crusades preceding the Children's Crusade. The historical logic train ran off the tracks numerous times throughout this book. This book was laborious to read and difficult to grasp. There has to be better books on this interesting topic.0 of 9 people found the following review helpful. The Children's crusadeBy jpI needed the book fast and delivered! Thanks!6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Pied Piper origin?By Matthew T. NelsonThis is a well thought out and researched book. I used this for a thesis that I wrote on the Children's Crusade. Though I think many of the numbers are highly exaggerated that is probably due to the original accounts told. The author does a good job sorting through the legend and the facts; though this is only one interpretation of the event. This is a worthwhile read for any academic looking to further their knowledge on the subject and possibly also for the well read armchair historian looking for the true story of the event that probably inspired the story of the Pied Piper.
