Empire by Treaty

Negotiating European Expansion, 1600-1900

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19989941
AutoresSaliha Belmessou (0000-0001-9392-8921, autor de correspondencia)
EditoresSaliha Belmessous
Año2014
Páginas304
Fecha de publicación2014-11-27
Open AccessNo
TipoBOOK
RevistaEmpire by Treaty (SOURCE_BOOK)
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199391783.001.0001
OpenAlexW579072269
Open LibraryOL27557042M
ISBN9780199391783
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14

This book is part of an intellectual project aimed at including indigenous voices in the debate over European appropriation of overseas territories. It is concerned with European efforts to negotiate with indigenous peoples the cession of their sovereignty through treaties. To grasp the extent of European legal engagement with indigenous peoples, the book examines the history of treaty making in European empires (Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and British) from the early 17th to the late 19th century, that is, during both stages of European imperialism. While scholars have often dismissed treaties, assuming that they would have been fraudulent or unequal, this book argues that there was more to the practice of treaty making than mere commercial and political opportunism. Indeed treaty making was also promoted by Europeans as a more legitimate means of appropriating indigenous sovereignties and acquiring land than were conquest or occupation, and therefore as a way to reconcile expansion with moral and juridical legitimacy. As for indigenous peoples, they engaged in treaty making as a way to further their interests even if, on the whole, they gained far less than the Europeans and often less than they bargained for. The vexed history of treaty making presents particular challenges for the great expectations placed in treaties for the resolution of conflicts over indigenous rights in postcolonial societies. These hopes are held by both indigenous peoples and representatives of the post-colonial state and yet, both must come to terms with the complex and troubled history of treaty-making over 400 years of empire

Appropriation · British Empire · Colonialism · Empire · Indigenous · Political science · Politics · Sovereignty · Treaty · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law · New Caledonia Indigenous Studies · Claims · Colonies · Europe · foreign relations · History · Indigenous peoples · law and legislation · Territorial expansion · treaties · Treaty-making power