A Means and Measure of Civilisation

Colonial Authorities and Indigenous Law in Australasia

Bibliographic Data

ID9315973
AuthorsDamen Ward (corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume1
Issue1
Publication date2003-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1478-0542 • E-ISSN: 1478-0542
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1478-0542.049
OpenAlexW1997278669
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited11

British commentators on colonial policy in the early to mid‐nineteenth century often treated the existence of indigenous customary law and adjudicative forums as an indication of ‘civilisation’. However, not all customary laws were considered ‘civilised’ enough to be acknowledged by the British authorities. Furthermore, most British policy and debate was assimilationist. This article surveys two different assimilationist approaches. ‘Exceptionalist’ proposals favoured modifying the application of English law to indigenous peoples as a preliminary step towards assimilation. Such schemes can be contrasted with proposals for the ‘strict application’ of English law over indigenous peoples. In practice, however, the distinction between the two approaches was often blurred. Commentators and officials treated law as a means and measure of civilisation. The tension between these two roles often contributed to confused and ambiguous discussions of the application of English law to indigenous peoples. This article, therefore, suggests that Henry Reynolds’ views on British attitudes to indigenous customary law are overstated. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the distinction between legal and historical reasoning, and the limited implications of my historical arguments for the legal reasoning of cases such as Mabo and Wik

Civilization · Colonialism · Common law · Cultural assimilation · Indigenous · International law · Political science · Sociology · Statute · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Law · Law in Society and Culture

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