Table of Contents

Introduction: settler colonialism and its forms of knowledge; Part I. Imagining Settler Humanitarianism: 1. Morality, violence and sentiment: precarious lives on colonial frontiers, 1788–1797; 2. Language, poetry and song: reading indigenous wordlists and grammars, 1770–1874; Part II. Regulating Settler Society: 3. 'Virtuous curiosity': penal practices and social theories, 1791–1843; 4. Prison letters: reading and writing from Norfolk Island, 1834–1860; Part III. Inventing Settler Science: 5. Collecting practices: Botany, print culture and empire, 1768–1988; 6. Creating colonial readers and imperial networks: the Tasmanian journal of natural science, 1841–1849; Conclusion: knowing the colony, knowing the world.

Promotional Information

A compelling account of how colonial knowledge from Australia influenced global thinking about religion, science, and society.

About the Author

Anna Johnston is Professor in English Literature at University of Queensland whose research explores the history and aftermath of the British Empire, especially in Australia. She is the author of Missionary Writing and Empire, 1800–1860 (2003).