Imperfect Machinery? : Missions, Imperial Authority, and the Pacific Labour Trade, c.1875-1901

ISBN-13: 9783639115536 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 260 str.

Mahito Takeuchi

Opis

The study of the Pacific labour trade has beendominated by works dealing with such aspects as themechanism of labour recruitment and the islanders working conditions in the plantations. This book,however, re-emphasises the importance of Britishimperial intervention in the Pacific to control thelabour and arms traffic not only by British but alsoby foreign traders. The book examines why the BritishGovernment attempted to control the traffic and whatsuccess it achieved between 1875 and 1901. The mainpart of this book demonstrates how British missionsand humanitarians continued to push the reluctantgovernment to regulate the traffic, and how theWestern Pacific High Commissioners and the navalofficers attempted to introduce measures to controlthe traffic. In particular, this book highlights theBritish Government s diplomatic endeavours to controlthe traffic and emphasises the internationaldimensions of the missionaries campaigns for suchendeavours. Consequently, this book argues that,despite the British Government s efforts to controlthe traffic, it continued to have difficulty becauseof the active foreign intervention by Germany, Franceand the United States.

O autorze

Mahito Takeuchi is Japanese and received his PhD degree from
King s College, University of London in 2007. He is currently
doing research on missions and empire and the labour and arms
trade in the Pacific and Africa. He teaches British imperial
history at Japanese universities.