Ecology and Empire forged a historical partnership of great power -- and one which, particularly in the last 500 years, radically changed human and natural history across the globe. This book scrutinizes European expansion from the perspectives of the so-called colonized peripheries, the settler societies. It begins with Australia as a prism through which to consider the relations between settlers and their lands, but moves well beyond this to a range of lands of empire. It uses their distinctive ecologies and histories to shed new light on both the imperial and the settler environmental...

Explores the links between nature and nation; by looking at some of those who observe the natural world most closely--including scientists, field naturalists and farmers--she tells the story of how we as a nation have come to understand our land.

Brings together some of the world's leading environmental researchers in the life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences and humanities to bridge the disciplinary divides in understanding the environment.