Colonial Connections : 1815--45, Patronage, the Information Revolution and Colonial Government

The fascination with imperialism, in all its aspects, shows no sign of abating, and the 'Studies in Imperialism' series continues to lead the way in encouraging the widest possible range of studies in the field. This book makes a significant contribution to the study of historical networking. While the book covers the thirty years after Waterloo, it is particularly concerned with changes to colonial governance in the 1830s. In pursuing these themes, the book engages with broad questions about British imperialism in the early nineteenth century. It provides the opportunity to bring together new imperial and British historiography, to examine the somewhat neglected area of colonial governance, where 'governance' implies a concern with processes of government and administration. The first part of the book introduces, and then dissects, some of the networks of patronage and information which were critical to colonial governance. It examines changes in Colonial Office organisation and policies between 1815 and 1836. The second part deals with the development, implementation and effects of networks of personal communications in New South Wales and the Cape Colony up to 1845. The private correspondence of governors with their immediate subordinates within the colonies demonstrates the continual assessment and re-assessment of metropolitan politics, imperial policies, and the reception of colonial lobbyists. The final part of the book focuses on Britain, considering the impact of a changing information order on colonial governance, and examines how colonial and metropolitan concerns converged and cross-fertilised. This groundbreaking book challenges standard interpretations of metropolitan strategies of rule in the early nineteenth century. After the Napoleonic wars, the British government ruled a more diverse empire than ever before, and the Colonial Office responded by cultivating strong personal links with governors and colonial officials through which influence, patronage and information could flow. By the 1830s the conviction that personal connections were the best way of exerting influence within the imperial sphere went well beyond the metropolitan government, as lobbyists, settlers and missionaries also developed personal connections to advance their causes. However, the successive crises in the 1830s exposed these complicated networks of connection to hostile metropolitan scrutiny. This book challenges traditional notions of a radical revolution in government, identifying a more profound and general transition from a metropolitan reliance on gossip and personal information to the embrace of new statistical forms of knowledge. The analysis moves between London, New South Wales and the Cape Colony, encompassing both government insiders and those who struggled against colonial and imperial governments. "This ground-breaking book challenges standard interpretations of metropolitan strategies of rule in the early nineteenth century. This book challenges traditional notions of a bureaucratic revolution in government in the mid-1830s, identifying a more profound and gradual transition from a metropolitan reliance on gossip and personal information to the embrace of new statistical forms of knowledge. The analysis moves between London, New South Wales and the Cape Colony, encompassing both government insiders and those who struggled against colonial and imperial governments. As such, this book will offer an important new interpretation of the workings of British rule in the colonies."--Jacket Front matter Dedication Contents General editor's introduction Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction PART I: Metropolitan concerns Networking the empire Asserting metropolitan control: the Colonial Office, 1815–36 PART II: Colonial struggles The isolation of governors Traffic: the unofficial correspondence of colonial officials Colonial lobbyists: tactics and networks PART III: Agendas for imperial reform An information revolution Conclusion Appendices Bibliography Index