Awards

• Winner of K.D. Srivastava Prize for Excellence in Scholarly Publishing, University of British Columbia 2008 (Canada)

Overview

The Reluctant Land describes the evolving pattern of settlement and the changing relationships of people and land in Canada from the end of the fifteenth century to the Confederation years of the late 1860s and early 1870s. It shows how a deeply indigenous land was reconstituted in European terms, and, at the same time, how European ways were recalibrated in this non-European space. It also shows how an archipelago of scattered settlement emerged out of an encounter with a parsimonious territory, and suggests how deeply this encounter differed from an American relationship with abundance. The book begins with a description of land and life in northern North America in 1500, and ends by considering the relationship between the pattern of early Canada and the country as we know it today. Intended to illuminate the background of modern Canada, The Reluctant Land is an intelligent discussion of people and place that will be welcomed by scholars and lay readers alike.

Full Product Details

9780774814492

Table of Contents

Reviews

Trial lawyers attending on Aboriginal claims will find this text usefully covers the history from 1500 forward, showing the changes from an Indigenous populated land to one organized on European terms. - Ronald F. MacIsaac (The Barrister, Issue No.89) This is a welcome antidote to the simplistic renderings of early Canadian history we are exposed to in high school social studies courses, political speeches and CBC mini-series. […] Harris has crafted a deeply insightful account of the history of what would become Canada. […] The Reluctant Land will be used in historical geography courses for many years to come – but it's more than that, because Harris set himself the task of writing a scholarly book accessible to the general reader. […] Encountering The Reluctant Land is like listening to a series of articulate public lectures, organized on a regional basis, allowing for an exploration of each part of the country, in turn. - Raymon Torchinsky (BC Bookworld, Vol.23, No.1, Spring 2009)

This is a welcome antidote to the simplistic renderings of early Canadian history we are exposed to in high school social studies courses, political speeches and CBC mini-series. [...] Harris has crafted a deeply insightful account of the history of what would become Canada. [...] The Reluctant Land will be used in historical geography courses for many years to come - but it's more than that, because Harris set himself the task of writing a scholarly book accessible to the general reader. [...] Encountering The Reluctant Land is like listening to a series of articulate public lectures, organized on a regional basis, allowing for an exploration of each part of the country, in turn. -- Raymon Torchinsky BC Bookworld, Vol.23, No.1, Spring 2009 Trial lawyers attending on Aboriginal claims will find this text usefully covers the history from 1500 forward, showing the changes from an Indigenous populated land to one organized on European terms. -- Ronald F. MacIsaac The Barrister, Issue No.89

Trial lawyers attending on Aboriginal claims will find this text usefully covers the history from 1500 forward, showing the changes from an Indigenous populated land to one organized on European terms.--Ronald F. MacIsaac The Barrister (01/01/2008)

This is a welcome antidote to the simplistic renderings of early Canadian history we are exposed to in high school social studies courses, political speeches and CBC mini-series. [...] Harris has crafted a deeply insightful account of the history of what would become Canada. [...] The Reluctant Land will be used in historical geography courses for many years to come - but it's more than that, because Harris set himself the task of writing a scholarly book accessible to the general reader. [...] Encountering The Reluctant Land is like listening to a series of articulate public lectures, organized on a regional basis, allowing for an exploration of each part of the country, in turn. -- Raymon Torchinsky * BC Bookworld, Vol.23, No.1, Spring 2009 * Trial lawyers attending on Aboriginal claims will find this text usefully covers the history from 1500 forward, showing the changes from an Indigenous populated land to one organized on European terms. -- Ronald F. MacIsaac * The Barrister, Issue No.89 *

Author Information

Cole Harris is a professor emeritus of geography at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of The Resettlement of British Columbia and Making Native Space, and general editor of The Historical Atlas of Canada, Volume 1: From the Beginning to 1800.

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