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History Historical Geography

The Reluctant Land

Society, Space, and Environment in Canada before Confederation

by (author) Cole Harris

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
Jan 2009
Category
Historical Geography, General, Human Geography, Pre-Confederation (to 1867)
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774814508
    Publish Date
    Jan 2009
    List Price
    $34.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774814492
    Publish Date
    May 2008
    List Price
    $95.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774858380
    Publish Date
    Jan 2009
    List Price
    $125.00

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Where to buy it

Description

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.

About the author

Cole Harris is a Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of several books, including Making Native Space: Colonialism, Resistance, and Reserves in British Columbia (UBC Press, 2002), which was nominated for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize, and The Reluctant Land: Society, Space, and Environment in Canada before Confederation (UBC Press, 2008), which won the Srivastava Prize for Excellence in Scholarly Publishing. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada. He lives in Vancouver, BC. To this day Harris and his family maintain a summer home on property originally staked out by his grandfather.

Cole Harris' profile page

Awards

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

Editorial 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.

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.

BC Bookworld, Vol.23, No.1, Spring 2009

Librarian Reviews

The Reluctant Land: Society, Space, and Environment in Canada before Confederation

The book begins with a description of the land and life in pre-Canadian confederation in the 1500s, proceeds through to the early 1870s, and ends by considering the relationship between this pattern and our present country. The text follows the progressive geographic and historical regional changes in our society and environment. The pattern of settle ment and the changing relationships of people to the land is the book’s theme. It shows how European terms reconstituted an Aboriginal land with a harshly imposed superiority to a new worldview. The book shows how a changing history affects the physical and cultural geographical landscape.

Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. Canadian Aboriginal Books for Schools. 2008-2009.