This thesis explores the significance of the newspaper press in a settler society, in this case Poverty Bay on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It examines the circumstances of such a society's communications needs and problems, and its demographic structure. It also looks at the changing patterns of journalism in nineteenth century New Zealand and elsewhere and, importantly, printing's technological progress as it affected a provincial newspaper. Remoteness was a dominating feature of the Poverty Bay district and European settlement was slow to develop. The consequence was twofold: institutions, such as the church, the press and the school, were already well-established in New Zealand by the time this second frontier region began to attract much attention - in the case of the press this meant an interconnectedness from the outset, with ideas and staff emanating from established New Zealand circles - and communication difficulties caused by isolation. Poverty Bay's first newspaper, the Poverty Bay Standard, began in 1872, more than thirty years after New Zealand's first newspaper, the New Zealand Gazette. The 1870s saw a clamour of activity. This was reflected in the district's press, not only within its pages, but also with considerable competition and changing of ownership. Eventually one newspaper, the Poverty Bay Herald, succeeded where all others failed. The Poverty Bay Herald has remained in the hands of one family since experienced printer Allan Ramsay Muir became part-owner in 1884. Thus, the family and the community have been intertwined for one hundred and twenty years. Good provincial newspapers provide a cohesive element in their society or they do not succeed. The Poverty Bay Herald initially survived through luck and useful friends but it became a beacon for its community in that it reflected success and modernity. Many others attempted to dislodge it or share the stage, but the Poverty Bay Herald played, and still plays, a significant role as the former 'out district' stabilized and advanced.

Historians have long claimed that the newspaper printers of the American Revolution were instrumental in bringing about Independence. By focusing solely on the written words left behind by these men, however, researchers have erroneously believed the printers belonged exclusively to either the patriot or Tory camps. The masthead symbols chosen by the printers to represent their newspapers offer a more objective measure of their partisan affiliations than a textual analysis of the content. The printers marked major changes in their political ideologies by inserting and deleting political symbols in their newspaper mastheads. This study examines the use and meanings of these engravings, arguing that the symbols best represent the personal views of the printers. The study of masthead designs will help historians better understand Colonial printers and their progress toward their ultimate political affiliation.

La presse coloniale hispano-américaine a joué un rôle significatif dans la propagation d’idées étrangères dans les colonies d’Amérique. Elle est devenue le porte-parole de certaines idéologies, lesquelles se sont renforcées par le biais de la traduction de nouvelles provenant surtout d’Europe et des États-Unis. Notre thèse porte sur les interventions du sujet traducteur dans la Gaceta de Caracas (GdC) du Venezuela. Publié de 1808 à 1822, ce périodique est le plus emblématique de l’époque émancipatrice. Créé pour diffuser des nouvelles et des idées pro-monarchie dans la province vénézuélienne, ce périodique dépasse ses objectifs premiers et témoigne des changements politiques, économiques et sociaux pendant le processus d’indépendance du pays qui, en quatorze ans, connaît successivement des périodes royalistes et des périodes républicaines. Comme les autres périodiques de la Province, la GdC a connu une importante activité traductive par l’emploi de sources étrangères (périodiques publiés en Europe, aux États-Unis et dans les Caraïbes). La traduction dans la GdC fait partie d’un projet politique, raison pour laquelle les traducteurs n’hésitent pas à s’en servir pour communiquer leurs idéaux. La traduction sert toutefois deux projets bien distincts dépendamment de l’étape politique que vit le pays : pendant l’époque royaliste, elle cherche à maintenir le pouvoir de la monarchie espagnole sur la colonie, tandis que durant l’époque patriotique, elle cherche à s’en libérer. Des études précédentes ponctuelles suggèrent que le traducteur de la GdC emploie une stratégie d’appropriation à des fins politiques et intervient délibérément dans le processus de traduction (Bastin, Navarro & Iturriza, 2010; Iturriza, 2011; Navarro, 2008, 2010, 2011). Dans le cadre des études descriptives de la traduction – EDT (Toury, 1995), nous étudions les choix traductionnels des rédacteurs-traducteurs. Plus précisément, nous examinons les raisons, les manifestations et les effets de ces choix afin de déterminer le rôle de la traduction dans le processus indépendantiste au Venezuela. / The Spanish-American colonial press played a significant role in the spread of foreign ideas in the American colonies. This press became the speaker of certain ideologies, which have been strengthened through the translation of news coming mainly from Europe and the United States. Our thesis studies the translator interventions in the Gaceta de Caracas (GdC). Published from 1808 to 1822, this periodical is the most emblematic of the Venezuelan emancipation period. Established to disseminate pro-monarchy news and ideas in the Venezuelan province, the GdC exceeds its primary objectives and witness the political, economic and social changes during the process of independence of the country which, in fourteen years, has successively royalists and republican periods. Like other periodical of the Province, the GdC brings up an important translational activity by the use of foreign sources (periodicals published in Europe, the United States and the Caribbean). Translation in the GdC is part of a political project, and translators do not hesitate to use it to communicate their ideologies. However, the translation serves two distinct projects depending on the political stage of the country: during the royalist period, it seeks to maintain the power of the Spanish monarchy in the colony, while during the patriotic period, it seeks emancipation. Previous studies show that the translator of the GdC employs a strategy of appropriation for political reasons and intervene in the translation process (Bastin, Navarro & Iturriza, 2010; Iturriza, 2011; Navarro, 2008, 2010, 2011). Within the approach of Descriptive Translation Studies - DTS (Toury, 1995), we study the translational editors’ choices. We examine specifically the reasons, the manifestations and the effects of these choices to determine the role of translation in the independence process in Venezuela. / La prensa colonial hispanoamericana jugó un rol significativo en la propagación de ideas extranjeras en las colonias de América y se convirtió en portavoz de ciertas ideologías, las cuales se reforzaron por medio de la traducción de noticias procedentes principalmente de Europa y Estados Unidos. Nuestra tesis trata sobre las intervenciones del sujeto traductor en la Gaceta de Caracas (GdC). Publicado de 1808 a 1822, este periódico venezolano es el más emblemático de la época independentista. Se crea para difundir noticias e ideas a favor de la monarquía, pero pronto sobrepasa estos objetivos para ser testigo de los cambios políticos, económicos y sociales que tuvieron lugar durante el proceso emancipador venezolano que, en catorce años, conoce sucesivamente periodos republicanos y periodos realistas. Como los otros periódicos de la Provincia, la GdC conoció una importante actividad traductiva debido al uso de fuentes extrajeras (periódicos publicados en Europa, Estados Unidos y El Caribe). La traducción en la GdC forma parte de un proyecto político, razón por la cual los traductores no dudan en utilizarla para comunicar sus ideales. Sin embargo, la traducción está a la merced de dos proyectos bien distintos, según la etapa política que vive el país: durante la etapa realista, busca mantener el poder de la monarquía española en la colonia, mientras que durante la época republicana, persigue la liberación del yugo español. Estudios anteriores puntuales sugieren que el traductor de la GdC emplea una estrategia de apropiación con fines políticos e interviene deliberadamente en el proceso de traducción (Bastin, Navarro & Iturriza, 2010; Iturriza, 2011; Navarro, 2008, 2010, 2011). En el marco de los estudios descriptivos de la traducción – EDT (Toury, 1995), estudiamos las decisiones traductivas de estos redactores-traductores. Más específicamente, examinamos las razones, las manifestaciones y los efectos de estas decisiones con el fin de determinar el rol de la traducción en el proceso independentista de Venezuela.