At the end of the nineteenth and at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Queen Charlotte
Islands were witness to dramatic transformations. Surveyors and scientists mapped the islands,
describing the resources and conditions. Because of the favourable climate and locale, settlers
and capital flowed to the Islands, changing the landscapes. And although the Islands' indigenous
peoples embraced many aspects of the modernisation in the islands, they were excluded from
claims to the islands. The modernization of the Queen Charlotte Islands came to a fevered
climax in 1913, with the building of canneries, mines whaling stations, and logging camps, and
with a flurry of land speculation. Haida frustration also increased at this time, spurned by their
alienation from the land and their treatment as wards of the state.
This thesis considers these transformations in the Queen Charlotte Islands by reflecting on
various representations of place. Through these disparate images is the common narrative of
progress through which the Islands are framed - be it through various prospects of tourism,
science, capital, church or bureaucracy. What becomes apparent in all attempts to define and
describe this place are the failures of vocabularies that are brought by settlers and visitors and
imposed upon the Islands. Rather, the ability to know and control becomes allusive, thus
openning more questions into the meaning of place.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/7608 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Hamilton, Andrew Clephan Tingley |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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