The Perils of Proximity: The Geopolitical Underpinnings of Australian Views of New Caledonia in the Nineteenth Century
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the links between these far-flung outposts of empire, New Caledonia and Australia, were much stronger than we might realise today. New Caledonia loomed large in Australian preoccupations as a commercial partner and an export market but also as an example of French perfidy and maladministration and as a threat to security.
Relations between these French and British colonies reflected in part the state of broader relations between the imperial powers, as well as changing geo-political realities in the region. The profoundly ambiguous and tension-filled relationship between the two imperial powers must be stressed – the two countries had been at war for much of the past five hundred years, they vied for power and influence in Europe, strategic control of international waters and colonial possessions and yet they recognised one another, in relation in particular to the indigenous other, as sharing European, Christian, civilised values.
This article explores the attitudes and opinions expressed in the Australian press towards the French colony at certain key points in Australian/New Caledonian relations: the annexation of the Grande Terre by the French in 1853, the Kanak revolts of 1878-9 and the pre-World War I nickel mining boom. It focuses in particular on the security fears provoked by the proximity of New Caledonia to Australian shores.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
For submissions from 31st March 2014 onwards, authors who submit articles to this journal for publication agree to the following terms:
a) Retaining Copyright and Granting Rights:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication. The work is simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License, allowing others to share and adapt the work. Acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal is required.
b) Non-Exclusive Distribution:
Authors may enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., posting to an institutional repository or publishing in a book). Acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal is required.
c) Online Posting and Citation Advantage:
Authors are encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process. This may lead to productive exchanges and earlier and greater citation of the published work (See The Open Access Citation Advantage Service). If authors include the work in an institutional repository or on their website, they must acknowledge the UTS ePRESS publication with relevant details.
d) Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License Awareness:
Authors should note that the CC-BY License permits readers to share (copy and redistribute) and adapt (remix, transform, build upon) the work for any purpose, including commercial use. Proper credit, a link to the license, and indication of any changes made must be provided. The manner of doing so must not suggest endorsement by you or your publisher.
For Volume 10 No 2 (2013) and earlier, the following copyright applied:
Authors submitting a paper to UTSePress publications agree to assign a limited license to UTSePress if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication. This license allows UTSePress to publish the manuscript in a specific issue.
Articles published by UTSePress are protected by copyright, with rights retained by the authors, who assert their moral rights. Authors control translation and reproduction rights to their works published by UTSePress. All rights are reserved worldwide by UTSePress, and downloads of specific portions are permitted for personal use only, not commercial use or resale.
For reprint or usage permissions, please direct inquiries to UTSePress via the journal's main editor, Dr. Nicholas Manganas at [portal.scholarly.journal@gmail.com]. Reprint permission requires acknowledgment of both UTSePress and PORTAL in the format advised by the journal editor.