Sat Feb 14 23:58:33 EST 2004
----------------- EH.NEWS POSTING -----------------
SETTLER ECONOMIES IN WORLD HISTORY
Twentieth International Congress of Historical Sciences
Sydney Australia, July 3-9, 2005
Session sponsored by the International Economic History Association
Organizers:
Prof. Christopher Lloyd, University of New England, Armidale, Australia
Chris.Lloyd at metz.une.edu.au
Prof. Jacob Metzer, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
msmetzer at mscc.huji.ac.il
Prof. Richard Sutch, University of California, Riverside, USA
Richard.sutch at ucr.edu
Call for Participation
Scholars are invited to propose papers for an extended session on "settler
economies" at the 20th International Congress of Historical Sciences, to be
held in Sydney, Australia, July 3-9, 2005. The proposed session is
intended to be the first step in a three-stage project designed to improve
our understanding of differences among the various settler economies and to
better situate settler economies within the constellation of national
economic structures. The second stage of the project will take place at the
International Economic History Congress to be held in Helsinki, Finland,
August 21-25, 2006. Details of the session planned for the Helsinki 2006
Congress will be circulated in early 2005. The final stage is to produce an
edited volume on Settler Economies that will be published by a prominent
academic press. A preliminary outline of the volume contents is appended
at the end of this call.
Motivation
Settler societies and thus settler economies were created through a process
of large-scale migration from well-established states to land-abundant,
previously unorganized regions. Typically they emerge as hybrid societies,
growing out of the encounter of immigrants with the inhabitants in the
locations of settlement and influenced by the social background of the
immigrants themselves. The settler economies also differ in structure from
those of the country of origin since they were necessarily shaped by the
immigrants’ accommodations to their new geographical and natural
environment and their interaction with the world through international
trade.
The settler economies of the modern era – such as those of Argentina,
Australia, Canada, the United States, the Jewish community of pre-statehood
Palestine, and other areas in Latin America, Oceania, and eastern and
southern Africa – were drawn largely from the population of European
states. But, settler economies are a recurring phenomenon in world history
from ancient times. Other examples of settler economies may be Iceland,
Siberia, French Northern Africa (primarily Algeria), the British
colonization of Ireland, and perhaps intra-European cases such as the
Prussian colonization in Slavic territories in the nineteenth century. It
may likewise be suggested that the eastward expansion of medieval Europe,
the southern and western expansion of medieval China, and even colonization
in the ancient Mediterranean world could be fruitfully studied under the
settler economy framework.
The modern settler societies of the 19th and 20th centuries share special
geographic, demographic, and economic structures that constitute them as an
internally comparable group of economies and states. The trajectories of
their economic and social development often proceeded in parallel as a
result of similar dynamic interconnections between waves of immigration,
European capital importation, land abundance, free labor (at least after
the mid-19th century), socially-useful political institutions (that is,
institutions designed to develop the economy rather than extract rents for
some domestic or foreign elite), the marginalization (or worse) of native
peoples in many places, and development of neo-European cultures.
Settler economies were last studied in a systematic fashion in the 1960s
and 1970s. One primary question at that time was why settler economies
tended to accommodate fewer socialist oriented political bodies than the
European countries that spawned them. A seminal work from that era was
Hartz (1964). Some work in the 1970s and 80s concentrated on comparisons
between a small number of settler societies. After being out of fashion
for many years, interest in settler economies and societies is once again
on the rise. One central interest today is in the lessons of settler
economies for understanding the process of economic growth and development.
The socio-economic and political characteristics of settler societies were
largely conducive to economic growth. Yet, while many settler economies
have done well, others have displayed disappointing economic and
developmental records. The various patterns of divergence and convergence
make comparisons very fruitful. Among the topics of interest are issues of
land tenure regimes, property rights, immigration policies, labor and
capital markets, demographic patterns, relationships between indigenous
people and settlers, frontier settlement, trade, policies regarding
indigenous reconciliation, and the role of remnant settler populations in
post-colonial situations.
Organization
For the Sydney Congress, our goal is to recruit papers that provide
comparative analysis of particular themes that are common to many settler
economies (Part B, in the outline below). These include: comparisons of
those who emigrate with those who remain behind in sending countries;
settler-indigenous relations; labor systems; impact of settlement on the
environment; financial and trade flows between sending and settler
economies; migration, demography, and women’s roles in settler economies;
and their institutional and political developments. We also welcome
additional proposals for crosscutting themes.
Papers for the other major section of the book, Part C in the outline
below, will focus on particular regions or countries. We expect the papers
for this portion of the book to be informed by the thematic papers in Part
B and to identify both similarities and differences in the economic
development of some particular Settler Economies. In early 2005 we will
issue a general call for papers for Part C to be presented at a special
session of the International Economic History Congress in Helsinki Finland
in August 21-25, 2006. The organizers will be responsible for writing the
papers in Parts A and D.
Offers of papers are now sought for topics listed in Part B of the outline
below. Please send offers of papers by e-mail to all three organizers by
30 April 2004. Offers should include a brief abstract or synopsis (200-400
words). The organizers retain the right to select papers, to invite papers
from selected persons, and to suggest editorial changes in the content of
papers.
Expressions of interest for papers in Part C are also welcome but such
papers will be presented at Helsinki in 2006. A general call for papers in
Part C will be made in early 2005.
Settler Economies In World History: A Preliminary Outline
Part A - General Conceptual Themes [by the organizers]
* Settler Economies within a world historical perspective: Concepts,
Regions, and Eras.
* The dimensions and impacts of migration of free settlers and the
formation of hybrid demographic and social structures
Part B - General Comparative Themes [papers invited for Sydney]
* Settlers vs. elites in sending countries
* Settler-indigenous relations and impacts on indigenes
* Labor systems (both free and unfree)
* Environmental conditions and impacts of settlement
* Diverse experience of economic and social development
* Capital flows and developments
* Trade flows and developments
* Migration, demography, and women’s roles
* Political development and institutionalization
* Other cross-cutting themes
Part C - Regional Histories and Comparisons (emphasizing both similarities
and differences) [papers invited for Helsinki]
* Ancient settler societies, e.g. Greek colonies
* Intra-Europe e.g. Ireland, Central Europe, Iceland
* Caribbean
* North America
* Central and South America
* Australasia and Oceania
* Asian fringe, eg. Manchuria, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Formosa
* Eastern and southern Africa
* Northern Africa, eg. Algeria
* Siberia and Central Asia
* Palestine/Israel/the Levant
* The Persian Gulf
Part D – Conclusions [by the organizers]
* Comparative 21st century outcomes and future prospects. Ending of an era
and of a socio-economic formation?