1300 187 187
During the Peninsular War, the latter part of the Napoleonic wars fought in Spain and Portugal between 1808-1814, many men were commissioned as officers, usually without purchase, into the British army and, at war's end, these men found themselves desperately looking for something to do. Peninsular War veterans, and their cohort, found New South Wales ideal: it was opening up for free emigrants, British army officers could obtain land grants, and they could obtain cheap convict labour to work the land. Christine Wright explores how these particular veterans had a profound impact on New South Wales (and other Australian colonies) at a time of expanded growth: how they were the nucleus of colonial power structures, that their social networks influenced the pattern of settlement, they had the latest technical skills in medicine, surveying, mapmaking and engineering and, more astonishingly, that they played a crucial role in the development of colonial art and literature.
| Series Editors' Foreword | p. vi |
| Acknowledgements | p. vii |
| Introduction: 'war was our trade' | p. 1 |
| 'emigration is a matter of necessity': The aftermath of the Peninsular War | p. 12 |
| 'they make Ancestry': Veterans as Officers and Gentlemen | p. 31 |
| 'we are in sight of each other': The Social Networks of Veterans | p. 55 |
| 'attached to the Protestant succession': The Religious Influence of Veterans | p. 74 |
| 'an art which owes its perfection to War': Skills of Veterans | p. 93 |
| 'with all the authority of Eastern despots': Veterans as Men of Authority | p. 115 |
| 'in the midst of the Goths': The Artistic, Literary and Cultural Legacy of Veterans | p. 132 |
| 'to pave the way for the free settler': British Soldiers on the Frontier | p. 151 |
| Conclusion | p. 175 |
| Appendices | p. 179 |
| Notes | p. 199 |
| Select Bibliography | p. 234 |
| Index | p. 239 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780230252301
ISBN-10: 0230252303
Series: War, Culture and Society, 1750-1850
Audience:
Professional
Format:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 256
Published: 15th June 2011
Dimensions (cm): 22.2 x 14.1
x 2.3
Weight (kg): 0.499
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