Australasian and Pacific history Books

Book SynopsisThe marines on the First Fleet refused to sail without it. Convicts risked their necks to get hold of it. Rum built a hospital and sparked a revolution, made fortunes and ruined lives. In a society with few luxuries, liquor was power. It played a crucial role, not just in the lives of individuals like James Squire - the London chicken thief who became Australia''s first brewer - but in the transformation of a starving penal outpost into a prosperous trading port.Drawing on a wealth of contemporary sources, Grog offers an intoxicating look at the first decades of European settlement and explores the origins of Australia''s fraught love affair with the hard stuff.

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Book SynopsisPresenting the history of the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands from first colonization until the spread of European colonial rule in the later 19th century, this volume focuses specifically on Pacific Islander-European interactions from the perspective of Pacific Islanders themselves. A number of recorded traditions are reproduced as well as articles by Pacific Island scholars working within the academy. The nature of Pacific History as a sub-discipline is presented through a sample of key articles from the 1890s until the present that represent the historical evolution of the field and its multidisciplinary nature. The volume reflects on how the indigenous inhabitants of the Pacific Islands have a history as dynamic and complex as that of literate societies, and one that is more retrievable through multidisciplinary approaches than often realized.Table of ContentsContents: Introduction; Part 1 Exploring and Colonising Oceania: The birth of new lands, after the creation of Havai'i (Raiatea), Teuira Henry; 'Expanding' the target in indigenous navigation, David Lewis; Voyaging, Ben R. Finney; The colonisation of the Pacific plate: chronological, navigational and social issues, Geoffrey Irwin. Part 2 Historical Dynamics of Island Societies: Ecological Adaptations: Man's role in modifying tropical and sub-tropical Polynesian ecosystems, P.V. Kirch; Man and the sea in early Tahiti: a maritime economy through European eyes, Gordon R. Lewthwaite; The Ipomoean revolution revisited: society and the sweet potato in the upper Waghi valley, Jack Golson; Social and Political Evolution: The value of traditions in Polynesian research, Te Rangi Hiroa (P.H. Buck); Understanding Polynesian traditional history, Niel Gunson; Oral traditions among the Binandere: problems of method in a Melanesian society, John D. Waiko; Status rivalry and cultural evolution in Polynesia, Irving Goldman; Chimbu tribes: political organization in the Eastern highlands of New Guinea, Paula Brown; Regional Histories: The war of Tonga and Samoa and the origin of the name Malietoa, Samuel Ella (trans.); Exchange patterns in goods and spouses: Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, Adrienne L. Kaeppler; Kula: the circulating exchange of valuables in the archipelagoes of Eastern New Guinea, B. Malinowski; The place of Ulithi in the Yap empire, William A. Lessa; Yapese politics, Yapese money and the Sawei tribute network before World War I, M.L. Berg. Part 3 Culture Contact: The stranger-king or Dumézil among the Fijians, Marshall Sahlins; Institutions of violence in the Marquesas, Greg Dening; European-Polynesian encounters: a critique of the Pearson thesis, I.C. Campbell; From conversion to conquest: the early Spanish mission in the Marianas, Francis X. Hezel. Part 4 Responses to Pre-Colonial European Influences: The sandalwood trade in Melanesian economics, 1841-65, Dorothy Shineber

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Book SynopsisThe first aboriginal woman to be named in exploration literature is Ouray-Ouray; the best known is Trukanini, erroneously called the last Tasmanian when she died in 1876. This book gathers together these strands, and that of a vibrant women's literature, linking them to place - an island of still unspoilt beauty and unique flora and fauna.Trade Review"'Gently, stealthily, step by step, Susanna Hoe's narrative moves as a bright light shining into the dark history of Tasmanian Women.' - Carmel Bird 'Susanna Hoe's thorough research allows her to write a fascinating story of women in Tasmania. You can enjoy following her itineraries around the island and be amazed by the information about a multitude of women.' - Alison Alexander 'What a wonderful project! I couldn't put it down. It's based on very detailed research and she has brought to life so many important aspects of Tasmania's history.' - Lyndall Ryan"

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