The History of Tasmania by John West - 9781108030793

The History of TasmaniaAuthor(s): John West\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9781108030793, 978-1108030793\nSynopsis\nJohn West [tel] was an English-born minister who received a Colonial Missionary Society post in Tasmania in 1838. West became an outspoken opponent of the ongoing government policy of transporting convicts from Britain to Tasmania. Around 1847 a wealthy supporter approached West to write the colony's history, although it had been a British territory only since 1803. West accepted the task and, amid his campaigning and other responsibilities, completed this two-volume work which was published in 1852. It is divided between a straightforward narrative of events and thematic issues such as the treatment of the Aboriginal peoples and the issue of the convict transport system. Volume 1 covers the development of the colony, starting with the arrival of the Dutch in the seventeenth centur.