Civilizing the Wilderness: Culture and Nature in Pre-Confederation Canada and Rupert’s Land

by A.A. Den Otter

In this collection of essays, A. A. den Otter explores the meaning of the concepts ‘civilizing’ and ‘wilderness’ within an 1850s Euro-British North American context. At the time, den Otter argues, these concepts meant something quite different than they do today. Through careful readings and researches of a variety of lesser known individuals and events, den Otter teases out the striking dichotomy between ‘civilizing’ and ‘wilderness,’ leading readers to a new understanding of the relationship between newcomers and Native peoples, and the very lands they inhabited. Historians and non-specialists with an interest in western Canadian native, settler, and environmental-economic history will be deeply rewarded by reading Civilizing the Wilderness.

472 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2011