Conquest: How Societies Overwhelm Others

by David Day

In this bold, sweeping book, David Day surveys the ways in which one nation or society has supplanted another, and then sought to justify its occupation - for example, the English in Australia and North America, the Normans in England, the Spanish in Mexico, the Japanese in Korea, the Chinese in Tibet. Human history has been marked by territorial aggression and expanion, an endless cycle of ownership claims by dominant cultures over territory occupied by peoples unable to resist their advance. Day outlines the strategies, violent and subtle, such dominant cultures have used to stake and bolster their claims - by redrawing maps, rewriting history, recourse to legal argument, creative renaming, use of foundation stories, tilling of the soil, colonization and of course outright subjugation and even genocide. In the end the claims they make reveal their own sense of identity and self-justifying place in the world. This will be an important book, an accessible and captivating
macro-narrative about empire, expansion, and dispossession.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World History, Australia, War, Politics, Military History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

David Day has written widely on Australian history and the history of World War II. His biography of John Curtin won the 2000 Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards Prize for History and was shortlisted for the 2000 New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction, while his biography of Ben Chifley was shortlisted for the New South Wales Premier’s Award for History in 2002. David Day is currently an Honorary Associate with the History Program at La Trobe University and a visiting professor at the University of Aberdeen. He lives in Eltham, Victoria.

1986: Menzies and Churchill at War
1988: The Great Betrayal: Britain, Australia and the Onset of the Pacific War, 1939-42
1992: Reluctant Nation: Australia and the Allied Defeat of Japan, 1942-45
1992: Smugglers and Sailors: The Customs History of Australia, 1788-1901
1996: Contraband and Controversy: The Customs History of Australia from 1901
1996: Claiming a Continent: A New History of Australia
1999: John Curtin: A Life
2001: Chifley
2003: The Politics of War
2005: Conquest: A New History of the Modern World - ISBN 0732277655
2007: The Weather Watchers - ISBN 9780522852752
2008: Andrew Fisher: Prime Minister of Australia

Reviews

[Nick Imrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stake a claim. Know the Land. Defend the Land. Farm the Land. People the Land. Kill the others. Then tell yourself stories about how you were always in the right to do so.
In Conquest, David Day tells a clear story about the way that people conquer other people. The method used is so tried and tested that the book becomes repetitive, as waves of people go through the same steps in the process of driving out the old inhabitants and taking up possession.
Most fascinating, I thought, was that it's clear that, in many cases, the people who invade and conquer are aware that what they are doing is wrong and go to extreme lengths to justify it to themselves. The genocide that so often follows after conquest is partly driven by the terrible guilt of the conquerors who can't bear to see the proof of their crimes living alongside them day by day. If the natives are gone then you can tell yourself that they just died out: it was sickness, weakness, personal failure that cleared them away and gave you their land. If the natives are there, disenfranchised and starving, then you must know and remember that they are starving so that you can eat. The knowledge that you're not the 'real' people of the land can be a terrible weakness. The Mexica had only been settled for 200 years when the Spanish arrived and were well aware of themselves as outsiders and conquerors, and they were disarmed by the fear that the Spanish were a divine force of retribution.
Day reminds us that the migration of people, the back and forth struggle over a land to call home, is the history of all mankind. There is no people anywhere who did not fight to acheive their territory, and our best hope lies in accepting that future migration will happen and managing it with greater compassion and justice.

[Wej · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a highly readable description of how societies change. David Day, an academic historian, takes readers on a journey around the globe and different periods to show how the history repeats itself. Examples in the book cover a wide range of geographic areas, but Americas, Australia, Great Britain, and Japan dominate. Even though I read previosly about colonisation, I learnt a lot from this short book, especially about colonising efforts by Japan and Russia.

The book is divided into brief chapters describing ways in which societies can be replaced. These are: making a legal claim, drawing maps, naming, supplanting native population, conquering and defending the land, creating foundation stories, tilling the soil, genocide, a populating the land.

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an age where we are seeing increasingly specialist academic analyses, it is encouraging and just a bit awe inspiring to see someone take on the broad sweep synthetic approach to doing history that is necessary for a study of this kind – how societies overwhelm others. The key distinction Day makes at the outset is to mark off colonialism from settlement – to identify a group of societies he calls supplanting societies. It is a useful distinction, and for those of us who grapple with the distinctiveness of settler colonies it is a helpful reminder that in studying the occupying of others' lands there are important and useful things we can learn from places as diverse as and including Russian Siberia, Israel/Palestine, western Poland (around Poznan), Macedonia (within and beyond the boundaries of the Former Yugoslav Republic), and the UK – most of which are not seen as the typical settler colony (although a good case be made for Siberia and Palestine).

Day then reminds us of the distincition between de jure and de facto occupation, but rather than treating them as separate, sees them as interwoven and inter-related – pointing to tactics and devices such as making legal claims in the new territory, mapping and naming the place, physically conquering and defending that place, tilling the soil, depopulation (cultural and other forms of genocide), and (re)populating by migration. His reading is wide and sophisticated, but in recognition of both audience and I suspect sources limited mainly to Europeans as supplanters (although there is good material on Japan and China as well).

The model – the 10 techniques of supplanting – is a useful categorisation of the tactics of supplanting societies that appear in almost all cases, in different ways: the model makes this an important contribution to a debate that challenges us to look beyond the particularities of our own work: I may disagree with some of the detail and minutiae, but the overall framework is extremely valuable. What is more, it is elegantly and accessibly written (even if his use of decimation is, strictly speaking, incorrect).

[David Searle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and readable historical examination of the nature of dispossession. Great reference book and some insightful observations but largely investigating only one concept so it reads a little repetitive. Raises some provocative questions about national identity and notions of imperialism and indigenous.

[H. P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of academic historiography, and, as such, it is structured around a central theme rather than a chronological narrative. This hurts the readability of the book and is only passably, not well, done. That central theme is how societies overwhelm others. Each chapter focuses on one tool such societies use to supplant the existing society, such as renaming landmarks, mapping the land, and settling it. Unfortunately, the chapters consist primarily of a litany of examples, in no particular order, only tied to each other through the subject of the chapter. It makes for a very dull reading experience.

Despite the large volume of examples used and the stated universality of his thesis, Day draws far too heavily from just a handful of sources, namely European colonial powers, Japan, WWII-era Germany, and Israel. Day’s decision to discuss Israel and WWII-era Germany in almost the same breath, then a few pages later downplay the Holocaust, looks particularly odd. These are perfectly valid examples, as are those drawn from colonialism, but Day’s selections undercut his thesis that these methods are universal and instead give the impression he chose to improperly introduce an editorial slant. An academic historian should be careful to avoid advocacy of a normative position, even implied advocacy. Given the choices Day makes, a statement on the moral equivalency or lack thereof is demanded but not given.

I also found it rather strange that Day chose to include a discussion on the inadvertent spread of disease in the chapter on genocide. First, there are obvious differences between conscious genocide and accidental epidemics. Second, it greatly undercuts the thesis of the chapter, as disease, particularly in the modern times actually covered in the book and the specific chapter, killed far more natives than the conquerors’ swords. Day speaks of the threat of American Anglos of becoming the minority in the United States, but Anglos have long since been the minority in America, and American culture remains dominated by the four Anglo cultures described by David Hackett Fischer in Albion’s Seed. Day thinks that the Mayan and Mexica tradition makes Mexican immigrants to America feel at home; I can’t help but be left with the impression that Day is unaware that the Mayan and Aztec empires were situated nowhere near the Mexico-United States border.

Both of the above examples speak to a general sloppiness in application of Day’s thesis. He never does much to prove that point. Grand theory aside, Conquest has quite a bit of value as a survey of the various tools used by supplanting societies to stake their claim (actual staking being one) to new land.

[Maxim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a long way to convey the central idea of the book, but might be of interest to people who enjoy historical details.

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Day's work is very readable, extremely well researched, and presents a framework - the various steps - that conquerors use to establish themselves as the legitimate owners of their new territory and the steps taken against the indigenous population. The framework is supported by the examination of numerous case studies, highlighting the never-ending story of human migration.

[Peter Lipták · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prehľadne zhrnutá a analyzovaná história dobývania.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divided into eleven chapters, the first ten roughly categorizing the steps, provides an analysis of how societies supplant others. The first chapter is "Staking a Legal Claim," and like other important events certain rituals are performed. Some societies planted flags, others erected cairns or carved symbols into trees or rocks. These were meant more to keep competitors away. Using a map to show others the land one claimed is the subject of "The Power of Maps." An example therein is the race between the French and British to publish maps of Australia. A more direct means is "Supplanting the Savages." The supplanting society dehumanizes the other to argue the other doesn't deserve the land. 'Might makes Right' was the reason many societies used when they claimed land "By Right of Conquest." In some cases, such as Israel, ancient conquests are used to support present day claims. Most societies will deny the injustices they used to dispossess others. Once one is in possession of a territory one is tasked with "Defending the Conquered Territory." The castles throughout Europe and in parts of Japan serve as reminders of this fact.
"Foundation Stories" are used to justify continued possession. Sometimes the supplanting society takes part of the overwhelmed society's stories and embellishes them to make them their own. At other time they will reach back in ancient history for a justification. The decorations of the US Capitol Building serve as examples. "Tilling the Soil" provides additional backing of a claim, especially if the supplanting society can better utilize the land and its resources. In addition there is "The Genocidal Imperative". The other culture must be annihilated and/or assimilated. In some cases nature helps with the overwhelmed society falling prey to disease and starvation. In conjunction with ridding the land of the other, the supplanting society begins "Peopling the Land," either by getting volunteers or forcing convicts to settle the land.
The author posits that this "The Never-Ending Journey". One society overwhelms another and is in somewhat of a dominating position for a time. However, that society is often overwhelmed in its turn as people move around the globe. The preponderance of examples are from European conquests both in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The Japanese are also used to show similarities across cultures.

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author makes some interesting points, and raises the important and difficult questions regarding the acquisition of an 'empire'. The book is let down by a tendency to be repetitive of sources and events, although they may be used as examples to make more than one point, the whole event is repeatedly narrated. The real shame is if these repetitions had been removed, some of the more interesting events and arguments could have been expanded upon.

[Beki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers an interesting topic and uses great examples to demonstrate the tools societies use to supplant one another. Unfortunately, it's poorly organised, which results in quite a bit of repetition as the same examples are used to illustrate each tool. Overall, a decent read, but I struggled at times to resist the urge to skip over the parts that by the 5th chapter seemed very familiar.