The Profits of Nature: Colonial Development and the Quest for Resources in Nineteenth-Century China - Couverture rigide

Lavelle, Peter B.

 
9780231194709: The Profits of Nature: Colonial Development and the Quest for Resources in Nineteenth-Century China
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 0231194706 ISBN 13 : 9780231194709
Editeur : Columbia University Press, 2020

Synopsis

In the nineteenth century, the Qing empire experienced a period of profound turmoil caused by an unprecedented conjunction of natural disasters, domestic rebellions, and foreign incursions. The imperial government responded to these calamities by introducing an array of new policies and institutions to bolster its power across its massive territories. In the process, Qing officials launched campaigns for natural resource development, seeking to take advantage of the unexploited lands, waters, and minerals of the empire's vast hinterlands and borderlands.

In this book, Peter B. Lavelle uses the life and career of Chinese statesman Zuo Zongtang (1812-1885) as a lens to explore the environmental history of this era. Although known for his pacification campaigns against rebel movements, Zuo was at the forefront of the nineteenth-century quest for natural resources. Influenced by his knowledge of nature, geography, and technology, he created government bureaus and oversaw state-funded projects to improve agriculture, sericulture, and other industries in territories across the empire. His work forged new patterns of colonial development in the Qing empire's northwest borderlands, including Xinjiang, at a time when other empires were scrambling to secure access to resources around the globe. Weaving a narrative across the span of Zuo's lifetime, The Profits of Nature offers a unique approach to understanding the dynamic relationship among social crises, colonialism, and the natural world during a critical juncture in Chinese history, between the high tide of imperial power in the eighteenth century and the challenges of modern state-building in the twentieth century.

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À propos de l?auteur

Peter B. Lavelle is assistant professor of history at Temple University.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Columbia University Press
Date d'édition
2020
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
0231194706
ISBN 13 
9780231194709
Reliure
Relié
Nombre de pages
304
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible