The study of the Pacific labour trade has been
dominated by works dealing with such aspects as the
mechanism of labour recruitment and the islanders
working conditions in the plantations. This book,
however, re-emphasises the importance of British
imperial intervention in the Pacific to control the
labour and arms traffic not only by British but also
by foreign traders. The book examines why the British
Government attempted to control the traffic and what
success it achieved between 1875 and 1901. The main
part of this book demonstrates how British missions
and humanitarians continued to push the reluctant
government to regulate the traffic, and how the
Western Pacific High Commissioners and the naval
officers attempted to introduce measures to control
the traffic. In particular, this book highlights the
British Government s diplomatic endeavours to control
the traffic and emphasises the international
dimensions of the missionaries campaigns for such
endeavours. Consequently, this book argues that,
despite the British Government s efforts to control
the traffic, it continued to have difficulty because
of the active foreign intervention by Germany, France
and the United States.
dominated by works dealing with such aspects as the
mechanism of labour recruitment and the islanders
working conditions in the plantations. This book,
however, re-emphasises the importance of British
imperial intervention in the Pacific to control the
labour and arms traffic not only by British but also
by foreign traders. The book examines why the British
Government attempted to control the traffic and what
success it achieved between 1875 and 1901. The main
part of this book demonstrates how British missions
and humanitarians continued to push the reluctant
government to regulate the traffic, and how the
Western Pacific High Commissioners and the naval
officers attempted to introduce measures to control
the traffic. In particular, this book highlights the
British Government s diplomatic endeavours to control
the traffic and emphasises the international
dimensions of the missionaries campaigns for such
endeavours. Consequently, this book argues that,
despite the British Government s efforts to control
the traffic, it continued to have difficulty because
of the active foreign intervention by Germany, France
and the United States.