Charting the Imperial Will: Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America, 1764-1775
ABSTRACT: CHARTING THE IMPERIAL WILL Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America 1764-1775 This dissertation explores how colonial administrators on each side of the Atlantic used the British Survey of North America to serve their governments’ as well as their personal...
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University of Exeter
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ftunivexeter:oai:ore.exeter.ac.uk:10036/3458 2023-05-15T15:46:49+02:00 Charting the Imperial Will: Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America, 1764-1775 Johnson, Alexander James Cook Black, Jeremy 2011 http://hdl.handle.net/10036/3458 en eng University of Exeter History http://hdl.handle.net/10036/3458 The Author retains any and all Intellectual and Commercial Rights to the Present Document. Prior permission in writing must be obtained from the Author by any individual or entity who wishes to extensively quote, or to publish in Hard (Printed) Copy or to post on the Internet any portion of this Document for any purpose. This Dissertation has been formally accepted for Publication. Any free dissemination of this paper before the Embargo date of 1 September 2013 will be fatally injurious to the Book. Surveying Cartography Maps Colonial America Canada Politics Government Administration Great Britain Florida Maine Massachusetts Quebec Nova Scotia Newfoundland New Hampshire Rhode Island New York Whitehall Hillsborough Dartmouth Shelburne Samuel Holland William Gerard De Brahm American Revolution Forestry Prince Edward Island Cape Breton Island Vermont New Brunswick U.S. History Canadian History British Imperialism Thesis or dissertation PhD in History Doctoral PhD 2011 ftunivexeter 2022-11-20T21:30:17Z ABSTRACT: CHARTING THE IMPERIAL WILL Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America 1764-1775 This dissertation explores how colonial administrators on each side of the Atlantic used the British Survey of North America to serve their governments’ as well as their personal objectives. Specifically, it connects the execution and oversight of the General Survey in the northern and southern theatres, along with the intelligence it provided, with the actions of key decision-makers and influencers, including the Presidents of the Board of Trade (latterly, the Secretaries of the American Department) and key provincial governors. Having abandoned their posture of ‘Salutary Neglect’ towards colonial affairs in favour of one that proactively and more centrally sought ways to develop and exploit their North American assets following the Severn Years’ War, the British needed better geographic information to guide their decision making. Thus, the General Survey of British North America, under the umbrella of the Board of Trade, was conceived. Officially sponsored from 1764-1775, the programme aimed to survey and analyse the attributes and economic potential of Britain’s newly acquired regions in North America, leading to an accurate general map of their North American empire when joined to other regional mapping programmes. The onset of the American Revolution brought an inevitable end to the General Survey before a connected map could be completed. Under the excellent leadership of Samuel Holland, the surveyor general of the Northern District, however, the British administration received surveys and reports that were of great relevance to high-level administration. In the Southern District, Holland’s counterpart, the mercurial William Gerard De Brahm, while producing reports of high quality, was less able to juggle the often conflicting priorities of provincial and London-based stakeholders. Consequently, results were less successful. De Brahm was recalled in 1771, leaving others to complete the ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Breton Island Newfoundland Prince Edward Island University of Exeter: Open Research Exeter (ORE) Breton Island ENVELOPE(141.383,141.383,-66.800,-66.800) Canada |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Exeter: Open Research Exeter (ORE) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivexeter |
language |
English |
topic |
Surveying Cartography Maps Colonial America Canada Politics Government Administration Great Britain Florida Maine Massachusetts Quebec Nova Scotia Newfoundland New Hampshire Rhode Island New York Whitehall Hillsborough Dartmouth Shelburne Samuel Holland William Gerard De Brahm American Revolution Forestry Prince Edward Island Cape Breton Island Vermont New Brunswick U.S. History Canadian History British Imperialism |
spellingShingle |
Surveying Cartography Maps Colonial America Canada Politics Government Administration Great Britain Florida Maine Massachusetts Quebec Nova Scotia Newfoundland New Hampshire Rhode Island New York Whitehall Hillsborough Dartmouth Shelburne Samuel Holland William Gerard De Brahm American Revolution Forestry Prince Edward Island Cape Breton Island Vermont New Brunswick U.S. History Canadian History British Imperialism Johnson, Alexander James Cook Charting the Imperial Will: Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America, 1764-1775 |
topic_facet |
Surveying Cartography Maps Colonial America Canada Politics Government Administration Great Britain Florida Maine Massachusetts Quebec Nova Scotia Newfoundland New Hampshire Rhode Island New York Whitehall Hillsborough Dartmouth Shelburne Samuel Holland William Gerard De Brahm American Revolution Forestry Prince Edward Island Cape Breton Island Vermont New Brunswick U.S. History Canadian History British Imperialism |
description |
ABSTRACT: CHARTING THE IMPERIAL WILL Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America 1764-1775 This dissertation explores how colonial administrators on each side of the Atlantic used the British Survey of North America to serve their governments’ as well as their personal objectives. Specifically, it connects the execution and oversight of the General Survey in the northern and southern theatres, along with the intelligence it provided, with the actions of key decision-makers and influencers, including the Presidents of the Board of Trade (latterly, the Secretaries of the American Department) and key provincial governors. Having abandoned their posture of ‘Salutary Neglect’ towards colonial affairs in favour of one that proactively and more centrally sought ways to develop and exploit their North American assets following the Severn Years’ War, the British needed better geographic information to guide their decision making. Thus, the General Survey of British North America, under the umbrella of the Board of Trade, was conceived. Officially sponsored from 1764-1775, the programme aimed to survey and analyse the attributes and economic potential of Britain’s newly acquired regions in North America, leading to an accurate general map of their North American empire when joined to other regional mapping programmes. The onset of the American Revolution brought an inevitable end to the General Survey before a connected map could be completed. Under the excellent leadership of Samuel Holland, the surveyor general of the Northern District, however, the British administration received surveys and reports that were of great relevance to high-level administration. In the Southern District, Holland’s counterpart, the mercurial William Gerard De Brahm, while producing reports of high quality, was less able to juggle the often conflicting priorities of provincial and London-based stakeholders. Consequently, results were less successful. De Brahm was recalled in 1771, leaving others to complete the ... |
author2 |
Black, Jeremy |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Johnson, Alexander James Cook |
author_facet |
Johnson, Alexander James Cook |
author_sort |
Johnson, Alexander James Cook |
title |
Charting the Imperial Will: Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America, 1764-1775 |
title_short |
Charting the Imperial Will: Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America, 1764-1775 |
title_full |
Charting the Imperial Will: Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America, 1764-1775 |
title_fullStr |
Charting the Imperial Will: Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America, 1764-1775 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Charting the Imperial Will: Colonial Administration & the General Survey of British North America, 1764-1775 |
title_sort |
charting the imperial will: colonial administration & the general survey of british north america, 1764-1775 |
publisher |
University of Exeter |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10036/3458 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(141.383,141.383,-66.800,-66.800) |
geographic |
Breton Island Canada |
geographic_facet |
Breton Island Canada |
genre |
Breton Island Newfoundland Prince Edward Island |
genre_facet |
Breton Island Newfoundland Prince Edward Island |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10036/3458 |
op_rights |
The Author retains any and all Intellectual and Commercial Rights to the Present Document. Prior permission in writing must be obtained from the Author by any individual or entity who wishes to extensively quote, or to publish in Hard (Printed) Copy or to post on the Internet any portion of this Document for any purpose. This Dissertation has been formally accepted for Publication. Any free dissemination of this paper before the Embargo date of 1 September 2013 will be fatally injurious to the Book. |
_version_ |
1766381530499776512 |