Trans-'imperial eyes' in the Atlantic on the British imperial voyage to Australia, 1787–1791. Issue 4 (2nd October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: McIntyre, Julie
• Is Part Of: History Australia. Volume 15:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 674
• Page End: 692
• Publication Date: 2018-10-02
• Subjects: Transimperialism -- transatlantic voyaging -- indigeneity and empire -- migration -- settler colonialism; Australia -- History -- Periodicals; Australia; History; Periodicals; 905
• DOI: 10.1080/14490854.2018.1513799
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1449-0854

Abstract

Abstract: Early British imperial voyages to Australia did not occur entirely at sea or solely within the sphere of British influence. In the late eighteenth century Britain controlled few ports. Imperial expansion under sail therefore required supplies, rest and repair at the ports of other empires. Indeed, in 1787 the First Fleet laid over in the Atlantic harbours of Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands, Rio de Janeiro in Portuguese Brazil and the Dutch East India Company's Cape colony in southern Africa. These layovers varied in length from a week to a month. During this time British officials went ashore on imperial business. What is less understood is that other voyagers also visited port townships and hinterlands to explore, socialise and make personal purchases, presenting opportunities to view settler colonialism under other empires. In her study of European travel writing, Mary Louise Pratt termed 'imperial eyes' the ways of seeing that produced othering discourses of non-Europeans. Through a new reading of 1787 travel accounts, and others from 1789 and 1791, this article argues that British imperial voyaging to Australia entailed seeing with trans-'imperial eyes' in the colonies of other empires. These encounters led to the formation of impressions about indigenous peoples under other colonial rule.