John West (1809-1873) was an English-born minister who received a Colonial Missionary Society post in Tasmania in 1838. West became an outspoken opponent of the ongoing government policy of transporting convicts from Britain to Tasmania. Around 1847 a wealthy supporter approached West to write the colony's history, although it had been a British territory only since 1803. West accepted the task and, amid his campaigning and other responsibilities, completed this two-volume work which was published in 1852. It is divided between a straightforward narrative of events and thematic issues such as the treatment of the Aboriginal peoples and the issue of the convict transport system. Volume 1 covers the development of the colony, starting with the arrival of the Dutch in the seventeenth century, who named the island Van Diemen's Land, through to British control and its subsequent settlement as the colony of Tasmania.
- ISBN10 3732651290
- ISBN13 9783732651290
- Publish Date 5 April 2018 (first published 27 January 1972)
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Outlook Verlag
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 308
- Language English