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Salvaging Empire
Sovereignty, Natural Resources, and Environmental Science in the South Atlantic
James J. A. Blair (Author)
9781501771170
Hardback, published 15 August 2023
318 pages, 22 b&w halftones, 3 maps - 3 Maps - 22 Halftones, black and white
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.7 cm, 0.907 kg
Salvaging Empire is an excellent history of the Falkland islands and their industries over the decades. Blair does an excellent job of demonstrating how interconnected everything is in today's world, from global corporations to the impact countries may have on one another simply by not allowing shipping containers from another country to cross their borders. Readers get the impression that Blair wrote this book while standing among the Falklanders, making it equally fascinating for those interested in this extraordinary location and those intrigued by environmental and colonial history. Despite its complex topic and wide variety of approaches, the language and mix of descriptive narration of episodes and reflective discussion of consequences make it a joy to read. Whether a seasoned scholar or a casual enthusiast, one will find oneself captivated by the intricacies of Falkland history and the broader implications of empire in the modern world.
Salvaging Empire probes the historical roots and current predicaments of a twenty-first century settler colony seeking to control an uncertain future through resource management and environmental science. Four decades after a violent 1982 war between the United Kingdom and Argentina reestablished British authority over the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas in Spanish), a commercial fishing boom and offshore oil discoveries have intensified the sovereignty dispute over the South Atlantic archipelago. Scholarly literature on the South Atlantic focuses primarily on military history of the 1982 conflict. However, contested claims over natural resources have now made this disputed territory a critical site for examining the wider relationship between imperial sovereignty and environmental governance. James J. A. Blair argues that by claiming self-determination and consenting to British sovereignty, the Falkland Islanders have crafted a settler colonial protectorate to extract resources and extend empire in the South Atlantic. Responding to current debates in environmental anthropology, critical geography, Atlantic history, political ecology, and science and technology studies, Blair describes how settlers have asserted indigeneity in dynamic relation with the environment. Salvaging Empire uncovers the South Atlantic's outsized importance for understanding the broader implications of resource management and environmental science for the geopolitics of empire.
Introduction
Dispossession
1. Settler Safe Zone or Colonial Staging Ground?
2. Company Islands
3. Imperial Diaspora
Wreckage
4. Does the Sea Lion Roar?
5. Grounding Offshore Oil
Survival
6. The Geopolitics of Marine Ecology
7. Colonizing with Natives
Conclusion: Unsettled Claims