Colonising Italians: Italian imperialism and agricultural ‘colonies’ in Australia, 1881–1914

Article


Dewhirst, Catherine. 2016. "Colonising Italians: Italian imperialism and agricultural ‘colonies’ in Australia, 1881–1914." The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. 44 (1), pp. 23-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/03086534.2015.1071099
Article Title

Colonising Italians: Italian imperialism and agricultural ‘colonies’ in Australia, 1881–1914

ERA Journal ID7319
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorDewhirst, Catherine
Journal TitleThe Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
Journal Citation44 (1), pp. 23-47
Number of Pages25
Year2016
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISSN0308-6534
1743-9329
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/03086534.2015.1071099
Web Address (URL)http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03086534.2015.1071099
Abstract

The historiography of Australian imperialism before the First World War has often neglected a context wider than the relationship with Great Britain. Yet this era also implicated non-British governments and their emigrants. Despite their small numbers, Italian settlers are significant for highlighting Italy’s empire-building and Australia’s struggles for national and imperial unity. Italy’s foreign policies after 1901 opened commercial opportunities across its diasporic networks, which included subsidising agricultural ‘colonies’ in Australia. The contemporary discourses of sectarianism and racism voiced before Federation articulated political and popular resistance against Italian immigrants. The rhetoric shifted after Federation as state governments examined the issue of land tenure for closer settlements (small agricultural farms), appealing to an argument about serving unemployed Australians before approving foreign settler schemes. The history leading up to two Italian projects in Western Australia and Queensland in 1907 allows reflections on Italy’s diaspora colonisation and Australian responses to foreign imperialism.

KeywordsAustralian imperialism; Italian imperialism; Italian migrants; Little Italy; foreign policy; closer settlement; agricultural villages
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020430302. Australian history
430313. History of empires, imperialism and colonialism
430319. Migration history
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Byline AffiliationsSchool of Arts and Communication
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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