Polar Imperative A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America

by Grant, Shelagh D.

• ISBN13: 9781553654186
• ISBN10: 1553654188
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-07-29
• Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd

Summary

The definitive history of sovereignty in the North American Arctic, by the foremost expert in the fieldBased on Shelagh Grant 's groundbreaking archival research and drawing on her reputation as a leading historian in the field, Polar Imperative is a compelling overview of the historical claims of sovereignty over this continent's polar regions. This engaging, timely history examines: the unfolding implications of major climate changes the impact of resource exploitation on the indigenous peoples the current high-stakes game for control over the adjacent waters of Alaska, Arctic Canada and Greenland the events, issues and strategies that have influenced claims to authority over the lands and waters of the North American Arctic, from the arrival of the first inhabitants around 3,000 bce to the present sovereignty from a comparative point of view within North America and parallel situations in the European and Asian ArcticTold from a Canadian perspective, this book will become a standard reference on Arctic history and will redefine North Americans' understanding of the sovereign rights and responsibilities of Canada's northernmost region.Shelagh D. Grant is the author of the Clio Award-winning Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet 1923; Sovereignty or Security? Government Policy in the Canadian North, 1936-1950; and more recently, Mittimatalik-Pond Inlet: A History, translated into Inuktitut. She is an adjunct professor in the Canadian Studies Program and research associate of the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies at Trent University, and she lives in Peterborough, Ontario.

Author Biography

Shelagh D. Grant is the author of the Clio Award–winning Arctic Justice: On Trial for Murder, Pond Inlet 1923; Sovereignty or Security? Government Policy in the Canadian North, 1936–1950; and more recently, Mittimatalik-Pond Inlet: A History, translated into Inuktitut. She is an adjunct professor in the Canadian Studies Program and research associate of the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies at Trent University, and she lives in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

Table of Contents

Maps	p. viii
Preface and Acknowledgements	p. ix
Setting the Stage
Defining the Parameters	p. 5
First Inhabitants, 3000 BC-1500 AD	p. 25
Merchants and Monarchs, 1500-1814	p. 55
The Nineteenth Century
The British Admiralty and the Arctic, 1818-53	p. 97
Purchase of Alaska, 1818-67	p. 115
Sale of Rupert's Land, 1870	p. 135
British Transfer of the Arctic Islands, 1870-1900	p. 155
The Twentieth Century
Perfecting Sovereign Titles, 1900-38	p. 193
World War II, 1939-45	p. 247
Postwar and Cold War, 1946-91	p. 285
Arctic Oil and Aboriginal Rights, 1960-2004	p. 339
The Twenty-First Century
Beginning of a New Era	p. 405
Conflicts and Challenges	p. 435
Notes	p. 471
Selected Bibliography	p. 511
Index	p. 519
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