The Making of the Nations and Cultures of the New World: An Essay in Comparative History (Carleton Library Series)

Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand emerged as nations. Through conquest and violent appropriation, European immigrants settled these lands and soon developed a sense of belonging, most potently expressed in identity, memory, and the belief in utopias. Many of these new collectivities or founding nations succeeded in breaking their colonial links to achieve political and cultural emancipation from their European mother country. "The Making of the Nations and Cultures of the New World" explores the question of how a culture - a collective imaginary - is born. Gerard Bouchard compares the historical itineraries of New World collectivities, which were driven by a dream of freedom and sovereignty, and finds major differences as well as striking commonalities in their formation and evolution. He also considers the myths and discursive strategies devised by the elites to unite and mobilize very diversified populations. The first English translation of Genese des nations et cultures du Nouveau Monde, winner of a Governor General's Literary Award in 2000, this acclaimed book provides important insights for contemporary nations in crisis.