Colonial Relations: The Douglas-Connolly Family and the Nineteenth-Century Imperial World

312 Pages·2015·7.414 MB·English

by  Adele Perry

Colonial Relations
ColonialRelationsoffersastudyofthelivedhistoryofnineteenth-century
Britishimperialismthroughthelives ofoneextendedfamilyinNorth
America, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. The prominent
colonial governor James Douglas was born in 1803 in what is now
Guyana, probably to a free woman of color and an itinerant Scottish
father. While working in the North American fur trade, he married
AmeliaConnolly,thedaughterofaCreemotherandanIrish-Canadian
father.AdelePerrytracestheirfamilyandfriendsoverthecourseofthe
“long” nineteenth century, using careful archival research to offer an
analysisoftheimperialworldthatisatonceintimateandcritical,wide
ranging and sharply focused. Perry engages feminist scholarship on
genderandintimacy,criticalanalysesofcolonialarchives,transnational
andpostcolonialhistory,andthe“newimperialhistory”tosuggesthow
thisperiodmightberethoughtthroughtheexperiencesofonepowerful
familylocatedattheBritishEmpire’smargins.
adele perry is Professor of History and Senior Fellow, St. John’s
CollegeattheUniversityofManitoba.
CriticalPerspectivesonEmpire
Editors
ProfessorCatherineHall
UniversityCollegeLondon
ProfessorMrinaliniSinha
UniversityofMichigan
ProfessorKathleenWilson
StateUniversityofNewYork,StonyBrook
Critical Perspectives on Empire is a major series of ambitious, cross-disciplinary
worksintheemergingfieldofcriticalimperialstudies.Booksintheseriesexplore
theconnections,exchanges, andmediationsattheheartofnationalandglobal
histories,the contributionsoflocal as well as metropolitanknowledge, and the
flowsofpeople,ideas,andidentitiesfacilitatedbycolonialcontact.Tothatend,
the series not only offers a space for outstanding scholars working at the inter-
sectionofseveraldisciplinestobringtowiderattentiontheimpactoftheirwork;
italsotakesaleadingroleinreconfiguringcontemporaryhistoricalandcritical
knowledge,ofthepastandofourselves.
Afulllistoftitlespublishedintheseriescanbefoundat:
www.cambridge.org/cpempire
Colonial Relations
The Douglas-Connolly Family and the
Nineteenth-Century Imperial World
Adele Perry
UniversityofManitoba
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107037618
(cid:2)C AdelePerry2015
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2015
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
ISBN978-1-107-03761-8Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
Contents
Listofillustrations page vi
Acknowledgements ix
1 Empire,family,andarchive 1
2 Housekeepersandwives 20
3 Freepeople,servants,andstates 48
4 Changingintimacies,changingempire 79
5 Localelites,governance,andauthority 108
6 Governors,wives,daughters,andsons 142
7 Colonies,nations,andmetropoles 176
8 Wealthanddescendants 218
9 Conclusion:empire,colonies,andfamilies 254
Selectbibliography 264
Index 288
v
Illustrations
FIGURES
1.1 Douglas-Connollyfamilytree page2
1.2 ThemonumenttoSirJamesDouglas,BritishColumbia
Legislature,Victoria,BC(ImageC-08263,courtesyof
RoyalBCMuseum,BCArchives) 12
1.3 StatueofJamesDouglas,Mahaica,Guyana,2010
(photographbyAdelePerry) 16
2.1 E.Goodall,“ViewofGeorgetownGuyana”(PY3047,
courtesyof(cid:2)CNationalMaritimeMuseum,Greenwich,
London) 22
2.2 SamuelHearne,“ANorthwestViewofPrinceofWales
Fort,Hudson’sBay,c.1797(MIKAN2876663,courtesy
ofLibraryandArchivesCanada) 30
3.1 MapofBritishGuyanaContainingtheColoniesofEssequebo,
DemeraraandBerbice(London:JamesWyld,1828).
Plantationsarenumbered,andurbanGeorgetownisinthe
inset.(Maps12-c-36,courtesyof(cid:2)CBritishLibrary) 50
3.2 AgostinoBrunias,“WestIndianCreoleWoman,withher
BlackServant”(b1981.25.82,courtesyoftheYaleCentre
forBritishArt,PaulMellonCollection) 58
3.3 RobertHood,‘”LikenessofBoisBrule´ orthechildrenof
EuropeansbyIndianWomen,February,1820,
CumberlandHouse,Hudson’sBay’’(NA-132–4,courtesy
ofGlenbowArchives) 71
4.1 Aportrait,likelycopiedfromadaguerreotype,createdin
Montrealof“Mrs.ConnollyandherTwoChildren,”likely
JuliaWoolrichConnollyandherchildren,WilliamAllen
ConnollyandLouiseMagdeleine(Image1–10550.0.1,
courtesyofMcCordMuseum) 83
vi
Listofillustrations vii
4.2 GustavasSohon,“FortVancouver,attheMouthofthe
ColumbiaRiver,WashingtonTerritory,1853”
(NA-1274–19,courtesyofGlenbowArchives) 88
5.1 InteriorofFortVictoria(ImageA-04089,courtesyof
RoyalBCMuseum,BCArchives) 126
5.2 HenryJamesWarre,“MyPartnerataGrandBallGivenat
FortVictoria,October6th1845”(ImageC-058104,
courtesyofLibraryandArchivesCanada) 136
6.1 TheDouglashome,Victoria.OntheverandaareAmelia
ConnollyDouglasandherbrother,probablyHenry
Connolly.(ImageA-01264,courtesyofRoyalBC
Museum,BCArchives) 145
6.2 “Composite”portraitofAmeliaConnollyDouglasand
JamesDouglas,withtheirdaughterMarthaDouglas
Harris’artworkembellishingtheimage(ImageA-01230,
courtesyofRoyalBCMuseum,BCArchives) 150
6.3 AmeliaConnollyDouglasinwidow’sweeds(Image
A-01234,courtesyofRoyalBCMuseum,BCArchives) 161
6.4 AmeliaConnollyDouglas,children,grandchildren,and
great-grandchildren(ImageA-00840,courtesyofRoyal
BCMuseum,BCArchives) 165
7.1 Victoria’sPioneerRifleCorps,alsoknownastheColoured
RegimentortheAfricanRifles(ImageC-06124,courtesy
oftheRoyalBCMuseum,BCArchives) 185
7.2 JamesDouglas,1876(ImageA-05698,courtesyofthe
RoyalBCMuseum,BCArchives) 204
8.1 JamesWilliamDouglas(ImageA-01240,courtesyofthe
RoyalBCMuseum,BCArchives) 235
8.2 JaneDouglasDallasandMarthaDouglas.The
photographismarkedCollierandPark,aphotographer
fromInverness,Scotland.(ImageA-02202,courtesyof
RoyalBCMuseum,BCArchives) 239
8.3 WeddingofMarthaDouglasandDennisHarris,with
AmeliaConnollyDouglasattheright(ImageA-09963,
courtesyofRoyalBCMuseum,BCArchives) 242
8.4 JamesWilliamDouglas,MaryElliottDouglas,andtheir
twosons,c.1882(ImageC-08623,courtesyoftheRoyal
BCMuseum,BCArchives) 243
9.1 FuneralofJamesDouglas,Victoria,1877(ImageA-01264,
courtesyoftheRoyalBCMuseum,BCArchives) 255
viii Listofillustrations
MAPS
1 TheDouglas-Connollyfamily’simperialworld 27
2 MapofcentralVictoria,showingthepropertynamedin
JamesDouglas’1877willandstillownedbytheestatein
1879(courtesyofUniversityofBritishColumbiaArchives
andSpecialCollections) 245
TABLE
1 Population,DemeraraandEssequibo,1811 53