Edward Gibbon Wakefield and the business of colonisation

In the final chapter of Book I of Capital, Karl Marx set his sights on the colonial theories of the English political economist Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796-1862), crediting him with an unintended revelation:It is the great merit of E. G. Wakefield to have discovered, not anything new about the Colonies, but to have discovered in the Colonies the truth as to the conditions of capitalist production in the mother

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Publication Details

Journal
Australian Journal of Biography and History
Published
2026-10-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.22459/ajbh.12.2026.07
Primary Topic
Australian History and Society
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Edward Gibbon Wakefield and the business of colonisation

Matthew Birchall
Australian Journal of Biography and History
Australian History and Society
article

Edward Gibbon Wakefield and the business of colonisation

Matthew Birchall
article en

Abstract

In the final chapter of Book I of Capital, Karl Marx set his sights on the colonial theories of the English political economist Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796-1862), crediting him with an unintended revelation:It is the great merit of E. G. Wakefield to have discovered, not anything new about the Colonies, but to have discovered in the Colonies the truth as to the conditions of capitalist production in the mother

Australian Journal of Biography and HistoryVol. 12
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Australian History and Society
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Edward Gibbon Wakefield and the business of colonisation — Matthew Birchall · Australian Journal of Biography and History (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS