Settler Colonialism in There There and The Secret River

     After watching the lecture on settler colonialism, I learned a large amount of information and watching the lecture helped me connect both There There and The Secret River. When I began thinking about the topic, I could not clearly differentiate between colonialism and settler colonialism, but with the information presented in the video, I feel more informed and educated on the subject. I appreciated learning about the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Dames Act of 1887, and the Indian Termination Act.  These acts all connect because they were forced removals/ relocations of the Native people that forced these tribes and families to move without an option. As stated in the lecture, these are acts of congress that have the same effects of warfare, but it was wrapped in disguise as benevolence and the ultimate goal was to assimilate the whites. We see settler colonialism taking place in There There as the American colonists begin occupying and taking over the land of the Native Americans. In The Secret River, the British convicts gained control of the Australian Aboriginal land. While thinking about the negative effects of settler colonialism which was heavily focused on in There There, The Secret River highlights the more positive aspects of settler colonialism. We see that Will is given a second chance at life, which is completely different than There There’s thoughts on settler colonialism. Overall, I see the good and bad parts of it, but as I continue to read The Secret River, I will continue to think about this topic and see if my opinions change. 

Comments

  1. Abby MatsonJanuary 17, 2022 at 8:21 PM

    I’m interested to see where the novel goes from here. While it definitely seems to highlight the positives, like you said, we know it’s ultimately a critique of colonialism, and it would be cool to see if there was some kind of realization of that from Will or Sal as the novel progresses. Either way I’m invested and interested to see where it goes!

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