3 Running Aground
-
Edward Acton Cavanough
Abstract
As the decolonisation movement swept through Britain’s colonies in the wake of World War Two, local administrators of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate had to make a series of decisions, such as establishing the British Colonial Development and Welfare Act. By 1973, Solomon Islands Plantation Limited and the British government’s Commonwealth Development Corporation entered into a joint partnership to develop the coconut plantations industry. This chapter details disastrous long-term consequences of an otherwise economically rational British economic intervention. In establishing the Tasimboko palm-oil plantations, the British successfully created an export commodity but, in doing so, fundamentally distorted the cultural status quo, planting the seeds for future conflict. As Solomon Islands’ civil strife dragged on into 2001, the geopolitical context in which Australia was operating markedly shifted. Solomon Islanders supported the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, or RAMSI, but it was seen as an undignified foreign intervention.
Abstract
As the decolonisation movement swept through Britain’s colonies in the wake of World War Two, local administrators of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate had to make a series of decisions, such as establishing the British Colonial Development and Welfare Act. By 1973, Solomon Islands Plantation Limited and the British government’s Commonwealth Development Corporation entered into a joint partnership to develop the coconut plantations industry. This chapter details disastrous long-term consequences of an otherwise economically rational British economic intervention. In establishing the Tasimboko palm-oil plantations, the British successfully created an export commodity but, in doing so, fundamentally distorted the cultural status quo, planting the seeds for future conflict. As Solomon Islands’ civil strife dragged on into 2001, the geopolitical context in which Australia was operating markedly shifted. Solomon Islanders supported the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, or RAMSI, but it was seen as an undignified foreign intervention.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- Map of Solomon Islands ix
- Milestones in the History of Solomon Islands xi
- Introduction 1
- I Island Universe 11
- 1 ‘Afuera! ’ 15
- 2 Jungle Road 25
- II Restive state 33
- 3 Running Aground 35
- 4 Manasseh of East Choiseul 49
- 5 Maasina Men 71
- III The switch 83
- 6 Devil’s Night 85
- 7 Escape from Adeliua 100
- 8 The Games 112
- 9 Rivers of Gold 120
- IV Rebellion 131
- 10 ‘No Need China!’ 133
- 11 Wuhan Window 148
- 12 Honiara Burning 165
- V Twisted iron 175
- 13 Seeking Protection 177
- 14 Red Line 188
- 15 Arc of Anxiety 201
- VI Where the North Road ends 211
- 16 Henderson Concession 213
- 17 East to Fataleka 225
- 18 Mustafa Rising 244
- 19 Making a Martyr 260
- Epilogue 271
- Notes 285
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- Map of Solomon Islands ix
- Milestones in the History of Solomon Islands xi
- Introduction 1
- I Island Universe 11
- 1 ‘Afuera! ’ 15
- 2 Jungle Road 25
- II Restive state 33
- 3 Running Aground 35
- 4 Manasseh of East Choiseul 49
- 5 Maasina Men 71
- III The switch 83
- 6 Devil’s Night 85
- 7 Escape from Adeliua 100
- 8 The Games 112
- 9 Rivers of Gold 120
- IV Rebellion 131
- 10 ‘No Need China!’ 133
- 11 Wuhan Window 148
- 12 Honiara Burning 165
- V Twisted iron 175
- 13 Seeking Protection 177
- 14 Red Line 188
- 15 Arc of Anxiety 201
- VI Where the North Road ends 211
- 16 Henderson Concession 213
- 17 East to Fataleka 225
- 18 Mustafa Rising 244
- 19 Making a Martyr 260
- Epilogue 271
- Notes 285
