From Barbarism to "Polite Arts"

I've been reading through Amiria Henare's "Museums, Anthropology and Imperial Exchange" (thanks for the heads up, Dr. Castaneda!), and am coming across some really interesting stuff pertaining to colonialism.

Captain Cook's second voyage featured naturalists who were looking for natural resources to exploit in far off lands. After landing in Tamatea, the crew did their part in clearing a little more than an acre of forest. The assistant naturalist on board, George Forster had this to say about the natives they encountered in New Zealand.

"The superiority of a state of civilization over that of barbarism could not be more clearly stated, than by the alterations and improvements we had made in this place."

As he watches the crew transform this little plot of land, he takes note that his fellow Englishmen had done in the course of a few days what the New Zealanders (with their "tools of stone") couldn't have done "over the course of three months".

However, it's the following passes that really caught my eye.

"Already the polite arts began to flourish in this new settlement; the various tribes of animals and vegetables, which dwelt in the unfrequented woods, were imitated by an artist...; and the romantic prospects of this shaggy country, lived on the canvas in the flowing tints of nature, who was amazed to see herself so closely copied...In a word, all around us we perceived the rise of arts, and the dawn of science, in a country which had hitherto lain plunged in on long night of ignorance and barbarism!"

 This is prime stuff that I feel does a very good job of capturing the attitude of the era. It highlights how the colonists saw themselves, as superior, elegant artists who were transforming the world. I'd like to imagine that Forster say himself as doing a favor for the natives, but this voyage was undertaken in the early years of exploration in the area. This voyage seems to have just been to exploit the natural resources. Naturally, the natives got nothing in return.

There is also a lot about New Zealand flax (which is made of a lily) in this text. Apparently it was a VERY important resource in the early days, especially among the Scottish. According to Henare, this was because it linked agriculture with the rapidly growing manufacturing industry of the era. Cook had brought back cloaks from the area and the Europeans liked what they saw. They saw this variant of flax as being "superior to linen flax, with many possibilities for manufacture including naval ropes and canvas, and fabric for the clothing and Manchester demanded by the expanding industrial classes".