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Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

Acts of Occupation

Canada and Arctic Sovereignty, 1918-25

In Acts of Occupation, historians Cavell and Noakes deliver the engrossing story of Canada’s early days of Arctic policy. Drawing on a wealth of previously untapped archival sources, they show how one explorer’s self-serving ambition fueled unfounded paranoia about Denmark’s designs on the north, and ultimately served as the catalyst for Canada’s active administrative occupation of the Arctic. A compelling tale that throws new light on a transformative period in Canadian Arctic policy-making, Acts of Occupation offers much-needed historical context for contemporary debates on northern sovereignty.


308 pages | © 2011


Table of Contents

Introduction: A Policy of Secrecy

1 Taking Hold of the North

2 The Danish Threat

3 An Expedition to Ellesmere Land

4 A Citizen of the British Empire

5 Rasmussen in London

6 Wrangel Island

7 Stefansson in London

8 The Sector Claim

Conclusion: Canada of Itself

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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