Relations between governors and settlers were often fraught with difficulty in the Australian colonies before 1856. Contentious issues included the demand for representative government, ownership of land, and the levying of taxes. In Van Diemen's. Land a struggle emerged over the imposition of quit rents, a symbol of imperial control of land. Pressed by the Colonial Office to generate more revenue, the lieutenant-governors threatened, cajoled, and conceded but faced stiff resistance to the payment of quit rents. They were defeated by the powerful combination of self-interest, a growing adherence to democratic principles, and the political use of juries to vent landowners' grievances.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	History, Heritage and Archaeology
Research Group:	Historical studies
Research Field:	Australian history
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in human society
UTAS Author:	Petrow, S (Professor Stefan Petrow)
ID Code:	21603
Year Published:	2001
Deposited By:	History and Classics
Deposited On:	2001-08-01
Last Modified:	2002-07-29
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