Money, often portrayed as a straightforward representation of market value, is also a political force, a technology for remaking space and population. This was especially true in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Canada, where money - in many forms - provided an effective means of disseminating colonial social values, laying claim to national space, and disciplining colonized peoples. Colonialism's Currency analyzes the historical experiences and interactions of three distinct First Nations - the Wendat of Wendake, the Innu of Mashteuiatsh, and the Moose Factory Cree - with monetary forms and practices created by colonial powers. Whether treaty payments and welfare provisions such as the paper vouchers favoured by the Department of Indian Affairs, the Canadian Dominion's standardized paper notes, or the "made beaver" (the Hudson's Bay Company's money of account), each monetary form allowed the state to communicate and enforce political, economic, and cultural sovereignty over Indigenous peoples and their lands. Surveying a range of historical cases, Brian Gettler shows how currency simultaneously placed First Nations beyond the bounds of settler society while justifying colonial interventions in their communities. Testifying to the destructive and the legitimizing power of money, Colonialism's Currency is an intriguing exploration of the complex relationship between First Nations and the state.

Brian Gettler is assistant professor of history at the University of Toronto.

Brian Gettler's profile page

“Gettler shows that currency is a useful tool for expanding territory, asserting dominance, and disciplining people who object to further colonial control. … interesting for all readers.” Canada’s History

"Ultimately, Gettler succeeds in undercutting the idea that money is apolitical. His account is generative, too, laying necessary groundwork for future work on the relationship between colonialism, state formation, and fiscal and monetary policy." Canadian Journal of Political Science

"Colonialism's Currency is meticulous in the development of its argument, drawing expertly on original sources enriched by an interwoven analysis based both on the author's well-informed interpretation of the data and on secondary literature, resulting in an entirely convincing and highly original book." Hugh Shewell, Carleton University and author of "Enough to Keep Them Alive": Indian Welfare in Canada, 1873-1965