Natural Resources, State Formation and the Institutions of Settler Capitalism: the Case of Western Canada, 1850-1914 By Gustavo F. Velasco A thesis submitted to the Department of Economic History of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2016 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the Lon- don School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this author- isation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 99050 words. ii Contents Declaration ................................................................................................................. ii Contents ................................................................................................................ iii Abstract ............................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .............................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ................................................................................................................. x Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. xii Dedication .............................................................................................................. xiv Chapter 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivation ................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Methodology and Scope .............................................................................. 6 1.2.1 Sources and Data ................................................................................... 7 1.3 Research Contribution ................................................................................. 9 1.4 Chapters summary ..................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2 Staples, Natural Resources and Institutions: Historiographical Discussion ......................................................................... 15 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 15 2.2 Toward a Definition of Region ................................................................. 17 2.3 The Staple Discussion ............................................................................... 19 2.3.1 Dependence and Staple Theory ........................................................... 19 2.3.2 Staples and Periphery: A Comment on Argentina .............................. 20 2.3.3 Staple Theory, Growth and Industrialization ...................................... 22 2.3.4 Metropolis, Frontier and Dependence ................................................. 23 2.3.5 New Dependence and Underdevelopment: the Canadian Way ........... 24 2.4 Canadian Economic Historians became Empirical ................................... 26 2.4.1 Counterfactual Model: A Critique ....................................................... 28 iii 2.4.2 The Rate of Settlement ........................................................................ 29 2.5 Land, Immigration and Government Policies: A Comparison .................. 34 2.5.1 Land Distribution in Canada ............................................................... 36 2.5.2 Immigration Policies in Canada .......................................................... 39 2.5.3 Land and Immigration Policies in Argentina ...................................... 41 2.6 Factor Endowments, Institutions and Economic Growth: A NIE Approach........................................................................................ 44 2.6.1 Do Institutions Matter? ........................................................................ 47 2.6.2 Does Culture Matter? .......................................................................... 48 2.6.3 Natural Resources, Factor Endowments and Geography .................... 49 2.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 52 Chapter 3 Building Canada: Historical, Economic and Demographic Context ......... 56 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 56 3.2 Historical Background ............................................................................... 57 3.2.1 The Idea of a Nation ............................................................................ 57 3.2.2 Resistance and Integration: Louis Riel ................................................ 60 3.2.3 The Transcontinental Dream ............................................................... 62 3.3 Canada in Context ..................................................................................... 64 3.3.1 Population, Immigration and Data Quality ......................................... 64 3.3.2 Population and Immigration in the New World .................................. 68 3.3.3 Measuring Growth ............................................................................... 74 3.3.4 The Canadian Economy by Sectors..................................................... 76 3.4 Canadian Immigration and Settlement: Further Discussion ..................... 80 3.4.1 Immigration and Settlement: A Reappraisal ....................................... 81 3.4.2 Census and Data Quality ..................................................................... 87 3.4.3 The Canadian Exodus .......................................................................... 88 3.4.4 Census, Statistics and Nation Building ............................................... 92 3.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 96 Chapter 4 The Organization of Space in Western Canada ......................................... 99 iv 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 99 4.2 State Power, Property Rights and Land Division .................................... 103 4.2.1 Maps, Geographies, Space ................................................................ 107 4.2.2 Uncertain Property, Uncertain State Domain .................................... 109 4.2.3 From Common Land to Private Property .......................................... 115 4.3 Space in Motion, the Dynamic of Prairie Settlement after 1870 ............ 120 4.3.1 The Division and Allocation of Land in Western Canada. ............... 120 4.3.2 Section, Township and Range ........................................................... 122 4.3.3 Government Funding, Railroad Land and Settlement ....................... 125 4.4 Homestead Entries, Cancellations and Settlement .................................. 130 4.4.1 Homesteading .................................................................................... 134 4.4.2 Homesteads Data ............................................................................... 137 4.4.3 An Empirical Exercise ...................................................................... 140 4.4.1 Spatial Analysis ................................................................................. 141 4.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 146 Chapter 5 The Post, the Railroad and the State: New Approaches to Study Western Canada Settlement ....................................................................................... 149 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 149 5.2 Networks and State Building ................................................................... 152 5.2.1 The Post as social foundation ............................................................ 155 5.2.2 The Post as a proxy for settlement .................................................... 157 5.3 Sources and Methodology ....................................................................... 158 5.3.1 The use of HGIS to revisit the post ................................................... 161 5.3.2 Challenges of Mapping the Past: Historical Railroads ...................... 163 5.3.3 Post Offices Data ............................................................................... 166 5.4 Post Offices and State Formation ............................................................ 168 5.4.1 The Post in Western Canada ............................................................. 168 5.4.2 Post and Railroad in Time and Space ................................................ 170 5.5 Location, Location, Location .................................................................. 179 v 5.5.1 Spatial Analysis: Rivers and Railroad ............................................... 179 5.5.2 Spatial Analysis: Post Offices and