Displacements and Dispossessions resulting from The Public Lands Act of 1853 The road systems constructed in Ontario as a result of The Public Lands Act of 1853 have historically played a significant role in the processes of displacement and dispossession of indigenous communities from their traditional territories and homes, reinforcing the mechanisms of settler colonialism […]
The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) was built between 1821-9 and designed by Architect John Haviland in the outskirts of Philadelphia. Noticeably atop of a hill, the prison’s feudal-styled walls enclose the 12-acre site and present an ominous symbol to discourage illegal behaviour in the city. The ESP was initiated by the Philadelphia Society for the […]
Founded in 1819, the British colony of Singapore was established as an administrative and trade hub for the Malayan peninsula, intended both to cement a British presence in the region, and create a platform to compete with and contain Dutch influence in the lucrative region. Singapore’s original planning document, The Jackson Plan was drawn between […]
An Architectural Gesture of British Industrial and Imperial Omnipotence The Great Exhibition of 1851, also known as The Crystal Palace, located in Hyde Park, London, is generally referred to as a renowned architectural gesture of universal peace, welcoming accomplishments in science, technology, and industry.[1] It is known to have “emphasised the commercial importance of more […]
The Influence of Pre-Contact Native Settlements on the Construction of Good Hope Cannery and Other Newly Established Colonial Fish Canneries Good Hope Cannery is a large gable-roofed structure with two perpendicular, long rectangular wings, creating an ‘L’ shaped plan, surrounded by smaller servicing structures, connected by boardwalks. It rests on wooden pilings and beams, some […]
The Potala Palace is a magnificent structure built in Lhasa, China, and was finished and opened in 1649, where it served as the home to the Dalai Lamas. Unexpectedly, the palace holds a dark history of power struggles with China as conflicts arose that deemed the Tibet government a culprit to abolish the government. Though […]
Constructed in a traditional neoclassical architectural style, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the United States. The permanent collection consists of works of art and artifacts from ancient Egypt, European masters collections, and an extensive collection of American and modern art. It also maintains holdings of African, Asian, oceanian, byzantine, […]
A relic of Thai architecture untouched by colonial influence Wat Phra Kaew The history of Wat Phra Kaew is inextricably entangled in the history of Thailand itself. The building’s lack of colonial architectural influence is a rarity in southeast Asia for buildings of the same era and can be tied to the lack of colonial […]
The concept of western entities occupying, governing, and exploiting natural resources and native people from “foreign” places around the world has been heavily documented in the relation to sugar and cotton plantations however, similar practices were and still being executed in a wide range of fields. In 1899 the United Fruit Company was formed, being […]
In 1773, the Raj began once the Crown appointed the first official governor-general of India to oversee the operations of the private British East India Company (BEIC); this was the British effort to bring the Enlightenment to India with their primary focus being on Calcutta, a city now known as Kolkata.1 Initially, Calcutta was a […]