Cole Harris is a professor emeritus of geography at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of The Resettlement of British Columbia and Making Native Space, and general editor of The Historical Atlas of Canada, Volume 1: From the Beginning to 1800.

Trial lawyers attending on Aboriginal claims will find this text usefully covers the history from 1500 forward, showing the changes from an Indigenous populated land to one organized on European terms. - Ronald F. MacIsaac (The Barrister, Issue No.89) This is a welcome antidote to the simplistic renderings of early Canadian history we are exposed to in high school social studies courses, political speeches and CBC mini-series. […] Harris has crafted a deeply insightful account of the history of what would become Canada. […] The Reluctant Land will be used in historical geography courses for many years to come – but it's more than that, because Harris set himself the task of writing a scholarly book accessible to the general reader. […] Encountering The Reluctant Land is like listening to a series of articulate public lectures, organized on a regional basis, allowing for an exploration of each part of the country, in turn. - Raymon Torchinsky (BC Bookworld, Vol.23, No.1, Spring 2009)

• PrefaceAcknowledgments1 Lifeworlds, circa 15002 The Northwestern Atlantic, 1497-16323 Acadia and Canada4 The Continental Interior, 1632-17505 Creating and Bounding British North America6 Newfoundland7 The Maritimes8 Lower Canada9 Upper Canada10 The Northwestern Interior, 1760-187011 British Columbia12 Confederation and the Pattern of CanadaIndex

Cole Harris is a professor emeritus of geography at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of The Resettlement of British Columbia and Making Native Space, and general editor of The Historical Atlas of Canada, Volume 1: From the Beginning to 1800.

Trial lawyers attending on Aboriginal claims will find this text usefully covers the history from 1500 forward, showing the changes from an Indigenous populated land to one organized on European terms. - Ronald F. MacIsaac (The Barrister, Issue No.89) This is a welcome antidote to the simplistic renderings of early Canadian history we are exposed to in high school social studies courses, political speeches and CBC mini-series. […] Harris has crafted a deeply insightful account of the history of what would become Canada. […] The Reluctant Land will be used in historical geography courses for many years to come – but it's more than that, because Harris set himself the task of writing a scholarly book accessible to the general reader. […] Encountering The Reluctant Land is like listening to a series of articulate public lectures, organized on a regional basis, allowing for an exploration of each part of the country, in turn. - Raymon Torchinsky (BC Bookworld, Vol.23, No.1, Spring 2009)

• PrefaceAcknowledgments1 Lifeworlds, circa 15002 The Northwestern Atlantic, 1497-16323 Acadia and Canada4 The Continental Interior, 1632-17505 Creating and Bounding British North America6 Newfoundland7 The Maritimes8 Lower Canada9 Upper Canada10 The Northwestern Interior, 1760-187011 British Columbia12 Confederation and the Pattern of CanadaIndex

Cole Harris is a professor emeritus of geography at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of The Resettlement of British Columbia and Making Native Space, and general editor of The Historical Atlas of Canada, Volume 1: From the Beginning to 1800.

Trial lawyers attending on Aboriginal claims will find this text usefully covers the history from 1500 forward, showing the changes from an Indigenous populated land to one organized on European terms. - Ronald F. MacIsaac (The Barrister, Issue No.89) This is a welcome antidote to the simplistic renderings of early Canadian history we are exposed to in high school social studies courses, political speeches and CBC mini-series. […] Harris has crafted a deeply insightful account of the history of what would become Canada. […] The Reluctant Land will be used in historical geography courses for many years to come – but it's more than that, because Harris set himself the task of writing a scholarly book accessible to the general reader. […] Encountering The Reluctant Land is like listening to a series of articulate public lectures, organized on a regional basis, allowing for an exploration of each part of the country, in turn. - Raymon Torchinsky (BC Bookworld, Vol.23, No.1, Spring 2009)

• PrefaceAcknowledgments1 Lifeworlds, circa 15002 The Northwestern Atlantic, 1497-16323 Acadia and Canada4 The Continental Interior, 1632-17505 Creating and Bounding British North America6 Newfoundland7 The Maritimes8 Lower Canada9 Upper Canada10 The Northwestern Interior, 1760-187011 British Columbia12 Confederation and the Pattern of CanadaIndex