Edward Gibbon Wakefield

Edward Gibbon Wakefield ( born March 20, 1796 in London, † May 16, 1862 in Wellington ) was a British statesman who participated as one of the representatives of the United Kingdom at the Congress of Vienna and who contributed significantly to the colonization of Australia and New Zealand.

Wakefield occurred early in the diplomatic service. In Turin, the capital of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1814 to 1816 he was working as a diplomat. During this time he was by King George III. sent from Britain to the Vienna Congress to defend British interests. Besides the main representatives of Great Britain, Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry and Viscount Castlereagh, Arthur Wellesley and Robert Banks Jenkinson, Wakefield played but rather a less significant role.

After renewed activity as a diplomat in Paris from 1820 to 1826, he fell out of favor at the English court. It went so far that he went to prison in 1831. There Wakefield wrote the manuscript for a book on the death penalty. Two years earlier he had the work " A letter from Sydney " written, in which he developed a theory of colonization. He has elaborated in 1833 in " England and America " This book. In 1849 came " A view of the art of colonization ". It struck Wakefield ago to populate the colonies with volunteers and not with prisoners, as was usual.

His ideas led in 1834 to the founding of the South American Association, the British colony in 1836. In 1837, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, the New Zealand Association, so that he became a member of the first Legislative Assembly of New Zealand because of his service to this country in 1854. Thanks to this Association the number of settlers increased from 2000 in 1839 to 22,000 in 1850. This was achieved through the recruitment of voluntary settlers who received a " lure " some perks.

• Man
• Briton
• British diplomat
• Politicians (United Kingdom)
• Born in 1796
• Died in 1862
• Person ( London)