Exercising the Utmost Vigilance: The Catholic Campaign AgainstContraception in New Zealand During the 1930s*

The Catholic campaign against contraception in New Zealand during the 1930s is usually interpreted from the perspective of the promoters of birth control, who accused the church of exercising undue influence over the Labour government (1935–49). This paper argues that while Catholics were the most outspoken opponents of contraception, their opposition to the dissemination of birth control information and contraceptive devices was shared with other influential groups, notably the Protestant churches, the medical profession, journalists, and politicians. It was the combined strength of these conservative interests, not pressure from Catholics alone, which discouraged the Labour government from establishing birth control clinics. Catholics and many other New Zealanders feared that increased access to contraceptives would reduce the birth rate, leaving New Zealand vulnerable to non-British migration or even invasion. There was also widespread concern that the promotion of birth control would encourage sexual promiscuity. Since Catholics sought a compete ban on artificial contraception, however, they were unable to cooperate with non-Catholics who, accepting the restrained use of contraceptives, sought only to limit their availability. Catholic influence reinforced the efforts of other conservative interests but was not strong enough to secure legislation reflecting distinctively Catholic principles.     

A Test of Ideal Free Distribution Predictions Using Targeted Survey and Excavation on California’s Northern Channel Islands

Using targeted survey, excavation, and radiocarbon dating, we assess the extent to which human settlement patterns on California’s northern Channel Islands fit predictions arising from the ideal free distribution (IFD): (1) people first established and expanded permanent settlements in the regions ranked high for environmental resource suitability; (2) as population grew, they settled in progressively lower ranked habitats; and (3) changes in the archaeological record associated with high population levels such as increases in faunal diversity and evenness in high-ranked habitats are coincident with the expansion to other areas. On Santa Rosa Island, the early permanent settlements were located in both high- and middle-ranked locations, with the most extensive settlement at the highest ranked locations and only isolated sites elsewhere. Settlement at a low-ranked habitat was confined to the late Holocene (after 3600 cal BP). Drought influenced the relative rank of different locations, which is an example of climate adding a temporal dimension to the model that episodically stimulated population movement and habitat abandonment. Because the IFD includes a wide range of cultural and environmental variables, it has the potential to be a central model for guiding archaeological analysis and targeted field research.