firsting

Firsting is a term used in postcolonial studies to describe a rhetorical and narrative strategy in which a colonizing power presents itself as the first to discover, encounter, or claim a territory or people. By foregrounding the colonizer’s presumed originality, firsting helps establish primacy and justify domination, while often erasing or marginalizing Indigenous histories, sovereignty, and presence. The related notion of lasting refers to the enduring influence of such narratives: how early accounts, maps, and chronicles persist in national memory, education, and cultural production, shaping ideas of civilization, belonging, and law long after formal rule ends.

Origins and usage: The concept is used to analyze literary and historical texts, cartography, exploration narratives, and school curricula. Scholars examine how language and imagery encourage readers to treat the colonizer as origin, thereby legitimizing conquest and resource appropriation.

Examples: Maps that label lands as “newly discovered” by European explorers; travelogues describing Indigenous peoples as lacking civilization; historiographies that privilege settler claims to origin.

Critique: Some critics warn that focusing on firsting can overlook Indigenous agency and counter-narratives, and that the term must be applied carefully to avoid reproducing binary notions of discovery.

See also: postcolonial theory, empire, Eurocentrism, decolonization, historiography.