A Renewal of Interest: The Writing of Colonial History

tion and long on documentary evidence, like Kyba's, the Wilsons' and Ward's, often produce a flat, uninteresting biographical te rrain. Butjudiciously and honestly mixed together, as DavidSmith manages to do in the finalchapters ofJimmy Gardiner: Relemless Liberal, imaginativeness and documentary diligence can produce writing of stunning brilliance and insight. ALLEN MILLS University ofWinnipeg A Renewal ofInterest: The Writing ofColonial History PRE-CONFEDERATION CANADA: THE STRUCTUREOFCANADIANH!STORYTO 1867. J.L. Finlay. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1990. LE CANADA ETLA REVOLUTJON FRAN- <;AISE. Ed. Pierre H. Boulie andRichardA. Lebnm. Montreal: lntenmiversity Centrefor European Studies, 1989. THEWAROF1812:THEWARTHATBOTH SIDES WON. Wesley Turner. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1990. OTTAWA RIVER CANALS AND THE DEFENCE OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. RobertLegget. Toronto: University ofToronto Press, 1988. BORDER DIPLOMACY: THE CAROLINE AND MCLEOD AFFAIRS IN ANGLOAMERICAN -CANADIAN RELATIONS, 1837-1842. KennethR. Stevens. Tuscaloosa: University ofAlabama Press, 1989. PATRONS, CLIENTS, BROKERS: ONTARJO SOCIETY AND POLITICS, 1791-1896. S.J. R. Noel. Toronto: University ofToronto Press, 1990. HISTORYASSCIENCE OR LITERATURE: EXPLAINING CANADIAN CONFEDERATION , 1858-67. GedMartin. Canada House Lecture Series 41. London: Canadian High Commission, 1989. OLD ONTARJO: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF J.M. S. CARELESS. Ed. David Keane and Colin Read. Toronto: D11nd11111 Press, 1990. Journal of Canadian Studies Vol. 26, No. 3 (A1110 11111e 1991 Fall) After the publication in the mid-l960s of Gerald Craig's comprehensive study ofUpper Canada in its fonnative years, interest in the history of the colonial period entered a marked hiatus. Foralmost twenty years, most Canadian historians ofthe nineteenth century concentrated their attention on the political and economic maturation ofthe nation state. Consideration ofthe pre-1867 period tended to be from the vantage point of the postConfederation period: explanations of why Confederation was necessary and inevitable, or a brief examination of pre-industrial society moving inexorably towards the "natural" state of industrialization and urbanization. Moreover, studies of our colonial experience often took a narrow, rather parochial approach which assumed that the analysis could be presented without any understanding of outside influences or without placing it within a broader comparative, international context. It is therefore very heartening to witness in the last five or six years a resurgence of interest in the colonial period. Though many Canadian universities no longer consider preConfederation Canada a real"field"and offer little in the way of either undergraduate or graduate courses exclusively in the colonial experience, both professional and amateur historians have rediscovered their colonial pastand seem determined to understand it in its own tenns. This has, of necessity, also forced many to go beyond the traditional political and economic interpretations as they attempt to uncover and explain the social, cultural and intellectual fabric of various colonial societies. The works considered here are but part of that ongoing interest and process and, for the most part, they are a very welcome addition to the literature. Pre-Confederation Canada is one ofthe growing number ofgeneral texts published in the last few years to introduce students to the colonial past. In this volume on 171eStructure ofCanadian History to 1867 (a companion volume by D.N. Sprague presents the postConfederation period) J.L. Finlay traces the historyofCanada from its earliest European roots in the mid-fourteenth century to Confederation . As his first chapter title boldly proclaims, "The Invention ofAmerica" must 175 be understood as an outgrowth of European developments and attitudes, including the demise of feudalism, the expansion of trade and commerce, and the "religious imperative" to Christianize the world. This theme ofcontinuing imperial connections and "push" factors within European society is carried throughout the text, and is carefully used to explain conflict in the New World, its economic and political development, and the continuing "peopling'' ofthe continent. At the same time, students are not permitted to neglect the aboriginal peoples of North America nor the "pull" ofthe continent itself. Relying heavily on some ofthe newest ethnohistories , Finlay sympathetically outlines the nature of pre-contact native societiesand then explores both "the clash of cultures" and "patterns of interaction" between European and various native societies, illustrating the differences in the natives' relationships with the English and the French and the shifting alliances which added considerable complexity to the economic and socialdevelopmentof the colonies and to the conflict which periodically engulfed them. Four short chapters recount thedevelopment of New France from its initial fur trade and religious roots to the formation of a distinct colonial culture. The difficulties in settling Acadia and the tumultuous impact of imperial rivalries over the Maritimes, the Mississippi Valley and the Hudson's Bay region are then considered in one all-too-brief chapter. Throughout this and subsequent discussions of the Conquest, the American Revolution and the creation of new colonies in British North America, Finlay is careful to point out periodically to students that not all historians are in agreement as to causes, circumstances and developments. Historical interpretations, he warns, change; new viewpoints must be considered and evaluated, and new approaches, where appropriate, incorporated . For example, a rather lengthy historiographical discussion on the consequences of the Conquest on Quebec presents the debate over the decapitation thesis, its reinterpretation by Michel Brunet, and recent criticism mounted by Fernand Ouellet. As an introduction, FinJay's account of 176 the po!itical and to a somewhat lesser extent economic development of the colonies is really quite good. Pre-Confederation Canada is highly readable, with numerous maps and short, manageable chapters. Moreover, Finlay's conscious and successful attempt to consider colonial development in terms of both ongoing European influences and continuing interaction with native peoples, and to situate the colonies within the wider North American and trans-Atlantic world, are to be applauded. Unfortunately, however, PreConfederation Canada remains largely a traditional chronology. Particularly in the latter half of the text, covering the postConquest period to Confederation, one is left with very little sense of the society and the men, women and children who were so instrumental in creating the nation. For example, Finlay's discussion of"An Age of Reform ," explaining the pre-Rebellions period, concentrates exclusively on the political debates of the time. There is little here or elsewhere about the emerging movements ofsocial reform throughout the various colonies, or the impact that urbanization, new technologies of work, and new social and cultural patterns had on colonial developments. The inclusion of suggested readings at the end ofeach chapter is certainly to be commended . Their usefulness, however, is uneven. Though for some chapters the most up-to-date references are included, forothers, notably the three chapters dealing with the period 1763-1815, the end-of-chapter citations are somewhat dated. With careful augmentation to explore the social and cultural dimensions of development of colonial life, this text can, however, provide a useful starting point for introductory students. A new work which explores in some detail one of the often forgotten aspects of colonial development is Le Canada et la Revolutionfram;aise. Part ofthe proceedings of a colloquium held by the lnteruniversity Centre for European Studies in Montreal in October 1987, and published to commemorate the Bicentenary ofthe French Revolution, this collection of twelve short articles explores various aspects ofthe in1pactofthe Revue d'etudes canadiennes French Revolution on Lower Canada. As editors Pierre Boulle and Richard Lebrun note in their prefaceand as Jean-Pierre Wallot explicitly states in his article "LaRevolution fran9aise a!ravers les escrits historiquescanadiens , du XIX• siecle ala Seconde Guerre mondiale," thecentral irony is that. between I789and 1815, many Lower Canadians were well aware of events and ideas emanating from Paris; yet, subsequent histories of Lower Canada (including the forementioned Finlay text) either make no mention ofthis or discount the impact that the French Revolution had on Quebec social and political thought. In his article"Fluery Mesplet, diffuseur des ideaux de la Revolution fran9aise au Quebec (1789-1794)."Jean-Paulde Lagrave illustrates that the French Revolution had a profound impact on at least one influential newspaper editor in the colony. Not only were Lower Canadians aware of the ideas being promulgated in France, but they provided , for some, a point of comparison for circumstances in Lower Canada, and were at the heart of much of the political and social commentary on local situations. And as Roland Le Huenen and Louis Knafla note, the French Revolution also contributed to the formation of counter-revolutionary ideals, both in the literature and in attitudes to the law. What was particularly fascinating to this reviewer were the three briefarticles on the Church and the French Revolution. Far from being victimized, the Church, in France at least, had its own notions of republicanism and reform. Moreover, in part as a result of the French Revolution, the connection between Rome and Quebec was forced to change from a direct Paris-Quebec route to transmission by way of Rome-LondonQuebec . This collection is an important addition to the history of ideology in Lower Canada. Though some of the articles are too spare, undoubtedly because they were originally presented in seminar, they do give the reader a taste of both the colloquium and the scope of the subject at hand. It is clear from the proceedings that the historiographical debate on the impact of the French Revolution on Quebec is still unresolved; these papers Journal ofCanadian Studies indicate that, though ignored by some, the issue continues to fascinate many historians of the period. One area of colonial history which has enjoyed growing attention in the past few years is the War of 1812. Wesley Turner's slim volume, 711e Warof1812, 111e Wartliat Both Sides Won, is a revised edition of his school text on the same subjectand is intended to provide the general reader with "a succinct but comprehensive account of the war" and historians with "a useful, short, up-to-date version of that formative event" (I I). As a reference for historians this work has little value. It could provide general, uninitiated readers at the lower-school level with a point from which to start their inquiry into the conflict. Like Finlay, Turner firmly roots his history in the European context of the Napoleonic Wars and deteriorating AngloAmerican relations. Though acknowledging that thescopeofthe war"wascontinentwide" (13) and involved sea as well as land forces, Turner not surprisingly concentrates most of his attention on the Upper Canadian theatre. Illustrating his story with numerous maps, well chosen political cartoons, and drawings ofthe period, Turner takes particularcare to incorporate the actions, attitudes, and impact on native allies on the two white forces. Given its length and intended audience it is perhaps quibbling to note that, at times, the narrative and its explanations are too simplistic. Moreover , this largely military history makes only passing reference to the impactofthe war on those living in the Maritimes, or the real ambivalence that most Upper Canadians experienced as the conflictapproached and then engulfed them. Turner's beliefthat"history is not simply facts ofwhat happened" but rather "a study ofpeople's actions and beliefs combined with an attempt to understandand interpret them" (131) is a point well taken. It is unfortunate that the length and scope ofthis work does not allow him to illustrate this sufficiently. As well, even the general reader would appreciate an annotated bibIiography to augment the book's rather scanty notes and to provide direction for future reading. Turner's history ofthe War of 18 12 ends with disarmament ofthe Lakes and with the 177 continuing insecurities of Canadians with regard to the intentions of their southern neighbours. Robert Legget, in Ottawa River Canals, picks up the story at this point and discusses at some length the imperial policy to build canals in Upper Canada, in part at least as a defensive measure. As a result of the Napoleonic Wars and the subsequent little war in North America in 1812, the British government decided to build a network of canals to provide an alternate waterway between Kingston and Montreal. In often exhaustive detail Legget presents the various decisions, impediments, and final triumph in the completion of first the Grenville Canal, in 1834, and then the two smaller downstream canals, at the chute at Blondeau and the CarillonCanal. Thoughstill under British control and management until 1856, and despite ongoing tensions between the Canadas and the United States, the canals were, ironically, never utilized for their intended purpose. However, Legget fondly explains, the Ottawa Canals, while under Canadian control until 1962, did providean important commercial link from the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes to the Ottawa area. As Legget comments in hisepilogue, The Ottawa Canals is in part intended as a "tribute" to the men who built the canalsand particularly Lt.-Col. Henry Du Vernet, the principal architect and builder of the Ottawa River Canals, "the first public work of this land" (2 13). And certainly, The Ottawa Canals does provide the reader with a real senseofthe men, the technology and the impactofchanging imperial policies in one specific aspect of nineteenth-century colonial development. The extended Appendices also include a wealth of material on the organization and personnel of the Royal Staff Corps, particularly the men who were responsible for the canals' construction, the traffic on the Ottawa River Canal, and a briefh istory ofthe building ofthe Georgian Bay Ship Canal. Unfortunately , neither the notes nor the very short bibliography give any real direction for further study; nor does the writing place this volume in any larger historiographical context . There are also a number offactual errors in the text which illustrate the author's 178 unfamiliarity with contemporary American events and developments. Moreover, Legget's enthusiasm for his subject, though refreshing, often leads to over use of the superlative in extolling the men and the system; the excesses suggest that a fair assessment sometimes falls prey to overstatement. For those interested in the nuts and bolts of the creation and completion of such capital projects in Upper Canada this volume is, however, essential. It is simply unfortunate that it was not more carefully edited so as to overcome the often distracting problem posed by masses of detail and occasionally unfocused presentation. The same cannot be said of Kenneth Stevens'scomprehensive and very successful examination of a potentially explosive episode in Canadian-American affairs. In Border Diplomacy: The Caroline and Mcleod Affairs in Anglo-AmericanCanadian Relations 1837-1842, Kenneth Stevensexplains and analyses the impacton Anglo-American relations of the title's two inter-related events: the attack on the Caroline by the Canadian militia in 1837 resulting in the death ofoneofits passengers; and the subsequent charge of murder laid by the state of New York against Alexander McLeod two and a half years later. In December 1837, Canadian forces boarded and set fire to the American steamship Caroline, which was supplying rebel forces on Navy Island. In the process the Canadian militia not only violated American sovereignty , but one American citizen was taken prisoner and found dead the next day on the wharf. American outrage at this apparent atrocity (the Canadian and British authorities considered they had been acting in selfdefence ) was exacerbated when it was rumoured that one Alexander McLeod had, while drinking in a New York bar, boasted of his participation in the raid. His arrest for murder, and the year he spent injail awaiting trial, only infl;imed the British and Upper Canadians. In addition to recounting the two episodes with clarity, Stevenselucidates the intersectionoflocal border tensions with the uncertain and shifting relations between state and federal authorities in the United States Revue d'etudes canadiennes and the impact thesehad on American diplomatic relations with Great Britain. As its title implies, Border Diplomacy is in large parta study of international diplomacy, ofhow relations between Washington and London were complicated by internal domestic disputes. At the same time, this is a study in the working out of aspects of American democracy, of testing the question offederal-state powers in the United States and the impact of political partisanship on international affairs. For a Canadian audience, Border Diplomacy clearly sets out the problems that the Van Buren, Harrison and Tyler governments in the United Stateshad in controlling the actions of Patriots across the border, particularly because state authorities refused to cooperate in such efforts. Unable to enforce neutrality or to resolve the Caroline-McLeod affair quickly and decisively, successive American governments found themselves on an unwanted collision course with Great Britain. It was not untila Uticacourt released McLeod, having decided inSeptember 1841 that he had notparticipated in theoriginal raid, that international tensions eased. The signing of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty a year later, which included an explicit British apology for the Caroline incident, and the implicit acceptanceofa new doctrine ofself-defence (the Caroline doctrine) signalled a marked improvement in Washington-Lo ndon relations. While explaining the complexities of federal-state relations and the shifts in international law which resulted from the eventual resolution of the Caroline and McLeod affairs, Stevens does not lose the sense of drama and the importanceofpersonalities and individuals' attitudes and actions on the outcome of events. Supported by extensive research in the United States, Canada and Great Britain, Border Diplomacy is a welcome addition to the study of both Canadian-American relations and diplomatic history of the mid-nineteenth century. It should be noted, however, that Border Diplomacy has serious problems in its consideration of the Upper Canadian side of the equation. Factual errors, including for example the terms ofthe Rush-Bagot agreement , the nature of the Family Compact Journal ofCanadian Studies (which he characterizes as being composed exclusively ofLoyalists), and his treatment of the issues in political dispute in 1837, all suggest an uncertainty about Canadian affairs which mar what is, overall, a valuable contribution to the scholarship. The impact that specific events and circumstances had on the development in particular of Upper Canada certainly warrants careful study. So too, however, does the question ofpolitical development in very broad terms. With Patrons, Clients and Brokers: Ontario Society and Politics 1'791-1896, John Noel enters the ongoing debate concerning the nature of political culture in Upper Canada. Noel does not offer "a comprehensive political history of the period" (I). Rather, Patrons, Cliellls and Brokers attempts to explain what, over the long term, were the basic characteristics of Ontario's political life and actions. The reason for this, he states, is that "ifthe evolution of a political culture is to be properly understood , the realm of ideology must be tested against the realm ofaction" (I0). And though Noeldoes notdeny that ideology playeda role in the evolutionof Upper Canadian politics, he maintains that it must be understood in terms ofa broader framework which, though it changed somewhat over time, nonetheless provided a unity of action from one generation to another. Thestudy is divided into three parts. Part One, which Noel refers to as the formative period (1791- 1841), considers the importance ofland and agriculture on the evolution of Upper Canadian political culture. It was not, he concludes, the ideological legacy of the loyalists, an overarching belief in King and country, or any abstract vision of loyalty or counter-revolutionary conservatism which provided the basis and stability ofearly Upper Canadian life. Rather, it was the emergence of strong and intricate patronclient relationships which tied Upper Canadians in various localities together, and which also bound localities to the crown and the colonial government. These often intensely personal, intricate webs of relationships survived the coming of refom1 in 1841. They were, however, also renewed and transformed , as the old eighteenth-century style, 179 autocratic patrons were replaced by new men ofbusiness, the brokers. Part Two considers the emergence ofa more complex and extensive clientele network , resting on a conjunction ofbusiness and political relationships arising outofthegrowing capitalism of the period. Lasting until roughly 1867, this period is characterized by the emergence ofthe "professional" broker, thedeal maker, who often was the middleman both in financial and politicalcirclesand who, as a result, was able to cobble together political coalitions by controlling the prizes ofoffice. In Part Three, Noel discusses how this brokerage relationship evolved into a working, relatively modern party machine, which was "an efficient, functionally specific instrument of patron-client exchange" ( 16). It was this system, he concludes, that permitted the rise of Oliver Mowat to national prominence as controller ofdestinies in the national Liberal Party. In his conclusion, Noel notes that his interpretation ofthe primacy ofclientism as a model for understanding a century of Ontario political developmentdoes not"deny the presence of ideational factors in the political culture" (311). Indeed, he asserts that the conflict of ideas was real and that the Upper Canadian period provides a striking illustration of this. Yet, he reminds the readers, the political rhetoric articulated by colonial elites seems to have had little to do with political behaviour. However, by concentrating on performance rather than the apparent "ideological dialectic" (311) of loyalty-disloyalty, one is able to explain the basic socialcohesion and economic conjunction of interest that prevailed in the colony from its first settlement until the end of the century. There is a good deal ofmerit in Noel's interpretation of Upper Canadian political life in the nineteenth century. One is left, nevertheless , with an unfortunate sense that Noel's real interest lies with the later period. In an attempt to explain the riseofthe political party and the primacy of the Mowat government, Noel searched back and imposed a paradigm on developments in the early part of the century which may well be too simplistic. There is no question that patronage, in its 180 broadest sense, was an active force in early Upper Canadian life. Moreover, the senseof social, political and economic cohesion that quickly developed within various colonial communities relied heavily on strong patronclient relations. Yet, the role of ideology, of a conflictingcomplexity ofbeliefs, idealsand understanding ofthe local elitesofthe world around them, also was a significant factor in the formation ofthe politicalcultureofUpper Canada. Moreover, the political rhetoric particularly of the early period reflected sharp and pervasive divisions within the colony, and , indeed,differing images ofthe relationship of the colony to the world beyond its borders. Noel's study certainly furthers the debate, and the ideas which it presents must now be considered in this new light. It is, however, an attempt by a political scientist to impose a pattern on the historical process. The resuIt will, for many, call into question too many exceptions to the rule to give that rule particular validity. In his slim and rather pointed volume "explaining" Canadian Confederation, Geel Martin makes this case abundantly clear. History as Science orLiterature: £rplaining Canadian Co11federatio11 1858-1867, originally presented as a lecture at Canada House in 1989, emphatically challenges the argument for the inevitabilityofConfederation, an interpretation which many historians haveexplicitly posited. Historians, Martin quite rightly complains, write their craft as ifit was a science. Though most would agree that the past, unlike scientific experiments, is not testable, they nonetheless analyzeevents and draw conclusions within a scientific context. As Martin suggests, many thus get caught in the belief that when certain events and circumstancesare, like chemicalcompounds, brought together, as in the caseofthe political deadlock of the early 1860s, reaction and results are predictable. He notes that most historians would agree that the American Civil War was the "catalyst" which transformed the "failed attempt" to cope with the political deadlock in British North America of 1858-59 into the successful and inevitable conclusion of 1867. "It is as if," Martin comments, "the circumstances of 1864 had been fed into a computer which had churned Revue d'etudes canadiennes its disks and printed out the single word 'Confederation'" (6). Martin proceeds to outline the various explanations given for Confederation, and then "tests" each one. He concludes that "it does not follow that a union of the British North American provinces was the logical deduction from the circumstances and problems of 1858-1864" (23). The "logical" outcomegiven the geographical imperatives would, he suggests, have been union with the United States. "The starting point for explaining Canadian Confederation, then, must be the idea itself" (25). It was, he notes, an idea that had been around for a long time. Moreover , it was"a substitute rather than a centrepiece ," one of the practical solutions soon "passed off as an emergency response to current crisis" (25, 26). Thus, Martin chides, historians mustseeConfederation, and by implication other events, within their own terms. In the caseofConfederation, it means "above all abandoning [the] 'cantilever' of interlocking and equally imperative casual arguments" and "interpreting the past in the way that the past actually happened" (27, 28). A difficult and perhaps ultimately impossible task, and certainly one that makes for an inexactscience , this is nonetheless an important point of which historians often have to be reminded. It is a reminder that Maurice Careless seemed to keep always to the front of his consciousness while he researched and wrote his histories ofnineteenth-century Ontario, its people and places. Old Ontario: Essays in Honour ofJ.M.S. Careless, a collection of original articles by a number of former students and colleagues, highlights and examines the work and influenceofoneofour mostgifted historians. Edited by David Keane and Colin Read, the volume includes a brief introductory biography of Careless by his colleague Fred Armstrong, and a sensitive examination of Careless's work, "Us OldType Relativist Historians," by Kenneth McNaught. Concentrating on Careless's seminal postulations about metropolism, McNaught emphasizes his abil ity to recognize and incorporate various "causal" factors and his unwillingness to limit the study and writing of history by the imposition of Journal ofCanadian Studies grand interpretations. Careless's success in this regard has, as McNaught notes, infuriated many, who believe that he failed to appreciate either the importanceofclass, or gender, or religion on historical development . Yet, as McNaught notes, Careless incorporated all these factors in his work; he merely refused to espouse the validity ofthe monocausal. Such interpretations are also evident in the ten original articles which examine various aspects ofthe history of nineteenthcentury Ontario. Each article applies to a variety ofdiverse topics, at least one, and in most cases two or three, of the interpretive frameworks prompted by Careless. Theimportanceofthe metropolis and its relationship to the hinterland provides the basis of Allan Smith's well-documented consideration ofthe role that the image of the land played in the development of Ontario cities. In a far different way, Tony Hall examines the impact of the metropole on the changing limited identities ofNative Upper Canadians. And Alison Prentice considers the impact ofToronto on theexperience ofboth women and men in the Normal School, and their subsequent impact as teachers on the province as a whole. As these brief descriptions suggest, the topics and approaches are wide ranging. They includecase studies on religious, political and social history. They consider the development ofchurch architecture, the evolution of theclothing industry in Toronto, and the impact ofethnicity and class on elections. The articles also reflectCareless's love affair with his native city, Toronto, and his engaging fascination with the history of the province. This collection should be required reading for all students of nineteenth-century Ontario. Certainly, Old Ontario is a most welcome addition to the historiography. In the best tradition of the historian's craft, Border Diplomacyand Old Ontario in particular, illustrate the need for historians of colonial Canada to consider their subject in its broadest context while understanding the immediate, local and often intensely personal affairs and circumstances ofthe subjects they study. As Careless himself asserted, our colonial history must be understood in its own terms, even as one recognizes that it may well 181 be useful to bring the experiences of other nations and peoples, in differing or similar situations and at different times, to bear on the specific situation. In addition, the history of British North America, Quebec, and other colonial entities must also consider, as some of the works discussed here have done, the experiencesofthose who were here before the Europeans, the continuing impact that Europe and later the United States had on local development, and the contribution that immigrants , women, farmers, and clerics had on the shapeand texture ofcolonial life. Careless 182 and his students point the way; Stevens and Legget fill in some of the holes of our knowledge; Martin and Finlay sound the caution; while Noel and others have engaged the debate. StudentsofcolonialCanada must now continue to uncover and to weave new threads, to add more colour and substance to the tapestry which forms our understanding ofCanada's rich colonial roots. JANE ERRINGTON Royal Military College Revue d'erudes canadiennes ...