Canadas

1838: Pied-du-Courant and the Durham Report & Other Quebec Curios

June 22, 2017 // 0 Comments

Detail of a portrait of Lord Durham by Thomas Phillips, date unknown. Source: Wikimedia Commons/National Portrait Gallery (NPG 2547).

The rebellions in Lower Canada came to its final, bloody end in 1838. With the defeat of the Patriotes in Odelltown, many Patriotes were imprisoned in Pied-du-Courant Prison [read on]

1838: Another Declaration of Independence & Other Quebec Curios

June 15, 2017 // 0 Comments

Artistic depiction of the Battle of Odelltown by Edgar Gariépy (c. 1930). Source: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec/SSS1917.

Lower Canada’s own Declaration of Independence was written by Robert Nelson, an ardent Anglophone Patriote. A look at the document makes it clear that it was modelled after [read on]

1837-8: Saint-Eustache & Other Quebec Curios Copy

June 8, 2017 // 0 Comments

Artistic depiction of the battle of Saint-Eustache by Charles Beauclerk, c. 1840. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Violence for the Patriotes had been mentioned as a possible solution by none other than Julie Papineau in her letter to her husband, but only if they were pushed to a point [read on]

1837-8: Saint-Eustache & Other Quebec Curios

June 8, 2017 // 0 Comments

Violence for the Patriotes had been mentioned as a possible solution by none other than Julie Papineau in her letter to her husband, but only if they were pushed to a point [read on]

1834: The 92 Resolutions & Other Quebec Curios

June 1, 2017 // 0 Comments

Papineau speaking to the masses of followers in 1837. Artistic depiction by Charles Alexander Smith, c. 1890. Credit: Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec/Wikimedia Commons.

The violence of the 1837 Rebellions did not come out of nowhere. Prior to the rebellions by force, there were rebellions through the law. In an attempt to get the British [read on]

1831-32: Papineau and Hart & Other Quebec Curios

May 25, 2017 // 0 Comments

A portrait of Aaron Ezekiel Hart by Dominic Boudet, c. 1831. Photo credit: The McCord Museum, catalogue number: M18640

Heritage Minutes, a history teacher’s favourite video series, can only go so far into detail in a couple of minutes. While it is not exactly Ezekiel’s Hart mere presence [read on]

1827-1834: Julie Papineau & Other Quebec Curios

May 18, 2017 // 0 Comments

Julie Papineau, detail of a portrait by Alfred Boisseau, c. 1872. Source: Library and Archives Canada/MIKAN 2897920

The views of the Patriotes on women and the right to vote seemed, in retrospect, contradictory when we look at their stance and the amount of support that women would give [read on]

1826: Papineau & Other Quebec Curios

May 11, 2017 // 0 Comments

Detail of a portrait of Louis Joseph Papineau by Alfred Boisseau. Oil on canvas, 1872. Source: Library and Archives Canada/MIKAN Number: 2890428

Mention “Papineau”, and two things might come to mind depending on the context: the man or the metro station. However, contrary to popular belief, despite the influence [read on]

1819-25: The Lachine Canal & Other Quebec Curios

May 4, 2017 // 0 Comments

View of the modern Lachine Canal. Image credit: Tango7174/Wikimedia Commons.

Ideas to create a Lachine Canal go further back than the nineteenth century, but curiously enough, concrete plans to construct such a beneficial item to Montreal’s [read on]

1818: An Uneasy Border & Other Quebec Curios

April 27, 2017 // 0 Comments

Map of the world with the 49th Parallel shown in red. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Finding the line of division between the United States and Canada wasn’t that simple. Learn how much of the Canadian border was created in 1818!

1814: The Treaty of Ghent & Other Quebec Curios

April 20, 2017 // 0 Comments

Amédée Forestier’s depiction of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, painted in 1912. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

In August of 1814, the United States and Britain’s conception of war with each other was starting to wane. At least Britain’s did. With climbing debts and their main [read on]

1814: Revenge of the British on the White House & Other Quebec Curios

April 13, 2017 // 0 Comments

Artistic depiction of the Burning of the White House.

While many British forces were fighting for the King and their Empire during the Napoleonic Wars, Britain did have an important force not only in leadership but also in the [read on]

1813: Crysler’s Farm & Other Quebec Curios

April 6, 2017 // 0 Comments

Artistic depiction of the Battle of Crysler's Farm by Adam Sherriff-Scott. Photo credit: Historica Dominion

Around the same time when Laura Secord aided the Niagara region of Upper Canada from falling into American hands, De Salaberry’s Voltigeurs were fending off the Americans [read on]

1812: Brock at Queenston & Other Quebec Curios

March 30, 2017 // 0 Comments

Posthumous portrait of Sir Isaac Brock by George Theodore Berthon. Credit: Provincial Archives of Ontario.

Mention the name Sir Isaac Brock and you might be tempted to think that this hero was restricted only to Upper Canada. However, Brock’s military prowess extended to both [read on]

1812: Tecumseh at Detroit & Other Quebec Curios

March 23, 2017 // 0 Comments

One of the leaders of the War of 1812 that you might encounter was Tecumseh. As a young man, Tecumseh joined the ranks of Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), a Loyalist Mohawk that [read on]

1812: Not Only Seven Nations & Other Quebec Curios

March 20, 2017 // 0 Comments

As many history books like to tell us, Canada would not be Canada within the War of 1812. Ostensibly a “Canadian” war, the British spared few British people, instead [read on]

1812: Lower Canada’s Army & Other Quebec Curios

March 9, 2017 // 0 Comments

Some of the best during the War of 1812 didn’t come from Britain at all. The Canadian Voltigeurs, a light infantry of about 6000 strong, were purely Lower Canadian. The [read on]

1812: America Keeps Trying to Invade Canada & Other Quebec Curios

March 2, 2017 // 0 Comments

One of the first attacks of the War of 1812 occurred in present-day Ontario, in a place named Sandwich (out of all possible names to name a town). However, the Americans, at [read on]