DOCSLIB.ORG

A'perfect Freedom': Red River As a Settler Society

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A'perfect Freedom': Red River As a Settler Society A'PERFECT FREEDOM': RED RIVER AS A SETTLER SOCIETY. 1810-1870 by Norma Jean Hall A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies In Partial Fulfilment of the Re[uirements for the Degree of Master of Ans Department of History University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba @ Norma Jean Hall.2003 THE I.INTVERSITY OF MANITOBA FÄCIILTY OF GRADUATE STTJDIES coPYRrc"t #lässroN PÄcE A'PERtr'ECT FREEDOM': RED RTVER AS A SETTLER SOCIETY. 1810-1870 BY Norma Jean Hall A ThesislPracticum submitted to the Facultv of Graduate Studies of The Universitv of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts Norma Jean Hall @ 2003 Permission has been granted to the Library of The University of Manitoba to lend or sell copies of this thesis/practicum, to the National Library of Canada to microfilm this thesis and to lend or sell copies of the film, and to University Microfïlm Inc. to publish an abstract of this thesis/practicum. This reproduction or copy of this thesis has been made available by authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research, and may only be reproduced and copied as permitted by copyright laws or with express written authorization from the copyright owner. To persons past and present, de qui j'ai apprendu de la vie, na cho ro eile, dewch pan fynnoch, croeso pan ddeloch, megwich ABSTRACT Colonial era settlements in Newfoundland and Red River manifested quasi-stateless settler society identities for unusually protracted, approximately equal, and reasonably congruent spans of time. Reading the history of the Red River Settlement along the lines that Neurfoundland has emerged in recent rereading of that historiography resolves problems attributable to investigation being carried out in isolation from other frames of reference. Settler societies formed during the Colonial era shared circumstantial similarities but displayed developmental variations. The endowment of each location profoundly influenced the kind of society that could be superimposed upon it. Yet, Red River accords with the description of quasi-stateless settlement dynamics outlined for Newfoundland in that the contradictory social relationship between producers and procurers entailed mutual dependence as well as mutual force. Métis settlers, a free and active element motivated to enhance community development, applied solutions devised through cooperative association built on consensus. Their quasi-stateless condition did not prevent development; merchant creditenabled development by providing a solution to the absence of money; and focus on the fur trade did not prevent agricultural development from becoming as extensive as the community could handle. By 1869, the Métis were a primed population, well positioned to benefitfrom a substantial increase in development once enhanced transportation systems allowed immigration and consequent market expansion to take place. That this did not occur supports the contention that the dissolution of the Red RiverMétis community was due to the application of external force, not to internal weakness. CONTENTS ABSTRACT CHAPTER 1. Introduction 2. Historiography 3. Interpreting quasi-stateless societies . 27 4. Integration of Aboriginal and European values in the Red River Settlement 53 5. The mutual dependence and mutual force of producers and procurers 83 6. The myth of non-development tt4 7 . The'thrust of communitv intention into the future' r42 8. Conclusion 772 BIBLIOGRAPHY 173 lntroduction The history of settlement at Red River has yet to be fully explored. Undertaking a comparative approach to studying the society which formed at that location from 1810 to 1870 constitutes a move toward addressing this lack. Members of the Métis community, affiliated with both the Hudson's Bay and Northwest Companies, sought the formal establishment of a settlement prior to the colonization attempt of Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk.l By 1810, Métis settlers were scattered along lake shores and rivers throughout Rupert's Land. People identified in Cree as Otípayrusoowuk -- gens libres or Freemen, their Aboriginal wives and Métis children -- engaged in farming at the forks of the Red River.2 The largest community was gathered at Pembina.3 Members of families who had cultivated acreage opposite the mouth of the Assiniboine River from at least 1808, witnessed the arrival of Selkirk's first settler group in 1812.+ In 1814, Miles Macdonell, 1 W.L. Morton, Maniroba - a History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1957), 68. J.G. MacGregor, Peter Fidler: Canada.'s Forgotfen Su.rveyor 1769-1822 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1966), 181, describes the earliest record of potential settlers as taking the form of a petition, submitted by William Auld to the London Office, listing HBC personnel. Provincial Archives of Manitoba [PAM] MG2 41, Selkirk Papers, "Miles Macdonell to the Earl of Selkirk," 1 Ocl 1811,49-50, reports that Auld, along rvith William Hemmings Cook, reaffirmed the interest in permanent settlement, and extended it to include members of the Métis community associated with the NWC. 2 W.L. Morton, Maniloba Z;Barry Kaye, "Some Aspects of the Histoncal Geography of the Red River Settlement from 1812 to 1870," M.A. Thesis, University of Manitoba, 1961,22-23; Robert J. Coutts, The Roa.d tu tlrc Rapids: Nineteentlt Century Clutrch and Society at SÍ. Andrew's Pqrish, Red Ri.ver (Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2000), 23; E.S. Russenholt, Tlæ Heart of tlæ Continent: Being a History of Assíniboia -- tlrc lrulry rrypical Canadìan comnwnity (Winnipeg: MacFarlane Communications Services, 1968),4'7-Æ. See also, "Chapter 4," X n. 15, this thesis. 3 Kaye, 39. D.N. Sprague and R.P. Frye, Tlrc Geneal.ogy of the First MeIis Nation: Tlrc Development and Dispersal of tlw Red River Settlement 1820-1900 (Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications, 1983), 12. a Donald Gunn/Charles B. Tuttle, History of Mønitoba lront tlrc Earliest SettletnenrlAnd from 1835 to tlte Ad¡nissiort of the Province inro ilte Dominion (Ottawa: Mcl-ean, Roger and Company, 1880), 73,77: ArthurS. Morton, AHistoryof theCanadianWestto 1870-TI,BeingaHistoryof Rupert'sl-ønd (Tlrc Hudson's Bay Comparry TerriÍory) and of the Norrh-West Territory Qncluding the Pacific Slope) (Toronto: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1939), 54+45; W.L. Morton, Manitoba,480 n. 17; Russenholt, 24- 26,28, see also, Sprague and Frye, Genealogy, D 4266;Kaye,23. 2 Selkirk's agent, estimated that the colonists, numbering about 200 individuals, could count an equal number of multi-person Métis households in the immediate vicinity as their , neighbours.s Successive influxes of migrants internal to North America, including large numbers of Métis, continued to arrive while the Settlement remained under the auspices of Selkirk's estate. During the 1820s, at least 181 former employees, whose positions had been cut in the 1821 merger of the two fur trade companies, were free to 'retire' with their Métis families to Red River.6 In 1823, some 50 families relocated from Pembina to the White Horse Plain west of Red River, and to the Settlement proper. These were followed by approximately 100 more in 1824.t Family groups continued to arrive from remote areas of the fur trade to the end of the decade.s By comparison, the number of migrants external to North America to arrive in Red River during this period was considerably smaller.e Population figures supplied by the records of the Hudson's Bay Company |HBC] consist largely of informal enumerations scattered throughout Company correspondence.l0 As these were usually incorporated to bolster arguments either for or against encouraging the settlement of external migrants, the possibility of exaggeration or under reportage exists, and may in part explain the wide s W.L. Morton, Manìtoba,49. Russenholt,28,35,37, puts the total "'populace' whose lives centred at the 'Forks' " on a "more or less " permanent basis at "perhaps, 2000. " 6 Donald Gunn,226, asserts that "The influx of families, from the fur trade, in 1822, and the following summer, exceeded in number those who represented the onginal colonists brought in from all quarters by his L,ordship. " See also, Sprague and Frye, Genealogy, 15; Russenholt, 52. 7 See, Margaret Arnett Macleod, and W.L. Morton, Cuthberl Grant of Granlowrl: Warden of tlæ Plains of Red Rlver (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1963),86-88, 94. Sprague aad Frye, Genealngy, 15. George Simpson, quoted in Russenholt, 57. 8 Donald Gunn,24O-41,26I,268, and Margaret McWilliams, Manitoba Milestones (Toronto: J. M. Dent and Sons, 1928),61, note the arrival of an additional sixty families "of the Company people" from James Bay in 1829. 9 See, Donald Gunn, cited in Russenholt, 55. i0 Sprague and Frye, Genealogy, 29 n.71, note that "About thirty such inventories are found in the SelHrk Papers. " 3 variation exhibited in the historiography.tt As well, a degree of confusion can be attributed to the fact that those recruited in Europe were not all destined to be settlers, did not , necessarily board the ships bound for Rupert's Land, survive the journey, or continue on to Red River once they had arrived.lz Depending on the secondary source consulted, the declared size of the first Selkirk party to actually arrive in Red River in 1812 ranges from 78 to ?3 individuals in August. A supplementary arrival of from 7I to I2O settlers took place in October. The third party of 1814 is most often broken down into two smaller groups of from 4L to 5I, and 15 to 32 individuals respectively.13 A final contingent of between 80 to 84 Selkirk colonists arrived in November i815. The numbers of former de Meuron and de Watteville soldiers to arrive in 1816, followed by Swiss settlers in 1821, are equally imprecise. ia Few authors supply a total of the external migrants to arrive, although in one instance the observation is made that there was "perhaps a total of 500-520 Scots, Irish, Swiss and de Meuron."15 However, depending on how the figures from various sources are handled, it is possible to arrive at a number closer to 350.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • THE WHIG INTERPRETATION of the HISTORY of RED RIVER By
    THE WHIG INTERPRETATION OF THE HISTORY OF RED RIVER By BRIAN MARTIN GALLAGHER B.A., The University of British Columbia, 1980 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of History) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, 1986 ® Brian Martin Gallagher, 1986 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 Date /0 Ot^^Ly E-6 (3/81) ii ABSTRACT The whig interpretation, which can be most simply defined as the idea that past events led in direct and progressive stages to the present, has long been recognized as a basic historiographic fallacy. The fullest expression of the whig interpretation of western Canadian history is to be found in the works of George F.G. Stanley and W.L. Morton. In presenting a narrative reconstruction of the events surrounding Canada's annexation of Red River, these authors primarily attempt to justify Canadian policy as the extension of British civilization.
    [Show full text]
  • Joint Rosetown Parish Honours Three Milestones
    Saskatchewan anglican The newspaper of the Dioceses of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon and Qu’Appelle • A Section of the Anglican Journal • February 2020 Joint Rosetown parish honours three milestones By Rev. Lauren Miller ROSETOWN (Qu’A) — Three milestones were celebrated at St. Andrew’s- Trinity Anglican-Lutheran Church on Nov. 3, 2019. The congregation and visitors from the community celebrated the centennial of the present church building, the 110th anniversary of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, and the 30th anniversary of the amalgamation of Trinity Lutheran Church and St. Andrew’s Anglican Church. Archdeacon Catherine Harper represented the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, bringing greetings from Bishop Rob Hardwick. The history of St. Andrew’s-Trinity Church blends two church histories into one. St. Andrew’s Anglican Church began as a mission as Anglican workers followed the railways out of Regina. The first services were held in Kings Hall in 1909. A mission house was purchased in 1912, followed by the building of the first church. In these early years there was a Sunday school, a ladies’ group, a choir, and a vestry to oversee the operation of the church. The first church building was destroyed by fire in December 1918. The congregation continued to worship as they planned to build a new church. This is the present day church on the corner of Third Avenue and Main Street. Rev. Lauren Miller (centre) celebrates the eucharist in St. Andrew’s-Trinity Church, the 100-year-old building The first service in this that houses the Anglican and Lutheran shared ministry in Rosetown. He is flanked by Archdeacon Catherine building was held on Oct.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyrighted Material Not for Distribution Fidler in Context
    TABLE OF CONTENTS acknowledgements vii introduction Fidler in Context 1 first journal From York Factory to Buckingham House 43 second journal From Buckingham House to the Rocky Mountains 95 notes to the first journal 151 notes to the second journal 241 sources and references 321 index 351 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION FIDLER IN CONTEXT In July 1792 Peter Fidler, a young surveyor for the Hudson’s Bay Company, set out from York Factory to the company’s new outpost high on the North Saskatchewan River. He spent the winter of 1792‐93 with a group of Piikani hunting buffalo in the foothills SW of Calgary. These were remarkable journeys. The river brigade travelled more than 2000 km in 80 days, hauling heavy loads, moving upstream almost all the way. With the Piikani, Fidler witnessed hunts at sites that archaeologists have since studied intensively. On both trips his assignment was to map the fur-trade route from Hudson Bay to the Rocky Mountains. Fidler kept two journals, one for the river trip and one for his circuit with the Piikani. The freshness and immediacy of these journals are a great part of their appeal. They are filled with descriptions of regional landscapes, hunting and trading, Native and fur-trade cultures, all of them reflecting a young man’s sense of adventure as he crossed the continent. But there is noth- ing naive or spontaneous about these remarks. The journals are transcripts of his route survey, the first stages of a map to be sent to the company’s head office in London.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconstituting Tbc Fur Trade Community of the Assiniboine Basin
    Reconstituting tbc Fur Trade Community of the Assiniboine Basin, 1793 to 1812. by Margaret L. Clarke a thesis presented to The University of Winnipeg / The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Winnipeg, Manitoba MARCH 1997 National Library Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services seMces bibliographiques 395 WdtïSûeet 395, nn, Wellingtwi WONK1AW WONK1AON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Ll'brary of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, disbi'bute or sefl reproduire, prêter, disbiiuer ou copies of this thesis iu microfo~a, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic fomiats. la fome de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format eectronicpe. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur consewe la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA COPYRIGHT PERMISSION PAGE A TksW/Pnicticw ribmitteà to the Faculty of Gruluate Studies of The University of Manitoba in parail fntfülment of the reqaifements of the degrce of brgarct 1. Clarke 1997 (a Permission hm been grantd to the Library of Tbe Univenity of Manitoba to lend or sen copies of this thcsis/practicam, to the National Librory of Canada to micronlm tbb thesis and to lend or seU copies of the mm, and to Dissertritions Abstmcts Intemationai to publish an abtract of this thcsidpracticam.
    [Show full text]
  • Beads from the Hudson's Bay Company's Principal Depot, York Factory, Manitoba, Canada
    BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers Volume 25 Volume 25 (2013) Article 6 1-1-2013 Beads from the Hudson's Bay Company's Principal Depot, York Factory, Manitoba, Canada Karlis Karklins Gary F. Adams Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/beads Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Science and Technology Studies Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Repository Citation Karklins, Karlis and Adams, Gary F. (2013). "Beads from the Hudson's Bay Company's Principal Depot, York Factory, Manitoba, Canada." BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers 25: 72-100. Available at: https://surface.syr.edu/beads/vol25/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers by an authorized editor of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BEADS FROM THE HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY’S PRINCIPAL DEPOT, YORK FACTORY, MANITOBA, CANADA Karlis Karklins and Gary F. Adams There is no other North American fur trade establishment whose half a dozen times in two separate international conflicts. longevity and historical significance can rival that of York Factory. It witnessed a naval engagement and suffered three direct Located in northern Manitoba, Canada, at the base of Hudson Bay, attacks. The factory was rebuilt seven times and was the it was the Hudson’s Bay Company’s principal Bay-side trading base of operations for such fur trade personalities as Pierre post and depot for over 250 years.
    [Show full text]
  • SAB 015 1994 P14-26 the Unlikely 18Th Century Naturalists Of
    Studies in Avian Biology No. 15: 14-26, 1994. THE UNLIKELY 18TH CENTURY NATURALISTS OF HUDSON’S BAY C. STUART HOUSTON Abstract. The Hudson’s Bay Territory, which included the entire drainage basin west to the Rocky Mountains, although one of the most thinly occupied areas in all of North America, was second only to South Carolina as the North American locality which contributed the most type specimens of birds. The collectors, fur traders ofthe Hudson’s Bay Company, were Alexander Light, James Isham, Thomas Hutchins, Humphrey Marten, Andrew Graham, and Samuel Heame. My researches in the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives and the Royal Society library have solved the long-standing confusion about the relative contributions of Andrew Graham and Thomas Hutchins to the Observationspublished in 1969 by the Hudson’s Bay Record Society. I have transcribed for publication the separate original “journals” of Graham and Hutchins and have compiled the largest dictionary of Cree Indian names of birds. Isham and Graham collected the most type specimens. Heame was the best naturalist. Hutchins, the medical doctor and best scientist, was the only one to have a taxon named for him. Key Words: Hudson’s Bay Territory; Alexander Light; James Isham; Humphrey Marten; Andrew Graham; Samuel Hearne; Thomas Hutchins; type specimens. From the Hudsons’ Bay Territory, one of front of scientific ornithology and taxono- the most thinly occupied areas in all of North my. America, came improbable but extremely Severn, with a year-round population of important contributions to 18th-Century 20 white fur traders, and Albany with 33, ornithology.
    [Show full text]
  • Grade 5 Social Studies Peoples and Stories of Canada to 1867
    GRADE 5 SOCIAL STUDIES PEOPLES AND STORIES OF CANADA TO 1867 A Foundation for Implementation 2005 Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth Cataloguing in Publication Data 372.8971 Grade 5 social studies : peoples and stories of Canada to 1867 : a foundation for implementation Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-7711-3469-X 1. Northwest, Canadian—History—To 1867— Study and teaching (Elementary). 2. Manitoba— History—Study and teaching (Elementary). 3. Canada— History—Study and teaching (Elementary). 4. Canada, Northern—History—Study and teaching (Elementary). 5. Canada, Northern—Study and teaching (Elementary). 6. Social sciences—Study and teaching (Elementary). 7. Social sciences—Study and teaching (Elementary)— Manitoba. I. Manitoba. Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth. II. Title: Peoples and stories of Canada to 1867 : a foundation for implementation Copyright © 2005, the Crown in Right of Manitoba as represented by the Minister of Education, Citizenship and Youth. Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, School Programs Division, 1970 Ness Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3J 0Y9. Every effort has been made to acknowledge original sources and to comply with copyright law. If cases are identified where this has not been done, please notify Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth. Errors or omissions will be corrected in a future edition. Sincere thanks to the authors and publishers who allowed their original material to be adapted or reproduced. Some images © 2005 www.clipart.com GRADE Acknowledgements 5 Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the following individuals in the development of Grade 5 Social Studies: Peoples and Stories of Canada to 1867: A Foundation for Implementation.
    [Show full text]
  • “How Frigid Zones Reward the Advent‟Rers Toils”: Natural History Writing and the British Imagination in the Making of Hudson Bay, 1741-1752
    “How frigid Zones reward the Advent‟rers Toils”: Natural History Writing and the British Imagination in the Making of Hudson Bay, 1741-1752 by Nicholas Melchin B.A., Ottawa University, 2005 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of History Nicholas Melchin, 2009 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-66809-2 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-66809-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse.
    [Show full text]
  • The Beginnings of Wheeled Transport in Western Canada
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Great Plains Quarterly Great Plains Studies, Center for Spring 1984 The Beginnings Of Wheeled Transport In Western Canada John Alwin Montana State University Barry Kaye University of Manitoba Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly Part of the Other International and Area Studies Commons Alwin, John and Kaye, Barry, "The Beginnings Of Wheeled Transport In Western Canada" (1984). Great Plains Quarterly. 1766. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsquarterly/1766 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Quarterly by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. THE BEGINNINGS OF WHEELED TRANSPORT IN WESTERN CANADA BARRY KAYE and JOHN ALWIN Water transport has played a major part in the the prairie-parkland, such as the North Sas­ economic development of Canada. It has been katchewan, the Red, and the Assiniboine, was claimed that a series of east-west water routes complemented by travel along a network of were essential to Canada's evolution as a trans­ carting trails that stretched from St. Paul, continental nation. The many connecting rivers Minnesota, in the southeast to Fort Edmonton and lakes formed the lines of least resistance on the North Saskatchewan River in the north­ through the environment, so that in most re­ west. The use of two-wheeled carts pulled by an gions of Canada, water transport was almost ox or horse eventually spread west as far as invariably the earliest and most important form Montana and south as far as Colorado.1 of transport.
    [Show full text]
  • Lord Selkirk's Efforts to Establish a Settlement for Irish Catholics at The
    CCHA Report, 6(1938-39), 39-49 Lord Selkirk’s Efforts to Establish a Settlement for Irish Catholics at the Red River BY JOHN J. CONNOLLY, PH.D. Like all colonizing schemes which began in Canada, one must look to conditions in the European countries whence the settlers originated for the background of the exodus. This is true of the Red River Colony and of the man who promoted it. By the end of the seventeenth century the British Government had taken steps to break up the strong clan organization in Scotland. Formerly every clansman enjoyed the same rights to the soil as did his chief. He tilled it and raised cattle in proportion to his meagre requirements, exulted in his independence as only those who live on the land can, and was attached to his chief, the clan cause and the Stuart dynasty by a fierce loyalty. With the advent of house of Hanover to the throne of England, the policy of the British Politicians called for some radical change, even at the expense of shattering the Scottish social fabric of centuries. The enforcement of their design despoiled the clansmen of their right to the land and put the legal possession of the soil in the chiefs. This did not occasion any immediate hardship as the chiefs who had always accorded to their people a benevolent protect i o n, left the former status of the clansmen unchanged. Their descendants, however, educated in the south of the Island and learning the material advantages to be derived by them personally from a highly commercialized agricultural economy began a process of “modernizing” rural life in Scotland.
    [Show full text]
  • Medicine in Manitoba
    Medicine in Manitoba THE STORY OF ITS BEGINNINGS /u; ROSS MITCHELL, M.D. THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY LIBRARY FR OM THE ESTATE OF VR. E.P. SCARLETT Medic1'ne in M"nito/J" • THE STORY OF ITS BEGINNINGS By ROSS MITCHELL, M. D. .· - ' TO MY WIFE Whose counsel, encouragement and patience have made this wor~ possible . .· A c.~nowledg ments THE LATE Dr. H. H. Chown, soon after coming to Winnipeg about 1880, began to collect material concerning the early doctors of Manitoba, and many years later read a communication on this subject before the Winnipeg Medical Society. This paper has never been published, but the typescript is preserved in the medical library of the University of Manitoba and this, together with his early notebook, were made avail­ able by him to the present writer, who gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness. The editors of "The Beaver": Mr. Robert Watson, Mr. Douglas Mackay and Mr. Clifford Wilson have procured informa­ tion from the archives of the Hudson's Bay Company in London. Dr. M. T. Macfarland, registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, kindly permitted perusal of the first Register of the College. Dr. J. L. Johnston, Provincial Librarian, has never failed to be helpful, has read the manuscript and made many valuable suggestions. Mr. William Douglas, an authority on the Selkirk Settlers and on Free' masonry has given precise information regarding Alexander Cuddie, John Schultz and on the numbers of Selkirk Settlers driven out from Red River. Sheriff Colin Inkster told of Dr. Turver. Personal communications have been received from many Red River pioneers such as Archbishop S.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Purveyors of “religion, morality, and industry”: Race, Status, and the Roles of Missionary Wives in the Church Missionary Society’s North-West America Mission DEREK WHITEHOUSE-STRONG* The Church Missionary Society (CMS) and its missionaries held that, regardless of race, the wives of CMS agents could facilitate the Society’s work in the Canadian mission field. The Society also maintained, however, that the Native wives of CMS agents in Canada possessed advantages over their European-born counter- parts, including hardier physical constitutions and ties of kinship, culture, and language to local Aboriginal populations. Nevertheless, because prejudices and axioms rooted in racial assumptions governed the attitudes of European-born individuals towards those of Aboriginal ancestry, many contemporaries doubted the ability of Native women to overcome what were considered to be racially inherent weaknesses and to embrace and project the core essential values and ideals deemed necessary of middle-class missionary wives. La Church Missionary Society (CMS) est ses missionnaires jugeaient qu’inde´pen- damment de la race, les e´pouses des agents de la CMS pouvaient faciliter le travail de mission de la CMS au Canada. La CMS estimait e´galement que les femmes autochtones de ses agents au Canada posse´daient des atouts que n’avaient pas leurs homologues ne´es en Europe, dont leur physique plus robuste et leurs liens parentaux, culturels et linguistiques avec les populations autochtones. Quoiqu’il en soit, comme les pre´juge´s et les axiomes ancre´s dans les a` priori raciaux gouvernaient les attitudes des personnes ne´es en Europe envers la population d’ascendance autochtone, de nombreux contemporains doutaient de la capacite´ des femmes autochtones de pallier ce que d’aucuns qualifiaient de faiblesses * Derek Whitehouse-Strong received his PhD in History from the University of Manitoba (2004).
    [Show full text]