Entrepreneurship and the Family Compact: York-Toronto, 1822-55 Peter A
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Document généré le 3 oct. 2021 00:18 Urban History Review Revue d'histoire urbaine Entrepreneurship and the Family Compact: York-Toronto, 1822-55 Peter A. Baskerville Volume 9, numéro 3, february 1981 Résumé de l'article Examinant les domaines des banques et des chemins de fer, l'auteur retrace URI : https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1019297ar l'évolution de l'esprit d'entreprise à York-Toronto entre 1822 et 1855. Selon lui, DOI : https://doi.org/10.7202/1019297ar c'est une perspective socio-culturelle, plutôt que simplement économique, qui explique le mieux le comportement des membres du Compact à cet égard. Il y a Aller au sommaire du numéro lieu de considérer la notion d'esprit d'entreprise comme liée aux notions de temps et de culture. On peut ainsi nuancer le lieu commun selon lequel les membres du Family Compact ont manqué d'esprit d'entreprise. Leur Éditeur(s) perception du succès différait de celle de leurs successeurs et, dans certains cas, de celle de leurs contemporains des autres villes, mais cette élite a été tout Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine aussi active dans les secteurs critiques du développement industriel et commercial. L'activité des chefs de file du Compact et leurs perceptions du ISSN développement ont conditionné l'évolution de la ville de Toronto durant ces années. 0703-0428 (imprimé) 1918-5138 (numérique) Découvrir la revue Citer cet article Baskerville, P. A. (1981). Entrepreneurship and the Family Compact: York-Toronto, 1822-55. Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine, 9(3), 15–34. https://doi.org/10.7202/1019297ar All Rights Reserved © Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine, 1981 Ce document est protégé par la loi sur le droit d’auteur. L’utilisation des services d’Érudit (y compris la reproduction) est assujettie à sa politique d’utilisation que vous pouvez consulter en ligne. https://apropos.erudit.org/fr/usagers/politique-dutilisation/ Cet article est diffusé et préservé par Érudit. Érudit est un consortium interuniversitaire sans but lucratif composé de l’Université de Montréal, l’Université Laval et l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Il a pour mission la promotion et la valorisation de la recherche. https://www.erudit.org/fr/ ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND TOE FAMILY COMPACT: YORK-TORONTO, 1822-55 Peter A. Baskerville Rés urne/A bs tract Examinant les domaines des banques et des chemins de fer, l'auteur retrace l'évolution de l'esprit d'entreprise à York-Toronto entre 1822 et 18 55. Selon lui, c'est une perspective socio-culturelle, plutôt que simplement économique, qui explique le mieux le comportement des membres du Compact à cet égard. Il y a lieu de considérer la notion d'esprit d'entreprise comme liée aux notions de temps et de culture. On peut ainsi nuancer le lieu commun selon lequel les membres du Family Compact ont manqué d'esprit d'entreprise. Leur perception du succès différait de celle de leurs successeurs et, dans certains cas, de celle de leurs contemporains des autres villes, mais cette élite a été tout aussi active dans les secteurs critiques du développement industriel et commercial. L'activité des chefs de file du Compact et leurs perceptions du développement ont conditionné l'évolution de la ville de Toronto durant ces années. Through an examination of banking and railway activities, this paper charts the changing nature of entrepreneurship in York-Toronto between 1822 and 1855. It is suggested that the entrepreneurial behaviour of the Compact is best understood through a socio-cultural, rather than a simple economic perspective. The concept, entrepreneurship, should be regarded as time and culture bound. The common argument that members of the Family Compact failed as entrepreneurs, can, then, be refined. While the Compact's perception of success differed from that of its successor and, in some cases, from that of its contemporaries in other cities, that elite was equally active in crucial areas of business development. The activity of leading Compact members and their perceptions of development conditioned Toronto's evolution as a city in the years under review. • * * Recent studies of Upper for admission to the elite.1 Canada1s elite, the Family Compact, have begun to supplant the old view In one sense these conclusions of it as a pseudo-aristocratic and have made it more difficult to professional bureaucratic clique. resolve a traditional Work by F.H. Armstrong, J.K. interpretative problem. Did the Johnson, B. Wilson and others has Compact exhibit any general convincingly demonstrated the behavioural patterns? In varied background - mercantile, particular, what was the professional, military and relationship between the Compact aristocratic - of its personnel and and economic and urban development? pointed out the overlapping or Two studies published in the 19 50s interlocking nature of its argued that the elite's value composition. From this point of structure was incompatible with view, occupation did not seem to capitalist development. Yet both be the most important criterion these works assumed that a rather - 15 - - 16 - narrow occupational group created Two points should be made those values, an assumption called about the idea of entrepreneurship into serious question by more employed in this paper. recent studies. So far has the Explanation of such behaviour pendulum swung on this issue that, cannot be made by simple reference in Johnsonfs view, compact members to occupational categories or "might even be called economic acquisitiveness. Rather, 'entrepreneurs* most of whose the concept should be regarded as political views may have been time and culture bound. Given highly conservative but whose different attitudes and different economic outlook was clearly role models, behaviour deemed 'developmental.'"^ entrepreneurial in one setting may not be so designated in another. Agreeing in part with Johnson, It is sufficient, then, to see G.A. Stelter, in an able survey of entrepreneurship occurring when one Upper Canada's urban growth up to or more participants mobilize 1850, concluded "there seems little resources or initiate an economic question that a small elite activity which had had no prior controlled the political and existence and which involved some economic systems of the province social or financial risk to those and made many of the decisions participants.^ which determined the direction of urban growth and physical * * * evolution." For Stelter, the character of this elite, especially In a sense the promotion of at its 'major base,' York-Toronto, the Bank of Upper Canada probably led to urban development represented the entrepreneurial different from the American pattern debut of York's elite. The and, indeed, may have "led to a character of that debut both particular brand of commercial city conditioned the pattern of Upper that has not yet been clearly Canadian bank development and, to a recognized."^ degree, the place of York within an evolving provincial urban Using some of the insights structure. That character was, provided by this recent literature, first of all, defensive in nature. this paper explores the The York elite's perception of entrepreneurial behaviour of existing conditions had not leading Compact members resident in independently led it to believe in Toronto between 1822 and 1855 and the necessity of a concludes that such activity provincially-based bank. Indeed, conditioned Toronto's quest for from 1818 to 1821, William Allan metropolitan supremacy in Upper was content to act as agent for the Canada. This will be demonstrated Bank of Montreal.6 Kingston, not by an analysis of the York-Toronto York, seemed to be the most dynamic elite's involvement in bank and urban place in Upper Canada in the railway promotion in this era. To early 1820s. Still reaping the provide context the compact's benefits of the War of 1812, activities will, where possible, be Kingston's population exceeded compared both with that of its York's by two-thirds.' Not until competitors in rival cities and Kingston pushed its own bank with that of its entrepreneurial forward in 1819 did York, the successors in Toronto after 1850. complacent administrative and 17 political centre of the colony, simply economic. Kingston's stir. Whether its shocked elite initiative threatened the York convinced the Colonial Office to elite's self-perception as delay sanctioning Kings ton's acknowledged leaders in Upper initiative until they could forward Canada. A venture of such their own bill is unclear. At any potential importance as a bank rate, delay did occur, and York could not be safely entrusted sent over a second bill* outside of that elite's control. interestingly enough appropriating Owing to "the want of Kingston's name - the Bank of Upper respectability in the members," it Canada. York's bill received royal would not be possible to work assent in 1822 and although with Kingston's bank.1 1 1 Several Kingston's bank had already been in Americans were, after all, on the operation and enjoyed wide Board of Directors. By contrast, popularity in the eastern region, York's bank suitably adorned with, it lacked a charter and was in the words of one contemporary, labelled the 'Pretended Bank of "Gentry Directors," invited respect Upper Canada.'° and trust.-"-^ Along with Strachan, members of the Robinson, Boulton, Once spurred to action, York's Baldwin, Ridout, Allan and Dunn elite was thorough and ruthless. families dominated the board in Using their control of the the first years of the bank's Executive and Legislative Councils, existence. As Robert Burns has they obtained significant made clear, most of them were among government investment for their "God's Chosen People" - a project and convinced the York-based Upper Canadian elite Government to refuse to accept the accustomed to the perquisites and Pretended Bank's notes as legal exercise of power, not simply in tender.^ Kingston's acquiescence social and political terms but to these manoeuvres was in part also, when necessary, in economic obtained through the promise of matters.13 patronage.