REVIEWS / COMPTES RENDUS John Clarke, The Ordinary People needs, which reflected their interest in of Essex: Environment, Culture, and continuity and stability even as they built Economy on the Frontier of Upper new homes in a sometimes strange coun- Canada (Montreal and Kingston: McGill- try. Bound by religious and ethnic ties, Queen’s University Press 2010) they attempted to cluster together and, if there were a critical mass of popula- The Ordinary People of Essex is an tion (as there was for French and English exhaustive study of the ways in which Canadians, Americans, and Germans), people shaped the land and the land married within their own ethnic and re- shaped settlement in Essex County from ligious groups. As Clarke points out, the the early to the mid-19th century. Author best land was not always the most pro- John Clarke, Distinguished Research ductive land. Settlers preferred land in Professor of historical geography at proximity to settlements, kin, or those Carleton University, has written a suc- who shared cultural or ethnic roots to cessful follow-up to his Land, Power, provide maximum support for their fam- and Economics on the Frontier of Upper ilies. Most settlers found that land was Canada (2002). With 738 pages, includ- affordable and obtained a patent in ap- ing 470 pages of text, 141 pages of notes, proximately eight years. dozens of tables and maps, and 34 pages The role of origins (defined broadly of appendices, The Ordinary People of as ethnic, social, and distinct cultural Essex represents the scholarly mastery group) is central to the book. Clarke goes of relevant works on agriculture, eth- to great lengths to demonstrate that “cul- nicity, culture, and settlement in North ture is dynamic and not static” and that America and Europe as well as intimate immigrants from Europe as well as British study and knowledge of census returns and French North Americans made im- and numerous other manuscript sources. portant adjustments to local conditions. By focusing on one locale in great depth, (324) The author reveals the truth behind the author demonstrates the ways in the stereotypes of origins as they related which settlement proceeded and people to land tenure, farm production, and in- adapted to local conditions. Clarke has come. Did the Americans favour corn and made a singular contribution to the study hogs? Were the French Canadians most of frontier culture and agriculture that likely to have horses? Did Irish farmers will be of interest to historians in many grow more potatoes than other groups? different sub-disciplines, including so- While there may be some truth in these cial, ethnic, rural, and environmental stereotypes in some settings, members history. of each of these groups accepted change In Clarke’s telling, the people who in Essex County and charted their own came to Essex were not profit maximiz- course. Irish Protestants adopted corn, ers. Instead, they first looked to family all farmers favoured horses, and the Irish Table of Contents for Reviews, pp. 5–6. LLT-70.indb 261 12-11-27 4:32 PM 262 / LABOUR/LE TRAVAIL 70 appeared to be no different than their fel- particularly complete set of records from low settlers in terms of acreage devoted Malden Township, the author concludes to potatoes. Most foreign-born settlers that tenants were most likely to leave pursued a balanced production scheme Essex but it was not always the poorest while native-born farmers tended to pre- of tenants who left for greener pastures. fer a degree of market wheat production. African Americans, most likely former Clarke engages numerous debates slaves from the United States, tended to among historians and historical geogra- persist at higher rates than other groups, phers about the nature of frontier society, even though African Americans had the most notably the role of “king wheat” in smallest holdings of real and personal the economy of Upper Canada. While property. Tenants, however, managed to wheat was the “dominant cereal” grain in produce yields that were comparable to Essex due to the fact that it was a com- owners’. Scots managed to outperform modity with a ready market, it was less other groups, possibly due to the fact important in Essex than it was in other that they arrived comparatively early and parts of Ontario. (170) Corn was better managed to secure some of the most fa- suited to conditions of settlement and vourable land for cultivation. was grown on more farms than wheat, but The Ordinary People of Essex is a de- the overall acreage devoted to wheat was manding and sometimes difficult book. greater than that to corn. King wheat, ac- One of the principal difficulties is that cording to Clarke, was apparently a much the author often foregrounds the meth- less significant monarch than scholars odology and moves the land and people previously supposed. of Essex, the true subjects of the research, A significant portion of the book (much to the background. The author actually of Chapters 7 and 8) is dedicated to de- recognizes that his technique does “not fining and advancing our understanding always make for elegant text, and may of mobility and material success in the actually frighten some of the readership.” period under study. To that end, Clarke (xxxii) All too often the text is about chi- deals with tenancy and persistence, an- squares and coefficients, stepwise regres- other longstanding issue for social, rural, sion, and bivariate analysis. Clarke is, of and agricultural historians. Tenancy was course, within his rights to do this, but a common institution in Essex County, by tailoring the writing toward those with members of all ethnic and cultural who are most interested in the method groups renting at some point in the first of statistical analysis, readers who want half of the 19th century. Clarke’s study to know about the people and the land indicates that tenancy rates for Essex will be left wanting a clearer, jargon-free were similar to elsewhere in the prov- statement of the author’s findings. ince, ranging from approximately 37 per That said, Clarke has made a note- cent in 1825 to 40 per cent in 1851/52. To worthy contribution to the study of the assess the role of mobility (physical and history of settlement, cultural origins, socioeconomic), agricultural systems, agriculture, and environment in North and the relationship between origins America. The author simultaneously syn- and tenure, the author examines land thesizes the scholarship on the physical clearance rates and changes in the size settlement landscape of Upper Canada of landholdings. Farm families tended and provides extensive documentation to clear the most land in the first few of the social background of settlers, land years of settlement. Clearing slowed once use, and the economy of farming in Essex farming began in earnest. Based on a County. He does not, however, presume LLT-70.indb 262 12-11-27 4:32 PM REVIEWS / COMPTES RENDUS / 263 that the final word has been written on ouvriers (« canaliers ») qui s’y trouvaient. the subject. In the conclusion of Chapter Ici Viau s’appuie principalement sur 8 as well as the conclusion of the book, des sources secondaires, ce qui lui sert Clarke suggests that additional work may parfaitement bien pour son introduction provide more context and firmer expla- du projet et de l’organisation du chantier, nations for the changes he documents. mais moins bien quand il se tourne If there are difficult aspects of the book, vers les travailleurs eux-mêmes. Faute there is much more to gain from the in- de sources touchant explicitement les credible amount of data and analysis and ouvriers du canal Beauharnois, l’auteur from Clarke’s thoughtful questions and extrapole par des généralisations tirées suggestions for future research. Patient d’études portant sur d’autres canaux, readers will be rewarded. tels ceux de Welland et d’Érié. Des Joe L. Anderson généralisations informées par d’autres Mount Royal University études sont nécessaires considérant la pauvreté de la documentation primaire sur les travailleurs de cette époque, mais Roland Viau, La sueur des autres. Les fils les ouvrages que Viau choisit d’utiliser ne d’Érin et le canal Beauharnois (Valleyfield: sont pas toujours les meilleurs. Une de Triskèle 2010) ses principales sources par exemple est le livre de Freidrich Engels sur la condition La place des travailleurs irlandais de la classe ouvrière en Angleterre, un engagés dans la construction des classique, certes, mais comme il fut canaux de l’axe laurentien au cours de publié en 1844 une étude plus récente la première moitié du xixe siècle dans aurait peut-être été préférable. le développement de la classe ouvrière Après avoir dressé un bilan du chantier au Canada-Uni est bien connue. Dans de Beauharnois et des travailleurs y un article classique publié en 1948, œuvrant, Viau se tourne vers la grève qui H. C. Pentland, un des fondateurs de éclata en juin 1843, et la lutte acharnée que l’histoire ouvrière canadienne, les mena les canaliers pour l’obtention d’une appela même le premier prolétariat au augmentation de salaire et pour fixer une Canada. L’interprétation de Pentland limite des heures de travail (137), le tout est maintenant dépassée – nous savons culminant avec la journée sanglante du aujourd’hui qu’une classe ouvrière 12 juin 1843, le « lundi rouge » (162–163). indigène était déjà en formation Viau constate que le déclenchement de avant et en même temps que l’arrivée la grève n’était pas un acte spontané, de l’immigration irlandaise – mais mais démontre plutôt un impressionnant l’importance des travailleurs qui niveau d’organisation de la part des construisirent avec pelle et pic les grands travailleurs.