The day after Emancipation Day, and the day after that, and the day after that: In the zeal to impose a new narrative order about Canada, history is being buried under an avalanche of apologies.
Learned more about the history of slavery in northern North America in the three minutes it took to read this than I learned in three years in a Canadian high school.
Great column. Maybe the official apology for slavery could be in tandem with an official thank you for harbouring escaped American slaves 1840-1860.Re revisioning Emily Carr, the Vancouver Art Gallery recently did a show on her that displayed her portrait of her Indigenous friend Sophie Frank with an adjoining caption insisting this friendship "must have" been an expression of colonialism. Meanwhile, in the next room was a display of Hong Kong high fashion, without a single reference to forced labour in the Chinese textile industry.
While slavery was officially abolished in the British Empire in 1834, informally it was ended in Upper Canada in the 1790s -- judges refused to enforce the rights of slaveholders.
Slavery in Canada was mostly of Indigenous people. There were very few Black slaves. Indeed, until the 1960s, there were very few Blacks, slave or free.
Major slaveholders were themselves Indigenous, especially on the Pacific Coast, e.g. the Haida and Tlingit. There are stories that slavery continued among these people. As late as the 1970s, the was socil stigma against the descendants of those slaves.
I wonder how Mr. Trudeau's apology covers all of this.
Thank you! I always appreciate hearing more of our history that hasn't made the history books and (especially) politicians' speeches, that adds dimension to the stripped and manipulated bits which do.
Aug 2, 2022·edited Aug 2, 2022Liked by Terry Glavin
Very much enjoy this traveling 'low to the ground' style of writing, characteristic of good novels and history. But also how the level of complicating detail puts in question the all too facile, self-serving ideological narratives which seek to consume the light of day and all the political oxygen in a room.
Strikes me also, this continues the topic of the 'epistemological crisis' of knowledge versus belief discussed in a previous post. Knowledge requires human labour, as evidenced here, belief, well, more of what Stephen Colbert labelled 'truthiness', a gut feeling, it just makes me feel good to believe it. So I do.
I imagine social media plays a role, as another commenter observes, in the 'collapse of context'. Events arrive on a phone in an abstractive swirl of memes. Facts give way to moralizing beliefs and retweets to assert a personal identity and social affiliations. Although, facts and beliefs, ideology and gossip, of course, pre-date social media, the latter amplifying tendencies in human nature.
Very interesting historical analysis. Not what we learned in grade 10 history class. These articles make me glad I signed up as a paid subscriber. Also checks off two boxes in my list of axioms. Speech needs to be free and journalists should NOT be paid by the government. Keep up the great work.
Learned more about the history of slavery in northern North America in the three minutes it took to read this than I learned in three years in a Canadian high school.
Thanks for this.
Good article. You are a voice of sanity in these weird times.
Great column. Maybe the official apology for slavery could be in tandem with an official thank you for harbouring escaped American slaves 1840-1860.Re revisioning Emily Carr, the Vancouver Art Gallery recently did a show on her that displayed her portrait of her Indigenous friend Sophie Frank with an adjoining caption insisting this friendship "must have" been an expression of colonialism. Meanwhile, in the next room was a display of Hong Kong high fashion, without a single reference to forced labour in the Chinese textile industry.
How soon can Canadians expect an apology from the idiots that voted for Trudeau in the first place? We're long overdue.
Thank you, again, Terry. I thoroughly enjoy your writing and learning from it. What’s more important is that I can put stock in it!
A few thoughts.
While slavery was officially abolished in the British Empire in 1834, informally it was ended in Upper Canada in the 1790s -- judges refused to enforce the rights of slaveholders.
Slavery in Canada was mostly of Indigenous people. There were very few Black slaves. Indeed, until the 1960s, there were very few Blacks, slave or free.
Major slaveholders were themselves Indigenous, especially on the Pacific Coast, e.g. the Haida and Tlingit. There are stories that slavery continued among these people. As late as the 1970s, the was socil stigma against the descendants of those slaves.
I wonder how Mr. Trudeau's apology covers all of this.
Thank you! I always appreciate hearing more of our history that hasn't made the history books and (especially) politicians' speeches, that adds dimension to the stripped and manipulated bits which do.
Grateful to have your voice in my ear. Again.
I always learn from you.
Thr collapse of context.
Absolutely right on, Terry. But it leaves me wanting something... I know! I want an apology for all these misdirected apologies!
Very much enjoy this traveling 'low to the ground' style of writing, characteristic of good novels and history. But also how the level of complicating detail puts in question the all too facile, self-serving ideological narratives which seek to consume the light of day and all the political oxygen in a room.
Strikes me also, this continues the topic of the 'epistemological crisis' of knowledge versus belief discussed in a previous post. Knowledge requires human labour, as evidenced here, belief, well, more of what Stephen Colbert labelled 'truthiness', a gut feeling, it just makes me feel good to believe it. So I do.
I imagine social media plays a role, as another commenter observes, in the 'collapse of context'. Events arrive on a phone in an abstractive swirl of memes. Facts give way to moralizing beliefs and retweets to assert a personal identity and social affiliations. Although, facts and beliefs, ideology and gossip, of course, pre-date social media, the latter amplifying tendencies in human nature.
Anyway, enjoy the ride...
Very interesting historical analysis. Not what we learned in grade 10 history class. These articles make me glad I signed up as a paid subscriber. Also checks off two boxes in my list of axioms. Speech needs to be free and journalists should NOT be paid by the government. Keep up the great work.
I suspect a typo: I think that should be Bostonais Pangman (not Pagman). The village of Pangman in Saskatchewan was named after him.