Columnists
History is not history
Someone great once said, “History is written by the winners.” I am an accidental student of history, and I find this is true. For example: The War of 1812 was won by the Americans. This is based solely on the fact that the famous Battle of New Orleans was won by the American soldiers. This is true, but does not tell the whole story. First, the Battle was fought after an armistice was signed, but no one knew the war was over, thanks to lack of communication.
Second: Despite having dwelt with the guerilla tactics of unskilled but crafty American rebels in the Revolution, the British continued to attack using bright red garb to indicate easy targets, rows of soldiers ready to be picked off, and open fields (which worked well in the 1600s), which was an invitation to slaughter by those hidden in trenches and behind hastily manufactured bulwarks.
So yes, they won that battle. Not by amazing military ability—wait for the line of British to fire, and jump up and fire at men in clear view, while they reload—but because the soldiers in charge were stuck in a style of warfare which did not apply to the war they were fighting.
BETWEEN THE LINES
So the Americans won that war, if you read any American history accounts. In truth, the British—and the Canadians—won. Forgot to mention that. The hot-to-trot Americans took advantage of Britain’s war with Napoleon, and happily said: “This would be a good time for us to take over the continent, while British forces are distracted by that messy thing with France.” Then, like today, Americans look for any opportunity to grab land, even if the landowners are reluctant to give it up.
It’s a hoot to read American versions of history. They did not count on Napoleon’s defeat, which freed up a potload of British soldiers, who were now looking at Canada. You will see that the British troops were now free to attend to our war.
In American accounts, the British burned down the White House—an unexpected act of aggression. Nowhere do they record that Americans burned a path from Niagara to York (Toronto) and set our world on fire. Every home, every field, burned to the ground. Nowhere does it say, “Huh, this may have been retribution for killing their families and burning their towns?”
And that’s how history goes. Basically history can be fun, but it’s not always pretty. We now know—or think we know—more about our history than ever before. But do we? I’m going to leave the rotting corpse of Sir John A. in the ground, because the ‘good vs. bad’ measure stick weighs more heavily on modern outrage than historical analysis.
NAMED FOR OUR HEROES
Yes, the County, and rest of Ontario, chose great heroes of the time—mostly military demigods or royalty— as a form of tribute to our heritage and our growth as a young country. Wellington was once Smokeville—a tribute to its original settler (allegedly) Daniel Reynolds, called ‘Old Smoke’ by the natives who helped build his home, which is still standing. That’s the legend, but is it history? History is not always truth. Just depends on who writes it.
Now we find our ‘heroes’ were flawed, sometimes grievously wrong-minded. Modern introspection has turned up a variety of wrongdoings, yet we fashioned the names of buildings and streets in the honour we thought they earned at the time.
EVERYONE IS ON TRIAL
My, my, how we like to torture our dead. Rest in Peace is a joke. The latest target is Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville. Toronto is pondering removing his name from Dundas Street. This would require changes in address of over 2,000 people and businesses, so Canada Post would be more confused than they are now, since they can’t seem to locate an address by postal code, which was created by them. Other than Yonge Street, it is one of the longest running roads in Ontario. Also, the people who live in Dundas, Ontario are probably all freaking out.
So what caused this outpouring of rage? When Britain was considering abolishing the slave trade in 1792, Dundas added the word “gradual” to the Wilberforce motion to abolish slavery immediately.
His reasoning, for the time, was to prevent a sudden restriction of slavery, which would cause riots in their large number of Commonwealth holdings such as India, which was a British holding at the time, and heavily reliant on subjugating the locals. The argument continues to this day.
It was not until 1807 that the House of Lords voted in favour of abolishing the trade in slaves. The Slave Trade Act 1807 prohibited the trade in slaves in the British Empire. Ownership of slaves, however, remained legal in most of the British Empire until passage of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.
The argument continues today: Did Dundas’ actions delay rather than facilitate abolition? This is his crime. Seemed right to him, at the time. Seems wrong by our standards, but we don’t know the temperament that drove the times, and can’t conceive of being in a position to do the best for an empire.
SOME THINGS ARE JUST DAMN BAD
We can pick and chew at the foibles of our past masters, but sometimes history grabs us and shakes us with truly horrible abuses of power.
The discovery of multiple graves of Indigenous children rocked our world. Radio says another 75 bodies have recently been discovered. This is a crime well-surpassed by the misguided decisions of the big hot-shot people.
If you can, wrap your mind around the torment and death of these children—under the care of trusted people. Funny how we blame Sir John for the creation of residential schools (which is in dispute), but the persecutors— the actual killers—nobody wants to track. Nobody wants to say the words to lay the blame where it belongs. There are people who made young children die. They buried them, and they did not care.
This is a crime way beyond Dundas trying to finesse a bill in the House to smooth the transition out of slavery. This was done by the Church, so they get a pass. Nobody’s gunning for them.
We know what happened to those children. On the good side—for the first time in our history— we can embrace and understand the Indigenous people. Hear them, and understand the pain our country imposed on them.
To truly understand them, we need to see them. Their culture is amazing. Their sense of connection to the earth, air and wildlife is a beautiful world. A sensible world. We screwed up but, as history goes, it’s not on us to fix the horrors of our predecessors.
Hard for us, when our priorities are getting a new car, and upgrading to a bigger home.
Comments (0)