Of special interest to coin and bill collectors, as well as history buffs and students, is this clear, concise and intriguing explanation of the various coins and currencies used in Canada between 1600 and 1900. Covering the French, British, and Canadian periods of our history, the wide range of currencies used is explained: livres, pounds, playing cards, louis d’ors, eagles, shillings and dollars among others. Divided into geographical sections, each area of Canada, from Newfoundland to the West, the ever-changing conditions of money and exchange is covered in detail. The concluding chapter brings together each of these threads and weaves a unified picture of the early Canadian monetary system. Aided by a generous selection of illustrations, figures and tables, A.B. McCullough has written a comprehensive guide to our monetary history that is both useful and interesting.

Uses maps to illustrate the development of Canada from the last ice sheet to the end of the eighteenth century

Through war, depression, and social upheaval, the first half of the twentieth century was a period of unprecedented turbulence in Canada. In this lively and contentious survey, Robert Bothwell, lan Drummond, and John English explore the political and economic forces that shaped this era of change. As in their earlier work, the highly acclaimed Canada since 1945, the authors focus on the political context of events. Beginning at the turn of the century, they consider the status of Canada in the empire and the world, the burgeoning growth of its economy, and the development of social and labour problems, up to the eruption of 1914. They discuss the political currents running through Canada during two wars, the interwar economic boom and depression, and the plans for post-war reconstruction, and assess the impact of these and other events on Canada's political, economic, social, and cultural institutions. Electronic Format Disclaimer: Images removed at the request of the rights holder.

Historically Canadians have considered themselves to be more or less free of racial prejudice. Although this conception has been challenged in recent years, it has not been completely dispelled. In Colour-Coded, Constance Backhouse illustrates the tenacious hold that white supremacy had on our legal system in the first half of this century, and underscores the damaging legacy of inequality that continues today. Backhouse presents detailed narratives of six court cases, each giving evidence of blatant racism created and enforced through law. The cases focus on Aboriginal, Inuit, Chinese-Canadian, and African-Canadian individuals, taking us from the criminal prosecution of traditional Aboriginal dance to the trial of members of the 'Ku Klux Klan of Kanada.' From thousands of possibilities, Backhouse has selected studies that constitute central moments in the legal history of race in Canada. Her selection also considers a wide range of legal forums, including administrative rulings by municipal councils, criminal trials before police magistrates, and criminal and civil cases heard by the highest courts in the provinces and by the Supreme Court of Canada. The extensive and detailed documentation presented here leaves no doubt that the Canadian legal system played a dominant role in creating and preserving racial discrimination. A central message of this book is that racism is deeply embedded in Canadian history despite Canada's reputation as a raceless society. Winner of the Joseph Brant Award, presented by the Ontario Historical Society

The Bank of Upper Canada played a major role in government financial affairs. Its relations with other banks and its British financial agents reveal the interconnectedness of the 19th century financial world. This book takes a look at a financial institution during the profound transition from a commercial to an industrial era.

In Louis XIV’s New France, colonial authorities attempted to reproduce French regal authority in novel ways, often by performing typical metropolitan political rituals. When these practices were transposed into the St Lawrence Valley settlements, where a small French population lived alongside a substantial Indigenous presence, they took on new meanings. The colony of Canada replicated many features of the developing French absolutist state. Yet while the king likely knew more about his colony than he did about most parts of metropolitan France, this transatlantic setting imposed new constraints on absolutist authority, from the challenges of distance to an Indigenous population that largely lived outside European norms. Political Culture in Louis XIV’s Canada examines royal power as it was represented in ritual (ceremonial entrances, Te Deums, processions), in rhetoric (political disputes over cabals and factions), and in objects (portraits, royal busts, currency, buildings, maps, and censuses). Colin Coates describes the successes and failures the French authorities experienced in exporting their political practices. He reveals how those authorities’ understandings of Indigenous political culture shaped ideas of the proper relation between rulers and the ruled. This book traces the establishment of a colonial political culture that continued to shape the lives of the French in Canada long after the Sun King’s death in 1715.

This is a timely review of the gold standard covering the 110 years of its operation until 1931, when Britain abandoned it in the midst of the Depression. Current dissatisfaction with floating rates of exchange has spurred interest in a return to a commodity standard. The studies in this volume were designed to gain a better understanding of the historical gold standard, but they also throw light on the question of whether restoring it today could help cure inflation, high interest rates, and low productivity growth. The volume includes a review of the literature on the classical gold standard; studies the experience with gold in England, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Canada; and perspectives on international linkages and the stability of price-level trends under the gold standard. The articles and commentaries reflect strong, conflicting views among hte participants on issues of central bank behavior, purchasing-power an interest-rate parity, independent monetary policies, economic growth, the "Atlantic economy," and trends in commodity prices and long-term interest rates. This is a thoughtful and provocative book.

A distillation of sixty-seven of the best and most important plates from the original three volumes of the bestselling of the Historical Atlas of Canada.