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Canada – almost the 51st State?

Updated: Jun 28

Some US history buffs have a passing knowledge of the first war between Britain and its former colonies from 1775 to 1783 which resulted in the United States. Fewer know anything about the second war between Britain and America. The war between 1812 and 1815 was fought in the Great Lakes region with some conflict on the border south of Montreal. In its final stages a British fleet landed an army and took Washington – briefly – and an American army fought and defeated the British near New Orleans.


Cartoon: Boxing match President James Madison with George III 
Cartoon: Boxing match President James Madison with George III 

Sometimes reality and fiction are destined to coincide. As I write the final chapters of my third novel, I was amazed to hear Trump declare Canada is destined to become the 51st State. Trump’s bold comment resembled Henry Clay’s ‘War Hawks’ who bullied Madison into a declaration of war on Britain in 1812. British colonies were described as “ripe peaches ready to be plucked”. I had chosen as a context for my latest adventures of Josiah Nisbet a situation which awoke these memories. Now, as then, the war disrupted trade and alienated a whole population. Earlier it forced the British colonies to unite to form the Province of Canada in 1841 and then the Dominion of Canada in 1867. Each stage in this process followed instability as America flexed its muscles.


Rich Characters

The era was rich in personalities – Thomas Jefferson, the radical President of the United States, General Hull the feckless defender of Detroit, Tecumseh and his brother “the Prophet”; General Isaac Brock, and Admiral Perry – to name some of the better-known characters.

There was another powerful man uniquely American in style and ambition who came to significance at the time - Jacob Astor. Astor had the imagination and will to build a trading empire stretching from Europe, across the United States to China. If anyone could profit from a war it was Jacob. In ambition and self-serving deal making, he resembled Trump.


My next novel will be the final volume in my trilogy about Nelson’s impact on the world and on those close to him. As important as the battles which feature in them, there were other global battles being fought at the same time. Among them were the struggle to abolish slavery, the struggle between the propertied aristocracy and rapidly emerging commercial interests. Not least there was the war over Indian lands. Josiah was struggling too – to make sense of the new world where he is destined to make his fortune. There is also a struggle between his sense of ‘Nelsonian’ commitment to duty and his self-interest.


The Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans
The War of 1812: Important but Forgotten

Why are so few people today aware of this war? If you ask Americans about the war, they may have been taught about British defeat at the Battle of New Orleans at school – itself an irony because the battle occurred after the peace treaty ending the war had been signed! They don’t talk about their near defeat by a far smaller military force. British history lessons teach their students about the Battles of Waterloo and Trafalgar but never about this war. The inglorious failure of their navy on the Great Lakes and the shame of burning all the public buildings in Washington - save one – do not compete with the glory of beating Napoleon. (A visit to the Capitol still reveals smoke-stained foundations).


I suspect the Native Americans try to forget the war since, despite promises from both sides, the confiscation of their lands continued unabated.


It was hard to find anyone on my recent visit to the US who knew anything about the war of 1812. Except the Canadians.


1814 Capture and Burning of Washington DC
1814 Capture and Burning of Washington DC

To find out more about my novels and sign up to ‘stay in touch’, visit my author home page. My first novel in the trilogy, Nelson's Folly, is also available as an audiobook.

 
 
 

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