Revisiting 1759: The Conquest of Canada in Historical Perspective

The British victory on the Plains of Abraham in September 1759 and the subsequent Conquest of Canada were undoubtedly significant geopolitical events, but their nature and implications continue to be debated. Revisiting 1759 provides a fresh historical reappraisal of the Conquest and its aftermath using new approaches drawn from military, imperial, social, and Aboriginal history. This cohesive collection investigates many of the most hotly contested questions surrounding the Conquest: Was the battle itself a crucial turning point, or just one element in the global struggle between France and Great Britain? Did the battle's outcome reflect the superior strategy of General James Wolfe or rather errors on both sides? Did the Conquest alter the long-term trajectories of the French and British empires or simply confirm patterns well underway? How formative was the Conquest in defining the new British America and those now living under its rule? As this collection makes vividly clear, the Conquest's most profound consequences may in fact be quite different from those that have traditionally been emphasized.

Table of Contents:
Contents Preface Contributors IIntroduction II'One more card to play': Revisiting Wolfe's Final Stratagem at Quebec IIICrossing the Line? The British Army and the Application of European 'Rules of War' in North America in the Quebec Campaign IVFalling into Oblivion? Canada and the French Monarchy, 1759-1783 V1759: The Perils of Success VIThe Slow Process of Conquest: Huron-Wendat Responses to the Conquest of Quebec, 1697-1791 VIIThe Consequences of Conquest: Quebec and British Politics, 1760-1774 VIIICommercial Interest and Political Allegiance: The Origins of the Quebec Act IXThe Conquered and the Conqueror: The Mutual Adaptation of the Canadiens and the British, 1759-1775 X'Delivered from all your distresses': The Fall of Quebec and the Remaking of Nova Scotia XI'Cutting Heads from Shoulders': The Conquest of Quebec in Gaelic Thought, 1759-1791

About the Author :
Phillip Buckner is a professor emeritus in the Department of History at the University of New Brunswick and a senior fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas at the University of London. John G. Reid is a professor in the Department of History and a senior fellow at the Gorsebrook Research Institute at Saint Mary's University.