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I discovered this
excellent collection. I note that due to the tight binding that the first several pages of
each volume have cut our the first or last letter or two so a touch
challenging to read but as you progress the problem mostly goes
away. However, I have also found text versions of these books so
have also placed a link to them. I have
found scans on another site which do not have these problems but
several volumes are missing but they can be found at:
http://www.fadedpage.com/sc/chronicles.php
I have also found
audio recordings of most of these volumes at:
https://librivox.org/group/478 I am
going to add a volume each week so you have time to read them.
Here is a description of the first volume...
Most readers of Stephen Leacock's
works are familiar with his witty and humorous writings, but few may
be aware that he was also a gifted teacher, political ideologue,
economist and fiction writer. Though he wrote six books on Canadian
history, none of them attained the status of a standard text on the
subject and were regarded more as opinion pieces without much
academic foundation. Yet, the Chronicles of Canada series by Stephen
Leacock remains an interesting and entertaining read.
In this volume, Dawn of Canadian History: Aboriginal Canada, which
is part of a thirty-two book series of short and simple essays,
Leacock explores the little known origins of Canada's past. Leacock
begins with his theories on the geological formation of the country
and the beginnings of the earth's structures. The emergence of human
beings and the original settlers of the North American Continent,
the Native Americans as we know them today, is also well described,
though in terms that may seem outdated to modern readers.
The “Canadian aborigines” and their culture is also described in
terms of the different tribes and their relationship to the Eskimos
in the extreme northern part of Canada. The advent of the white
races like the Vikings or Norsemen is also one of the important
events in Canada's history, as it changed the course of civilization
in this country. Legends of Greenland and Iceland are well retold in
the chapter entitled The Legend of the Norsemen. Another crucial
event was the arrival of John Cabot of Bristol somewhere on the
Labrador coast in the sixteenth century.
Politics in the sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe and the
rivalry between nations like Spain, Portugal, England and France,
seeking to explore new worlds and enrich their own countries is also
well described. Leacock ends his book with the arrival of French
explorer Jacques Cartier, known today as the Father of Canada. In
historical terms, this would be set in the seventeenth century, when
another great French explorer, Samuel de Champlain was making the
first accurate map of the country.
For present day readers, Chronicles of Canada..., is a pleasant
blend of facts with myths and legends. It is this quality which
makes it much more entertaining than a pure historical account.
Audio files of these volumes are
available at:
https://librivox.org/group/478
Volume 1
The Dawn of Canadian History: A Chronicle of Aboriginal Canada
Text format version
Volume 2
The Mariner of St Malo: A Chronicle of the Voyages of Jacques
Cartier
Text format version
Volume 3
The Founder of New France.
Text format version
Volume 4
The Jesuit Missions: A Chronicle of the Cross in the Wilderness
Text format version
Volume 5
The Seigneurs of Old Canada
Text format version
Volume 6
The Great Intendant: Chronicle of Jean Talon in Canada 1665-1672
Text format version
Volume 7
The Fighting Governor: A Chronicle of Frontenac
Text format version
Volume 8
The Great Fortress: A Chronicle of Louisbourg 1720-1760
Text format version
Volume 9
The Acadian Exiles: A Chronicle of the Land of Evangeline
Text format version
Volume 10
The Passing of New France: A Chronicle of Montcalm
Text format version
Volume 11
The Wining of Canada: A Chronicle of Wolfe
Text format version
Volume 12
The Father of British Canada: A Chronicle of Carleton
Text format version
Volume 13
The United Empire Loyalists; A Chronicle of the Great Migration
Text format version
Volume 14
The War with the United States
Text format version
Volume 15
The War Chief of the Ottawas: A Chronicle of the Pontiac War
Text format version
Volume 16
The War Chiefs of the Six Nations: The Red Man in Canada
Text format version
Volume 17
The Red Man in Canada: Tecumseh
Text format version
Volume 18
The Adventurers of England on the
Hudson Bay: A Chronicle of the Fur Trade in the North
Text format version
Volume 19
Pathfinders of the Great Plains: A
Chronicle of La Vérendrye and his sons
Text format version
Volume 20
A Chronicle of the Arctic Seas
Text format version
Volume 21
The Red River Colony
Text format version
Volume 22
Pioneers of the Pacific Coast: A Chronicle of Sea Rovers and Fur
Hunters.
Text format version
Volume 23
The Cariboo Trail: A Chronicle of the Gold-fields of British
Columbia
Text format version
Volume 24
The Struggle for Political Freedom: The Family Compact.
Text format version
Volume 25
The Struggle for Political Freedom: The 'Patriots' of ’37
Text format version
Volume 26
The Struggle for Political Freedom: The Tribune of Nova Scotia
Text format version
Volume 27
The Struggle for Political Freedom: A Chronicle of the Union of 1841
Text format version
Volume 28
The Fathers of Confederation
Text format version
Volume 29
The Day of Sir John MacDonald
Text format version
Volume 30
The Day of Sir Wilfred Laurier
Text format version
Volume 31
All Afloat: A Chronicle of Craft and Waterways
Text format version
Volume 32
The Railway Builders
Text format version |
