Review: The Penguin History of Canada
| Date | 01 March 2008 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200806300118 |
| Published date | 01 March 2008 |
| Author | Stuart Macintyre |
| Subject Matter | Review |
| International Journal | Autumn 2007 | 219 |
| Reviews |
THE PENGUIN HISTORY OF CANADA
Robert Bothwell
Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2006. 596pp, $39.00 cloth (ISBN 978-
0140149982)
To write a history of your own country is to accept the challenge of famil-
iarity, not just your own but that of your readers. They will come to it with
clear expectations and look to see how well the author meets them. If a new
national history is expected to provide fresh insight—there is little point in
simply repeating what has been said already—then the narrative must be
sufficiently familiar for them to orient themselves by the customary land-
marks, the notable events, and figures that are inculcated from childhood.
But what of the non-Canadian readers who lack that intimate knowl-
edge? For them it is necessary to set aside the web of associations with place
and memory, to treat them as visitors for whom nothing can be assumed.
This reviewer is not qualified to judge how well Robert Bothwell fulfils the
requirements of his compatriots, but as an Australian historian who has
attempted a similar history of his own country I am full of admiration for
his achievement. He has produced a clear and well-marked narrative; he
pauses on the way to offer commentary that is lucid and persuasive; his
assessments are fair-minded, punctuated periodically with a mordant wit;
and he establishes the central themes that characterize Canada’s history.
Several of them are introduced in the opening paragraph: “Canada, it’s
been said, has been the victim of too much geography” (3). The constraints
of geography are more prominent in Canadian histories than Australian
ones, though they are just as stark in my large, arid, and thinly populated
continent. Climatic extremes and vast distances are powerful forces in
Bothwell’s history, but their effects are offset by economic success. Like
other settler societies, Canada sought additional numbers to assist the
process of development, but Bothwell observes that the limited population
allowed a high standard of living: “Fortunately, there are aren’t too many peo-
ple and there’s enough prosperity to go around.” This in turn leads to a fur-
ther insight that is surely distinctive to his country: “Perhaps only its sparse
population has saved Canada from being a political impossibility” (3).
An Australian reader is struck by the advantages enjoyed by Canada in
the process of colonization, and by the slow progress of the early settle-
ments. All settler societies rely on links to the imperial homeland and from
the beginning Canada had successful export industries, fishing and furs, as
well as the transport system of the Great Lakes. The movement of people,
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