Promoters, planters, and pioneers : the course and context of Belgian settlement in Western Canada / Cornelius J. Jaenen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jaenen, Cornelius J.

Series:

West series (Calgary, Alta.) ; 4.

The West series, 1922-6519 ; 4

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Belgians--Canada, Western--History.

Belgians.

Immigrants--Canada, Western--History.

Immigrants.

Emigration and immigration.

Frontier and pioneer life.

History.

Canada, Western--Emigration and immigration.

Canada, Western.

Frontier and pioneer life--Canada, Western.

Belgium--Emigration and immigration.

Belgium.

Western Canada.

Physical Description:

xii, 348 pages : illustrations, map, portraits ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Calgary : University of Calgary Press, [2011]

Language Note:

Includes some text in French.

Summary:

Jaenen (history, U of Ottawa) has written extensively about Canadian ethnic and religious history and on the history of New France. He is himself a child of Belgian immigrants--one of many factors that motivated him to produce this history of the Belgian experience in Western Canada. Coming to Canada not to flee poverty or oppression, but rather with the support of the Belgian government to try new opportunities, the Belgians were perceived as being in a "preferred" category for their resourcefulness and adaptability, their identification with both the English and French sociocultural communities, and the image of a brave, independent, democratic, civilized Belgium emerging from foreign occupation during two world wars. Jaenen's account demonstrates the instructive and unique Belgian bi-ethnic experience in the context of and comparison to the experiences of other immigrant groups in the region. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

I The View from Belgium 1

II The Promise and Challenge of the West 29

III The Manitoba Base 63

IV Westward onto the Prairies 95

V To the Foothills of Alberta 121

VI The Mining Frontier and Pacific Rim 147

VII Language, Religion, and Education 183

VIII Economic, Political and Military Activity 209

IX Ethnicity and Culture 235.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 309-335) and index.

ISBN:

9781552382585

1552382583

OCLC:

708727251