Saturday 13 October 2018

Canada Recap - what I saw

Canada has a lot to offer a traveler. The east has been carved by glaciers, laying bare the geology from the collision between North America and Africa. The boreal and deciduous forests and their creatures. Together, this has created places of great scenic beauty.

There is the story of repeated human colonisation due to the immense fishing resources of the region, and the ebb and flow due to climate change, and discovery by Europeans. The story of the peace between the French and the indigenous population, of fighting between the French and the British, and the ultimate victory by the British. And the story of what has happened since to the different populations.

Canada has very good interpretive centres at many of their historical sites. It’s a pity that most of the sites are where the British built forts that were never used, as part of their deterrent of the expansionist tendencies of the USA, and that earlier forts (which were used) were destroyed in the process. The earth work associated with building a star fort pretty much obliterates previous formations. The French obviously chose their sites well, even though they built in a way that ended up costing too much in upkeep to ensure their forts actually worked well. And even the Québécois appear to think that the French were actually about to win in Quebec City when they gave up - twice.

I didn’t manage to see much indigenous history or culture. There isn’t that much, and the places I was staying were a distance from the places where it was. I met some interesting people at various sites places where I didn’t expect to find an indigenous presence - like at Louisbourg and at Gros Morne National Park.

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