Little Big Things

Peace, order, and good government. This may not be a slogan you've heard before, but it's one that is, surprisingly, quite significant to Canadian history. Versions of it have appeared in Acts of Parliament affecting Canada's administration as a British colony since the mid-18th century and its current iteration was included in the British North America Act of 1867 (a.k.a. the Constitution Act, 1867 ) that established Canada as an independent nation - the very point in history that we now celebrate, understandably, as Canada Day. Now, in its original context, "Peace, order and good government" was an expression of political authority. It was initially a formal concession from the British government allowing colonial governments to enact their own laws, then became an authorization for the federal government to do so for the newly-independent nation as a whole. However, when I hear that statement, federal parliamentary politics...really isn't what comes to mind

Originally, I had planned for this story to be included in  Part 1  of this two-part series on the Château Saint-Louis in Québec. After all, both halves have a central running theme: the role the Château and its inhabitants, the Governors General of New France, played in their original historical context - and the legacies they have left behind in the Canada of today. However, while doing the research and outlining for it, I discovered that, rather than one story, I actually had two - and each (especially this one) would need its own space for me to really do it justice. The first post, if you will recall, focused on the Château Saint-Louis's material culture, based on research conducted by Philippe Halbert using the personal inventories of two such Governors General. My contribution then had been on how the colonial aristocracy's attempts to emulate the lifestyles of their French counterparts called into question my own understanding of Canadian cultural values.  This second