Front cover image for Land, power and economics on the frontier of Upper Canada

Land, power and economics on the frontier of Upper Canada

"During its formative years from 1788 to 1850, Ontario was a conservative society, rejecting everything American while attempting to preserve the best of British culture. The social and political elite believed they possessed "natural virtue" and the few at the top of the hierarchy came to control the bulk of the land, the basis of the economy. At the other end of the spectrum were many powerless individuals who transformed the land and themselves through their own labour. Blending qualitative and quantitative approaches, John Clarke measures the pulse of Ontario's pre-industrial society."--Jacket
Print Book, English, 2001
McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal & Kingston, 2001
History
xxxvii, 747 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm
9780773520622, 9780773521940, 0773520627, 0773521941
44674148
The land revealed: the physical background
Peace, order and good government: the organization of a landscape
Acquiring Indian land in the era of the land boards
European land acquisition after the first land board
The market for land: sales in Essex to Mid-century
Buying on credit: the upper Canadian dilemma
Who were the speculators and how extensive was speculation?
The strategies of speculators
Land and power
The corporate sector
Context and conclusion