Le concept de liberté au Canada à l'époque des Révolutions atlantiques (1776-1838) (Studies on the History of Quebec/Études d’histoire du Quebec) (Volume 23) (French Edition) - Softcover

Ducharme, Michel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0773536248 ISBN 13: 9780773536241

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2010

Synopsis

Inspired by intellectual histories of the Atlantic world, Ducharme goes beyond the scholarly focus on Atlantic republicanism to present the rebellions of 1837-38 as a confrontation between two very different concepts of liberty. He uses these concepts as lenses through which to read colonial ideological conflict. Ducharme traces political discourse in both colonies, showing how the differing fates and influence of republican and constitutional notions of liberty affected state development. He also pursues a number of important revisionist historical claims, including the idea that nationalist politics were not at issue in the period and that "responsible government" was never a Patriote party platform or interest.
Taking a wider view allows Ducharme to provide a solid understanding of the ideological substance of political conflict and shows that, starting in 1791, Canadian colonial political culture revolved around an ideal of liberty that differed from the liberty at work within the revolutionary movements of the late eighteenth century but was nonetheless born of the Enlightenment.

About this title

About the Author:

Michel Ducharme is assistant professor in the Department of History at the University of British Columbia.

Review:

"Ducharme writes clearly and lucidly; his presentation of the material is straightforward and accessible, and the work is refreshingly balanced. I was impressed with his ability to point directly to the sources of inspiration of colonial political writers. He presents readers with a considerable amount of original documentary material, much of it, especially for Lower Canada, relatively little known. We have learned a great deal from Greer's Patriots and the People about the struggles from below that lead to 1837. Ducharme offers a major advance in our understanding about struggles from above. This book will be agenda-setting." Bruce Curtis, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University

About this edition

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0773536248
• ISBN 13: 9780773536241
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 360