Plains of Abraham re-enactment folly: historian
Battle re-enactments similar to the Plains of Abraham event that was cancelled last week generally fail to teach people very much about history, one of Canada's leading historians says.
But a faithful recreation of the battle would at least have had the merit of drawing a sharp distinction between the way the French army fought versus the way the militiamen fought, says Desmond Morton of Montreal.
"The French army took to its heels, but the militia didn't," says Morton, a professor of history at Montreal's McGill University and a former director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.
"And so, rather than draw attention to this rather courageous stance (by the local militia), we've been denied it."
Like other historians, Morton watched with fascination as the National Battlefields Commission cancelled plans to stage a 250th-anniversary re-enactment of the battle associated with the fall of New France.
While original news reports blamed threats from separatist groups for the cancellation, it has since become clear that there was broader public ambivalence about the wisdom of the idea in the first place.
Some of the earliest opposition, in fact, came from historians themselves. Three of Quebec's most prominent francophone historians — Jacques Lacoursiere, Denis Vaugeois and Guy Vandeboncoeur — complained directly to the commission about a promotional brochure that was finally the subject of a public recall on Jan. 26.
Rather than portray the event as an objective retrospective, the marketing brochure gave the impression that a jovial celebration was being planned. Various pictures and captions suggested that a lighthearted musical comedy was in the works.
"The negative first impressions created by this brochure created a backlash that organizers couldn't overcome," Lacoursiere said.
The whole affair was aggravated by the fact that the Battle of the Plains of Abraham has assumed a mythical status that it doesn't deserve, says Denis Vaugeois, president of Les Editions du Septentrion, and a former Parti Quebecois cabinet minister.
Part of the larger Seven Years' War involving European powers, the battle itself wasn't what caused the fall of New France, said Vaugeois.
The following spring, there was a repeat engagement, the Battle of Ste. Foy, which the French side won, he notes. But when British rather than French ships subsequently sailed up the St. Lawrence River with reinforcements, it was over for the French....
Read entire article at Montreal Gazette
But a faithful recreation of the battle would at least have had the merit of drawing a sharp distinction between the way the French army fought versus the way the militiamen fought, says Desmond Morton of Montreal.
"The French army took to its heels, but the militia didn't," says Morton, a professor of history at Montreal's McGill University and a former director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.
"And so, rather than draw attention to this rather courageous stance (by the local militia), we've been denied it."
Like other historians, Morton watched with fascination as the National Battlefields Commission cancelled plans to stage a 250th-anniversary re-enactment of the battle associated with the fall of New France.
While original news reports blamed threats from separatist groups for the cancellation, it has since become clear that there was broader public ambivalence about the wisdom of the idea in the first place.
Some of the earliest opposition, in fact, came from historians themselves. Three of Quebec's most prominent francophone historians — Jacques Lacoursiere, Denis Vaugeois and Guy Vandeboncoeur — complained directly to the commission about a promotional brochure that was finally the subject of a public recall on Jan. 26.
Rather than portray the event as an objective retrospective, the marketing brochure gave the impression that a jovial celebration was being planned. Various pictures and captions suggested that a lighthearted musical comedy was in the works.
"The negative first impressions created by this brochure created a backlash that organizers couldn't overcome," Lacoursiere said.
The whole affair was aggravated by the fact that the Battle of the Plains of Abraham has assumed a mythical status that it doesn't deserve, says Denis Vaugeois, president of Les Editions du Septentrion, and a former Parti Quebecois cabinet minister.
Part of the larger Seven Years' War involving European powers, the battle itself wasn't what caused the fall of New France, said Vaugeois.
The following spring, there was a repeat engagement, the Battle of Ste. Foy, which the French side won, he notes. But when British rather than French ships subsequently sailed up the St. Lawrence River with reinforcements, it was over for the French....