The Empire of the St. Lawrence: A Study in Commerce and Politics

by Donald Grant Creighton, Christopher Moore (Introduction)

Originally published in 1937 as "The Commercial Empire of the St. Lawrence, 1760 - 1850" and re-issued in its present form in 1956, Donald Creighton's study of the St. Lawrence became an essential text in Canadian history courses. This, his first book, helped establish Creighton as the foremost English Canadian historian of his generation. In it, he examines the trading system that developed along the St. Lawrence River and he argues that the exploitation of key staple products by colonial merchants along the St. Lawrence River system was key to Canada's economic and national development. Creighton tells the story of the St. Lawrence empire largely from the perspective of these Canadian merchants, who, above all others, struggled to win the territorial empire of the St. Lawrence and to establish the Canadian commercial state. Christopher H. Moore, historian and Governor General Award winner, has written a new introduction to this classic text.

Genres: Canada, History

464 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2002

About the author

Donald Grant Creighton studied at Victoria College, University of Toronto and Balliol College, Oxford. In 1927 he was hired as a lecturer in U of T's Department of History, becoming professor in 1945, chairman 1954-59 and professor emeritus in 1971. The first of his many books, THE COMMERCIAL EMPIRE OF THE ST. LAWRENCE (1937), established him as the foremost English Canadian historian of his generation.

Under the influence of Harold INNIS, Creighton adopted as a first principle the idea of the St Lawrence as the basis of a transcontinental economic and political system: the LAURENTIAN THESIS. He was also committed to history as a literary art, and his 2-volume biography of John A. MACDONALD won the Governor General's Award (1952, 1955). As a nationalist with a centralist bias, Creighton in later years spoke out against the threats of continentalism and regionalism.

Reviews

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Written in the 1930s, this is an interesting interpretation of Canadian history. Tough going in spots but rewarding at the end of the day."


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Originally published in 1937 as "The Commercial Empire of the St. Lawrence, 1760-1850" and re-issued in its present form in 1956, Donald Creighton's study of the St. Lawrence became an essential text in Canadian history courses.

This, his first book, helped establish Creighton as the foremost English Canadian historian of his generation. In it, he examines the trading system that developed along the St. Lawrence River and he argues that the exploitation of key staple products by colonial merchants along the St. Lawrence River system was key to Canada's economic and national development.

Creighton tells the story of the St. Lawrence empire largely from the perspective of these Canadian merchants, who, above all others, struggled to win the territorial empire of the St. Lawrence and to establish the Canadian commercial state.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fantastic treasure was written during an era when historians were permitted their own perspectives on history, and could unabashedly cast their own aspirations into their interpretations. As a result, this book drives forward with the urgency and pace of the author's belief; primarily that Canada is a truly great nation that was cheated out of it's destiny. This book may be old and outdated, but it is well worth the read, and gives great insight not only into Canadian history, but recent perspectives on that history.

[James Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but hard work . Written in the 1930s, this is an interesting interpretation of Canadian history. Tough going in spots but rewarding at the end of the day.


Good but hard work . Written in the 1930s, this is an interesting interpretation of Canadian history. Tough going in spots but rewarding at the end of the day.

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

History as literature; Creighton's beautiful prose transforms the struggles of the Montreal merchants into a story of the development of nationalist sentiment in Canada.