Book
Hardscrabble : the high cost of free land / Donna E. Williams ; foreword by J. Patrick Boyer. --
Record details
- ISBN: 1459708040 (pbk.)
- ISBN: 9781459708044 (pbk.)
- Physical Description: 203 p. : ill., map.
- Publisher: Toronto : Dundurn Press, 2013.
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (p. [189]-197), Internet addresses and index. |
| Immediate Source of Acquisition Note: | LSC 22.99 |
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Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroud Branch | 971.31603 Wil | 31681002625218 | NONFICPBK | Available | - |
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How emigrants were lured to Ontarioâs Muskoka in the 1870s in a vain attempt to farm the Canadian Shield.
When the Free Grants and Homestead Act was first introduced in 1868, fierce debates erupted in Ontarioâs Legislature over whether land in the Muskoka region should be opened to settlement or reserved for the Aboriginal population. From the beginning, many people vented serious doubts about the free grant scheme, citing the districtâs poor agricultural prospects. In the end, such caution was ignored by overeager boosters.
The story in Hardscrabble also takes readers to Britain, where emigration philanthropists urged their government to send the countryâs poor to Canada, then follows these emigrants as they left the familiar behind to make a new life in the Canadian wilderness. The initial romance of living off the land was soon dispelled as these hapless souls faced clearing the land, building shelters, and sowing crops in desolate, remote locations.
Donna Williamsâs extensive research leads her to conclude that Muskokaâs experience epitomizes the wrongheadedness of placing already poor people on remote land unsuited for farming. - Univ of Toronto Pr
A tale of deception and adversity, Hardscrabble tells how unscrupulous politicians, emigration agents, and philanthropists lured impoverished emigrants to farm the Muskoka backwoods in the 1870s. What these new settlers weren't told was that their land was situated on the rocky Canadian Shield. - Univ of Toronto Pr
How emigrants were lured to Ontario’s Muskoka in the 1870s in a vain attempt to farm the Canadian Shield.
When the Free Grants and Homestead Act was first introduced in 1868, fierce debates erupted in Ontario’s Legislature over whether land in the Muskoka region should be opened to settlement or reserved for the Aboriginal population. From the beginning, many people vented serious doubts about the free grant scheme, citing the district’s poor agricultural prospects. In the end, such caution was ignored by overeager boosters.
The story in Hardscrabble also takes readers to Britain, where emigration philanthropists urged their government to send the country’s poor to Canada, then follows these emigrants as they left the familiar behind to make a new life in the Canadian wilderness. The initial romance of living off the land was soon dispelled as these hapless souls faced clearing the land, building shelters, and sowing crops in desolate, remote locations.
Donna Williams’s extensive research leads her to conclude that Muskoka’s experience epitomizes the wrongheadedness of placing already poor people on remote land unsuited for farming.
