Before Canada: Northern North America in a Connected World (Volume 8) (McGill-Queen's Studies in Early Canada / Avant le Canada)

Before Canada: Northern North America in a Connected World (Volume 8) (McGill-Queen's Studies in Early Canada / Avant le Canada)

Long before Confederation created a nation-state in northern North America, Indigenous people were establishing vast networks and trade routes. Volcanic eruptions pushed the ancestors of the Dene to undertake a trek from the present-day Northwest Territories to Arizona. Inuit migrated across the Arctic from Siberia, reaching Southern Labrador, where they met Basque fishers from northern Spain. As early as the fifteenth century, fishing ships from western Europe were coming to Newfoundland for cod, creating the greatest transatlantic maritime link in the early modern world. Later, fur traders would take capitalism across the continent, using cheap rum to lubricate their transactions. The contributors to Before Canada reveal the latest findings of archaeological and historical research on this fascinating period. Along the way, they reframe the story of the Canadian past, extending its limits across time and space and challenging us to reconsider our assumptions about this supposedly young country. Innovative and multidisciplinary, Before Canada inspires interest in the deep history of northern North America. “This collection builds upon earlier scholarship on Canada’s distant past and pushes resolutely at its boundaries. The variety of topics is dazzling, offering a valuable sample of current research on this elusive period of global history.” Margaret Conrad, University of New Brunswick and author of A Concise History of Canada “Before Canada features eleven of the smartest minds in early Canadian history, archeology, geography, and literary studies. Throughout the book, … Greer’s contemporaries define, demystify, and dismantle the imagined histories of the centuries preceding Canadian federation.” Montreal Review of Books "Before Canada is a must-read volume for everyone teaching Canadian history before Confederation (1871). This is altogether a fascinating read; its breadth and lively details are enthralling. Essential." Choice "These well-written essays―pleasures to read―document in detail a series of broad areas of exchange in eastern North America from 12,300 BCE. The book weaves artifact and site data with letters and descriptions into rich tapestries. A theme repeats: First Nations had economies with practices as firm as those of Europeans, but not congruent with capitalist debt bookkeeping. With its fully documented sources and endnote clarifications, Before Canada is a must-read volume for everyone teaching Canadian history before Confederation (1871). This is altogether a fascinating read; its breadth and lively details are enthralling. Essential." Choice “Written for readers who live within Canada today, the book projects backwards in time a ‘Canada-as-physical-space.’” Literary Review of Canada Showcasing the exciting work of historians, archaeologists, and literary scholars who are rewriting North America’s ancient past. Series Editors / Directeurs de la collection : Allan Greer and Carolyn Podruchny This series features studies of the history of the northern half of North America – a vast expanse that would eventually be known as Canada – in the era before extensive European settlement and extending into the nineteenth century. Long neglected, Canada-before-Canada is a fascinating area of study experiencing an intellectual renaissance as researchers in a range of disciplines, including history, geography, archeology, anthropology, literary studies, and law, contribute to a new and enriched understanding of the distant past. The editors welcome manuscripts in English or French on all aspects of the period, including work on Indigenous history, the Atlantic fisheries, the fur trade, exploration, French or British imperial expansion, colonial life, culture, language, law, science, religion, and the environment. Cette série de monographies est consacrée à l’histoire de la partie septentrionale du continent de l’Amérique du Nord, autrement dit le grand espace qui deviendra le Canada, dans les siècles qui s’étendent jusqu’au début du 19e. Longtemps négligé par les chercheurs, ce Canada-avant-le-Canada suscite beaucoup d’intérêt de la part de spécialistes dans plusieurs disciplines, entre autres, l’histoire, la géographie, l’archéologie, l’anthropologie, les études littéraires et le droit. Nous assistons à une renaissance intellectuelle dans ce champ d’étude axé sur l’interaction de Premières Nations, d’empires européens et de colonies. Les directeurs de cette série sollicitent des manuscrits, en français ou en anglais, qui portent sur tout aspect de cette période, y compris l’histoire des Autochtones, celle des pêcheries de l’Atlantique, de la traite des fourrures, de l’exploration, de l’expansion de l’empire français ou britannique, de la vie coloniale (la Nouvelle-France, l’Acadie, Terre-Neuve, les provinces maritimes, etc.), de la culture, de la langue, du droit, des sciences, de la religion ou de l’environnement. Allan Greer is professor emeritus of history at McGill University.