Reviews for The Central Convent of Hospitallers and Templars: History, Organization, and Personnel (1099...

The average rating for The Central Convent of Hospitallers and Templars: History, Organization, and Personnel (1099... based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-04-17 00:00:00 E.cordell Johnson Iv I read this book to refresh my Canadian history, particularly history prior to the 20th century. Over two-thirds of the book is of this time period which was very suitable for me. There is a strong emphasis through-out of the impact of the new European explorers and settlers on the indigenous people. The French and English would not have been able to survive without the aid of the indigenous peoples when they first arrived in the 1600’s and 1700’s. As a short introduction let me emphasis what came out between the lines in this book. Canada is an odd country geographically and demographically. When the first settlers arrived the land had vast empty spaces between settlements, like Quebec City and Montreal separated by a distance of 250 kilometres. Even at the outset Canada’s population was far less than the British colonies to the south that were, in 1776, to become the United States. Even today half of Canada’s population resides in the Quebec City – Windsor corridor. Sadly, for the rest of the country, Canadian elections are usually decided by the votes in this part of the country. Most of the population lives within one hundred miles of the U.S. border; the large city of Edmonton is one of the few exceptions. Another example of demographics is the province of Manitoba (in square kilometres it is larger than France): Winnipeg is the largest city with a population close to 700,000, the second largest city is Brandon which is less than 50,000. All this has made Canada a difficult country to govern and administer. Large urban centres are vying for attention with much smaller rural principalities spread over a vast periphery of land. Because this book had six different authors it has a lack of unity. There is repetition and it has a text-book feel to it. The illustrations are wonderful. The authors do put emphasis on our powerful neighbor to the south. The war of independence in the 1770’s affected us. We made alliances with indigenous tribes, which in many ways proved fatal to them. The authors point out that the U.S. Civil War was a trigger for Canadian Confederation in 1867. The separate Canadian regions of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Lower and Upper Canada would feel more protected in a federation from the growing belligerence of a now fully armed and much more populous United States. There was a growing fear that with the ending of the Civil War the more populous United States would turn northward in search of territory. The book also emphasises the constant struggle between French and English which continues to this day. The early farmers faced an unending struggle with nature. Forests had to cleared for cultivation. This was done by brute strength in the 1700’s and 1800’s. Most of the early settlers lived in arduous and isolated conditions. The level of education that could be provided to their children was minimal compared to the Europe they left. They wanted and needed many children to work their farms. There were also plentiful trees to provide wood for her Majesty’s Royal Navy. Cutting trees in the endless forests was dangerous work. The people who came here and survived were a sturdy stock. Even the passage to the New World over the Atlantic in over-crowded ships, used to take lumber to England, was fraught with disease and danger. Some ships didn’t make it, disappearing in Atlantic Ocean storms. I didn’t find the chapters of Canada in the 20th Century to be a true reflection of Canada’s spirit. Little was said of the role of the Duplessis regime (mid 1930’s to 1960) and the role of the Catholic Church in subjugating the French in the province of Quebec. It was as if the authors were trying to show equally all the different Canadian issues and problems. This “balancing act” is a typical Canadian trait, but in the book it diluted the major confrontations, particularly that of Quebec nationalism and the independence movement from the 1960’s onward. Were the authors trying to be politically correct in glossing over the FLQ and their role in Quebec nationalism in the 1960’s and 1970’s? The major topic in Canada from the 1960’s onwards was the threat of Quebec forming its own sovereign state and separating from Canada. Also little is said about the changing role of women in Canadian society. In the 1960’s immigration laws were changed to remove racial discrimination. This has changed the ethnic composition of our country. Canada is no longer an Anglo-Saxon/French (Quebecois) land. This is not discussed in the book. Also overlooked is Toronto’s status as the major city in Canada, eclipsing Montreal. This book is very trend and event driven. Generally only political personalities are presented. The 20th century chapters over-emphasized trade and economics. Varying personalities like David Suzuki, Adrienne Clarkson, Margaret Atwood, Henry Morgentaler, Pierre Berton, or Yousuf Karsh could have been presented. Why was Norman Bethune even mentioned (and the above people not)? At least they had the Pierre Elliot Trudeau quote of 1967: “The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation.” Surely such a statement distinguishes Canadians from the U.S., I could not imagine any political leader from the U.S. having the audacity to say that.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-11-04 00:00:00 Michael Elliott It took me a while to finish this book (started it over a year before I finished it). It is not that it is badly written; it is actually quite packed tight with information and goes thoroughly through the history of Canada. Not having a breadth of knowledge on Canadian history, it was laborious at times for me to take it all in so-to-speak. With that said and barring the fact that I have read no other histories on Canada, this book was quite informative and made me appreciate our northern neighbors and their path as respects their approach to the government of our shared "mother" country. One thing is for certain if Brown is indeed accurate in his depiction of Canadian relations with first nations peoples: while the Canadian record is not spotless, it would appear that their overall record is better than that found in the United States. At any rate, if you want a thorough introduction to Canadian history read this book; or, read a less-thorough survey of Canadian history first and then read this one to fill in the details.