‘Vive les Boers’: French-Canadian Opposition to the Pro-Anglo Involvement in the Boer War
Jessica Afonso
HIS311Y
Professor Bothwell
7 November 2014
Canada was no longer a colony of the British Empire when the Boer War broke out, but most English-Canadians believed it still had strong economic and social ties with the British Empire. English-Canadians felt proud to support Britain in the Boer war. This essay discourses on French-Canadian involvement in the South Africa “Boer” War and the implications it had on French-Canadian culture and subsequent strengthened sense of French-Canadian nationalism.
The British Empire’s Interest in South Africa
Geopolitically, South Africa’s Orange Free State and the Transvaal were key locations …show more content…
The underlying problem was that French-Canadians identified with the Boers, whom also shared their narrative of minority status in the Empire.
French-Canadian empathy for the Boers stemmed from the fact that both Boers and French-Canadians were the linguistic and religious imperial minorities in their respective colonies. The Catholic Church put strain on Anglo-Franco relations because the institution disallowed the assimilation of French in Anglo-Saxon culture, which centered on material successes. British Canadians’ emotional attachment with Britain was stronger than French-Canadians’ felt with France. This attributed to French-Canadians’ sense of nationalism. This corresponding argument was highlighted in an article reproduced in Les Débats from the English radical newspaper, Reynold’s Newspaper, suggesting that the Boers’ treatment held a warning for French Canadians: “The French from there [Canada] recognize clearly that what is happening today in Africa can, if the occasion presents itself, also happen in Canada.” Moreover, English-speaking Canadians’ response was itself ominous: “the nation’s money is …show more content…
The group recognized that it was a contribution that Canada could not afford, “when its own borders were not threatened, and, most unpalatable of all, the implication that Canada was automatically committed to participate in any British war.”
The “Navy Question” dominated the 1911 Federal Election in Quebec. The Nationalistes allied themselves with the like-minded Conservatives, and together pledged that they would hold a referendum on the matter. However this was “largely a marriage of convenience with the goal of defeating Laurier.” Their combined forces won twenty-seven seats and forty-eight per cent of the vote in Québec . The Conservative government under Robert Borden introduced the Naval Aid Bill to provide a grant of $35 million to the Royal Navy to build three dreadnoughts . The Bill divided the French Canadian members of Borden’s
Jessica Afonso
HIS311Y
Professor Bothwell
7 November 2014
Canada was no longer a colony of the British Empire when the Boer War broke out, but most English-Canadians believed it still had strong economic and social ties with the British Empire. English-Canadians felt proud to support Britain in the Boer war. This essay discourses on French-Canadian involvement in the South Africa “Boer” War and the implications it had on French-Canadian culture and subsequent strengthened sense of French-Canadian nationalism.
The British Empire’s Interest in South Africa
Geopolitically, South Africa’s Orange Free State and the Transvaal were key locations …show more content…
The underlying problem was that French-Canadians identified with the Boers, whom also shared their narrative of minority status in the Empire.
French-Canadian empathy for the Boers stemmed from the fact that both Boers and French-Canadians were the linguistic and religious imperial minorities in their respective colonies. The Catholic Church put strain on Anglo-Franco relations because the institution disallowed the assimilation of French in Anglo-Saxon culture, which centered on material successes. British Canadians’ emotional attachment with Britain was stronger than French-Canadians’ felt with France. This attributed to French-Canadians’ sense of nationalism. This corresponding argument was highlighted in an article reproduced in Les Débats from the English radical newspaper, Reynold’s Newspaper, suggesting that the Boers’ treatment held a warning for French Canadians: “The French from there [Canada] recognize clearly that what is happening today in Africa can, if the occasion presents itself, also happen in Canada.” Moreover, English-speaking Canadians’ response was itself ominous: “the nation’s money is …show more content…
The group recognized that it was a contribution that Canada could not afford, “when its own borders were not threatened, and, most unpalatable of all, the implication that Canada was automatically committed to participate in any British war.”
The “Navy Question” dominated the 1911 Federal Election in Quebec. The Nationalistes allied themselves with the like-minded Conservatives, and together pledged that they would hold a referendum on the matter. However this was “largely a marriage of convenience with the goal of defeating Laurier.” Their combined forces won twenty-seven seats and forty-eight per cent of the vote in Québec . The Conservative government under Robert Borden introduced the Naval Aid Bill to provide a grant of $35 million to the Royal Navy to build three dreadnoughts . The Bill divided the French Canadian members of Borden’s