Even Quebeckers should celebrate Montcalm's loss

the soi disant 'separatist' or 'sovereigntist' quebecers suffer from the same malaise as many muslims...they are inordinately susceptible to self pity.

weak in character...fluid in principle...bereft of the ability to cogently objectively critique themselves OR the political culture in which they are enmired....

narcissistic unsure egotistical 'victims' all...

As a french canadian,I completely agree with you.Had France won the battle,Quebec as we know it today would probably have been sold as part of the Louisiana Purchase,to the Americans.....But that's 400 years ago and to me that is not issue.The issue is that the Canadian Government has given in to a bunch of thugs who will now follow through on more terrorist threats,now that the federal government has given them "hope".The feds say there was a threat of violence and that's the reason they canceled the reenactment of the battle.I say,the Plains of Abraham are situated next to the home base of the Royal 22nd Regiment and security could have been provided quite easily to control a few ignorant paintballers.These idiotic patriots should be charged for inciting violence and prosecuted under the law.Even the Blocheads and the Part Quebecois have disassociated their organizations from this fringe element

I am a bit of a Francophile, I admit, but if you want to map poverty and trouble throughout the world to a very high correlation, just look at the French colonial footprint. Quite the opposite is true of the former British Empire.

What are the chances that any offical is actually investigating those 'threats' of violence? None!

If the fabled and utopian elite and entitled of New France cannot even pull off a re-enactment of a recorded and historic battle, how in the name of Gaul can they be expected to operate a real country without the security of training wheels? These wheels include the Canadian dollar, Equalization (to show you are just as good as real ciizens) payments and supply managed agricultural programs as well as taxpayer support for industry, not to mention the free electicity stolen from Danny Williams. Please another neverendum that Canadians can vote in to guarantee sovereignty much like the one demanded by the Slovaks of the Czecks. Perhaps the aspiration should be to become contributers to the country instead of a UN aid recipient.

"Does anyone think a victorious enlarged New France would have respected the English language, Protestant religion, common law or for that matter self-government?"

Well hard-core sovereigntists are against these kinds of ideas now. Which is kind of ironic given that the later French enlightenment figures (Voltaire, Montesqieu, Rousseau, de Tocqueville, Diderot) inspired a lot of the American Revolution and were pretty enthusiastic about the British form of government.

Well I guess they have good reasons for not liking the Enlightenment (ex. Voltaire "arpents de neige" quote)

Squiggy's right. The British even tried to expand Quebec thru the Quebec Act. As for the Patriotes Movement, google the Montreal Annexation Manifesto of 1848...

Over 1300 dead or wounded in less than 15 minutes.

There were so many corpses they buried English and the losers er um the French all together in one common giant grave , except for Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm.

They stuffed him in a hole created by an English cannonball.

Loutish, philistine tribalism. (There, the explanation in just three words.)

Why not have a Plains of Abraham reenactment in every city, town and village in Canada instead!
The only problem I can see is finding enough volunteers willing to take a bayonet in the chest for the king of France. And who could blame them?

Keep going guys, I love a good frog leg frying session (no sarc tag).

They deserve it for all the sniveling and whining they foist on us day after day, this being another fine example.

not a peaceful rest for Montcalm

He (Montcalm) then asked how long he might survive, and was told that he had not many hours remaining. "So much the better," he said; "I am happy that I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec.

Officers from the garrison came to his bedside to ask his orders and instructions "I will give no more orders," replied the defeated soldier; "I have much business that must be attended to, of greater moment than your ruined garrison and this wretched country. My time is very short; therefore, pray leave me."

The officer withdrew, and none remained in the chamber but his confessor and the Bishop of Quebec. To the latter, he expressed his contempt for his own mutinous and half famished troops, and his admiration for the disciplined valour of his opponents. He died midnight, and was buried at his own desire in a cavity of the earth formed by the bursting of a bombshell.

His remains, consisting of a skull and a leg bone, were exhumed in the 1800s and were put on display at the convent in a stone crypt alongside a plaque commemorating him. In a ceremony in September 2001, Montcalm's remains were buried in the cemetery of the Quebec General Hospital, where hundreds of casualties from both sides of the battle had been buried 242 years earlier

they took Wolfes body back to England

My first language was Hungarian.

Does that make me a Hungophone?

http://www.winnipegsun.com/comment/columnists/michael_coren/2009/02/21/8473931-sun.html

Not pulling any punches there...

The Seven Years' War should probably be called the First World War. At the conclusion, the Treat of Paris outlined that France would yield claim to New France, but rather she preferred to keep in exchange Guadaloupe for the sugar, and St Pierre-Miquelon for the fishing rights

So, the French elected to give up interest in New France, which they could have kept, but as Voltaire said, it's just "a few acres of snow".

OH, and by the way, in 1760, Lévis attacked Quebec City, and won "the Battle of St Foy". The British suffered tremendous casualties, and in fact both sides suffered in aggregate higher losses compared to the Plains of Abraham. Poor Brits - I can't imagine the awfulness of surviving a winter in a bombed out and destroyed city. But, the French fleet never arrived to retake the city.

All in all, history is history. It's great to know, and helps illuminate lives.

However, those idiots who still hold terrible grievances and hurt for whatever befell PEOPLE WHO LIVED HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO will perpetually be puerile and passive "victims".

Idiots.

Merci, squiggy.

The fact is that a government in Versailles that didn't care about New France was replaced by one in Whitehall that did care about the new colonies. So much so, that it caused them to lose their older colonies mainly over the Quebec Acts (and not the Stamp Act).

Here's Christie Blatchford's column on it, that is much better than Michael Coren's:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090220.wblatch21/BNStory/specialComment/home

And if you got to the Globe's home page from the Blatchford column, the weekend poll is about the cancellation.

My first language was Hungarian.

Does that make me a Hungophone?
Yes, foobert,but you must be well hung.

Mr. Robson - just to clarify - the American Civil War was about 'State's Rights', not Slavery. Lincon was not an Abolitionist.

Yes, Jema54, agreed, another bit of historical revisionism for the purpose of icon building.

France threw Quebec under the bus, to use the recently popular turn of phrase. And things worked out well for Canada so far, non??

Jema54 and Erik Larsen, you're both making the enormous mistake of taking a static, very uninformed look at the American Civil War. If you want to read the encapsulation of what the cause evolved into, read Lincoln's November 1863 Gettysburg Address and his January 1865 Second Inaugural Address, contrasted with his March 1861 First Inaugural Address.

I tried to post the google links but it held my Comment for blog owner review-too many links I guess. But all three documents are extremely easy to find. Reading and understanding them is crucial to understanding the American Civil War and it's evolved purpose and perceptions in Northern society.

"These idiotic patriots should be charged for inciting violence and prosecuted under the law."

Indeed ... there are statutes that define uttering threats as criminal.

Criminals should be prosecuted.

Yet what happens?

This is beyond ignorant, perhaps 'retarded' applies here.

I will try to say this as clearly and succinctly as I possibly to our dear friends in Quebec:

The next time you get the chance, please vote to leave.

We are tired of your corrupt politicians, your corrupt morals and worse, and worst of all, us having to foot the bill

Enough is Enough. If you don't like Canada: LEAVE

Thanks Dave in Pa - I'll read more about it. Cheers

Yes France threw Quebec "under the bus" they did not care to keep them we appear to be "stuck with them" they make separitist threats, "we will leave" "we are humilated" "we need our fair share" over half of the equalization total I understand seems fair to them. I trace my ancestry back to the first familys of Quebec so please don't accuse me of being "one of them" them being the English,I AM NOT ENGLISH Cheers Bubba

Had the French won at the Plains of Abraham our history would have been fascinating indeed.

For one thing, the Quebecois would have enjoyed conscirption for the next two hundred years.

Come the French revolution and things would have become really complicated. Many French were loyal to the King of France, not to France per se, and transferred their loyalties to other monarchs when Louis XVI was beheaded. One notable instance was Marc Isambard Brunel the engineer.

Indeed, it is often said (though I have never attempted to veerify it from primary sources) that during the negociations for our own Confederation, the Scots politicians, including MacDonald, were warm to the idea of Canada becoming a republic; but the Quebec elite would have nothing to do with it; they viewed the monarchy as a bulward against democracy and republicanism.

When it comes to celebrating battles in Quebec, I'll drink a toast (claret of course) to Charles de Salaberry and his brave Canadiens, Fencibles, and Mohawks who whipped the Yanks asses at the Battle of the Chateauguay. Except for them, we'd probably be saluting Obama as OUR president!

"andycanuck":

Christie nailed it in one with this line:

"If ever there was a mopment when the small and timorous heart of our huge and sprawling nation was laid bare, this was it."

This was a really good column by John Robson. What is both ludicrous and unfortunate (for Quebecers) is that they have lost a major tourist attraction for the summer season. Talk about short-sighted. How exactly will this "victory" for the separatist extremists benefit Quebec? It won't change history. I was planning to go to Quebec City for this event, but now I will be to going to Gettysburg instead.

Seems to me a big problem for PMSH was just solved.Now when he goes to pull arts funding from Queerbec,he can simply state,well,you don't care about your own history,so c'est la vie.

the soi disant 'separatist' or 'sovereigntist' quebecers suffer from the same malaise as many muslims...they are inordinately susceptible to self pity.

weak in character...fluid in principle...bereft of the ability to cogently objectively critique themselves OR the political culture in which they are enmired....

narcissistic unsure egotistical 'victims' all...
Posted by: john begley at February 21, 2009 9:31 AM

John.

Well said.

Succinct.

To the point.

Truth.

Had the conquerers given equal rights to their conquered except for choice of language/education, today Quebec would be part of a happy united Canada with English the only official speaking language. The only exception would be that Quebec would maybe have "Joual", like louisiana has "creole" as remnants of historical heritage.

It is time for Canada to grow some balls and push Quebec to the wall. We know there's not enough of them that wants to separate but there is enough of them that wants to continue blackmailing us it seems.
IMO, with this economic crisis, which could lead to severe reductions in tax transfer to Provinces will send dependant socialist Quebec in deep red and the separation issue will eventually surface again.

Also Harper is currently courting Ontario and will have extra seats in place. A majority Conservative government WITHOUT Quebec is in the works. ISOLATE THEM AND LET THEM EVENTUALLY BEG TO STAY.