A Military History of Canada

by Desmond Morton

Book Overview

Updated to 2007, including Canada's war on terrorism. Is Canada really "a peaceable kingdom" with "an unmilitary people"? Nonsense, says Desmond Morton. This is a country that has been shaped,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0888302762
• ISBN13: 9780888302762
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Hurtig Pub
• Length: 305 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Interesting hypothesis that isn't necessarily proven

In his introduction Morton points out a comment from a military historian who described Canadians as being an "unmilitary people," a comment most Canadians would take as a compliment. Yet Morton believes this view of Canada and her people are not only simplistic, but incorrect, as he believes Canada actually has a rich military tradition that has helped shape the country in innumerable ways. From Morton's perspective Canada was an extension of the European competition for resources in the New World resulting in a series of skirmishes which shaped the country Canada would become. The tensions between the English, the French and their allies among the First Peoples for scarce resources spurred wars not just in the New World, but in the Old World; a tension that would not be resolved until one world power had triumphed over the other. Throughout much of the colonial era Canada was on the periphery, yet as Canada came into her own it would become of greater importance to Europe and the world beyond. Morton's prose is unique as he interjects a great deal of opinion and his writing fairly crackles with life; rather atypical for historical writing. An early chapter, "The Ancien Regime," is a great example. The chapter opens in a typically Morton fashion with Samuel de Champlain killing an Iroquois chief with few of the gory details spared. Morton accurately sums up how both the French and English colonies had little allure for professional soldiers compared to postings on the continent and elsewhere, and as a result troops that went to the New World were typically of a poorer quality. And while these early colonial wars failed to change the status quo, the ones that followed would alter the balance of power drastically. Morton deftly avoids bias towards one side or the other, yet his prose is hardly the dry history which readers are likely accustomed too; instead Morton holds forth with his opinion unsparingly. Recounting how one war typically sewed the seeds for the next, Morton recounts how embittered the New England colonists felt at the end of King George's War when the fort at Louisburg was returned to the French in exchange for a port in India, as though their sacrifice meant nothing. Most knew they would be fighting for it again soon, and indeed they would. With England's final conclusive victory over France in the French and Indian War it was time to liquidate the French from Canada once and for all. Morton touches on every major and minor war following the British conquest of French Canada, and he walks readers through the development and evolution of Canadian national identity and how Canada came into its own as part of the British Empire, identifying how various events served to refine Canada's system of defense. The need to replace English units with a domestic integrated military structure helped spur the British North American Act of 1867. The wisdom of beefing up domestic military capability would prove vital in the Nor

Vive La Canadienne!

Those looking for a detailed account of Canadian Military History won't really find it here. The book attempts to cover the whole epoch of Canada, from the French period to the almost present. The book ends just before the events of 9/11 which would see Canada wrestling with difficulty to maintain a combat brigade in Afghanistan. The narrative moves along briskly with an almost tongue and cheek humor at times. Much is covered, and much is also glossed over. The book glances over the early parts of Canadian military military history and treads more slowly in the modern periods. Here the reader will find himself bogged down in the trenches of acrimonious Canadian parliamentry debates over military budgets. The book often loses track with these endless discussions, which of course have importance of any such history as this, but which seem over emphasized. The narrative is highly critical of Canadian military administration and combat performance in both World Wars. One wonders how Canada was able to do it with such a divided political opinion, and with the Canadienne always threatening to throw a wrench in things with Quebec's near constant disapproval of Ottawa. The books shows the origins of Canadian Peace Keeping Missions in 1947, a source of much pride, but one which threatens to reduce the army to little more than a police service. The combined services plan of the 1960s created almost as many problems as it was suppose to solve. With modern weapons systems costing so much Canada perhaps wisely opted out of competing with other bigger nations, but the struggle to balance cost with efficiency never seems to work out. It becomes harder and harder for Canada to maintain any kind of NATO commitment as well as do the Peace Keeping thing. The book becomes social history at times, while the chapters on the early military development of Canada are cursury at best. Perhaps this is the best that can be expected for a book of this limited length, and like the subject that it discusses the final evaluation is somewhat disapponting, but good enough for a general read.

Excellent Survey of Canadian Military History

Desmond Morton"s "A Military History of Canada" is a well-written survey, in under three hundred pages, of over three hundred years of Canadian participation in conflict, from the Indian Wars to the World Wars to the Cold War. Morton writes briskly, confidently, and knowledgeably of the Canadian military in its various manifestations. Readers should be forewarned that this is not a battle history of the Canadian Army. Morton's focus is at the strategic level; his narrative is often directed to the interaction between the military and its civilian political leadership. "A Military History of Canada" documents a pattern of rapid expansion of military capabilties in crisis, followed by a corresponding precipitous decline in peacetime. Canada fielded an disportionately large army and navy for the struggle with Hitler's Germany, but in the current day struggles to maintain limited peacekeeping forces overseas. As Morton notes, this pattern has tended to leave the Canadian military unready for the next conflict and dependent on first the United Kingdom and then on the United States for much of its day-to-day defense. This pattern reflects an active and longstanding debate within Canada over the proper level of its involvement in world affairs. This book is highly recommended as a good introduction into Canadian military history.

Good overview

This book was an excellent source of information on Canada's military history. I was actually in Dr. Mortons Military History class at UofC and this man knows alot about what hes talking about. You'll probably see him on the CBC any time they talk of military matters and its always entertaining. He tells it like it is and for the most part the history of Canada's military can be summed up by saying good men and women but a long standing history of lower grade equipment and underfunding. BTW WWI was this countries greatest military effort and i dont think many realize just what we did in that war.

Desmond Morton has a knack for writing solid history

A Military History Of Canada: From Champlain To Kosovo clearly debunks the myth that Canada is the peaceable kingdom of an unmilitary peoples. In fact, Canada and Canadians have been "shaped, divided, and transformed" by war, that war has been one of the great and primal influences in Canadian history from its native peoples before the coming of the Europeans down to the present day. Desmond Morton has a knack for writing solid history with the flair of a dramatist as he surveys the role of the military in native society, how the French and English colonies were focused on war and revolved around military societies, how the young nation faced its most decisive moments of growth when it had to quell internal rebellion, and when it sent soldiers off to fight overseas in two World Wars and a host of United Nations "police actions" and "peacekeeper" missions. A Military History Of Canada is comprehensive, informative, and an essential addition to any military studies or Canadian history collection.