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History General

Tenants in Time

Family Strategies, Land, and Liberalism in Upper Canada, 1799-1871

by (author) Catharine Anne Wilson

Publisher
McGill-Queen's University Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2008
Category
General, General
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780773534254
    Publish Date
    Nov 2008
    List Price
    $110.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780773535237
    Publish Date
    Jul 2009
    List Price
    $37.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780773578272
    Publish Date
    Nov 2008
    List Price
    $37.95

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Description

The freeholding pioneer is a powerful image in settlement history - Tenants in Time tells a different story. Tenancy, though relegated to the periphery by the liberal idealization of ownership, was a common and vital part of the economy and society. Against a background of international land agitation and using an inter-disciplinary approach, Catharine Wilson looks at life as a tenant farmer, providing new insights into family strategies, land markets, and the growth of liberalism. Using evidence from across Upper Canada she shows how tenancy transformed the landscape and tied old and new settlers together in a continuum of mutual dependence that was essential to settlement, capital creation, and social mobility. Her analysis of customary rights reveals a landlord-tenant relationship - and a concept of ownership - more complex and flexible than previously understood. Landlords, from ordinary farmers to absentee aristocrats, are also part of the story and the much-criticized clergy reserves take a positive role. An intimate exploration of Cramahe Township follows tenants over the generations as they supported their families and combined liberal ideas with household-centered ways. From aggregate statistics to individual human dramas, Tenants in Time unravels the life of the tenant farmer in a wonderfully documented, engaging, and compelling argument.

About the author

Catharine Anne Wilson is professor of history, University of Guelph, and the author of the award-winning works A New Lease on Life and Reciprocal Work Bees and the Meaning of Neighbourhood.

Catharine Anne Wilson's profile page