Thus I believe it isn’t religious or cultural disputes that are the true fuel to conflict; they are only the tools used to inflame passion.
It is History, and the deep rooted resentment of (the outcome of) all our past disputes. As Canadians we live in a very young country compared to most, but our short history is as full of the worst underhanded and inhumane actions as the most vile acts that have taken place in every war that mankind has been involved in. In today’s world we would call most of these vile acts – Crimes Against Humanity. This little book covers the actions of the French, Native, and English forces in incredible detail, while supplying us with an astounding picture of the social history of a young developing nation.
Some cultural biases that existed in Grace’s “Native Land” over one hundred and fifty years ago still exist in Canada today. It is important to warn the reader that in 1846 the text wasn’t airbrushed by today’s standards of political correctness. As I alluded to earlier, the ugliness of human prejudice wasn’t always obvious to the author.
Referring to the frequent exchange of Nova Scotia between France and England, the young character stated “I should not like to wake up in a morning, and not know whether I was French or English.” Her brother added ” >or Indian to which she responded “No, I could tell if I was Indian or not by skin.”
The reader will find some hints that the ‘civilized’ family in this story considered themselves free of cultural bias despite the evidence of blatant class distinctions and discrimination between races. The author, despite her obvious English background, treated the English and French equally with disdain or praise as she saw fit for the situation.