I ran into an old acquaintance last week, @LaurynElanZuk a few weeks ago in Kensington Market and was questioned on my knowledge of the War of 1812. Naturally, I couldn’t resist getting a little silly on camera. Looks like I need to go back to my history books, because I got things a bit wrong, but it’s too bad they cut my Southpark Cowboys Vs. Aliens-inspired rant!
Lucky for Lauryn and her team, The Huffington Post picked up the promo piece and wrote it up below.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/04/25/war-of-1812-video_n_1453556.html
Quick history quiz. Who started the War Of 1812? Who fought in it? Who won?
If you’re like many Canadians, chances are you don’t know the answer to these questions. Even though the war played a pivotal role in the eventual creation of Canada and would shape the development of the United States.
Or as writer Stephen Marche explained in the Walrus, “For the US, the war confirmed its status as a sovereign state and tested the limits of manifest destiny. On this side of the border, the matter is much simpler: if we hadn’t won the War of 1812, we wouldn’t be Canadian.”
The producers of 1812: Forged In Fire, an upcoming documentary about the conflict, took to Toronto’s streets and asked people what they knew about the War of 1812. The answer, not a heck of a lot. It’s a bit surprising considering one of the war’s pivotal battles took place right here in Toronto (then called York) and nearly destroyed the fledgling city.
People do remember that story about British (Canadian?) troops burning down the White House (sorta).
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Comments ( 1 Comment )
Nice one Jesse… you do need to read up! But yeah, I thought everyone knew that. Haven’t you ever been dragged by anyone to Fort York? This is part of why we all need to just get along up here, and maybe show some solidarity with Quebec from time to time. After all they do tend to actually give a shit about things over there.
Erik added these pithy words on
Apr 26 12 at
4:54 pm
