In 1793, a 21-year-old Scottish merchant by the name of Alexander Wood crossed the Atlantic to make his fortune in the new colony of Upper Canada. He settled first in the town of Kingston, which was then Upper Canada’s major city. There he helped found a brewery.
He picked up shop and moved to the town [...]
Archive for July, 2007
Alexander Wood
Posted in British North America, gay/bi men's history, history on July 31, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Homosexuality and British North America
Posted in British North America, gay/bi men's history, history on July 29, 2007 | 1 Comment »
In the articles leading up to this one, I’ve been dancing around what the attitudes towards homosexuality might have been like in British North America. The reason is because it’s very difficult to figure out for certain what those attitudes were.
It goes without saying that opinions of homosexuality ran toward the disapproving. But if these [...]
Reflections on BNA, part 6: British Law
Posted in British North America, gay/bi men's history, history, lesbian/bi women's history on July 25, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
In 1774, a compromise was hammered out – the laws of the new Province of Quebec would be a mixture of the British and the French systems. For minor crimes, contracts, and lawsuits French law would be used. But for serious cases, the new province would use British law, and Sodomy was considered a [...]
Reflections on BNA, part 5: The Laws of France and New France
Posted in British North America, New France, gay/bi men's history, history, lesbian/bi women's history on July 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
In all these articles, I still haven’t discussed in any real depth the laws that sent all those homosexuals and bisexuals to the stake or gallows, or into exile. Before we go any further, we’re going to have to talk about those laws.
In 1763, France officially gave up its North American colony to the British. [...]
Reflections on BNA, part 4: The English Colonies and the United States
Posted in British North America, gay/bi men's history, history, lesbian/bi women's history on July 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
After the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ended the American War for Independence, more than 40,000 people poured into Canada. These were the Loyalists, those who’d chosen the losing side of the American revolution, and many of them no longer felt comfortable in the new nation of United States.
The sudden influx of people created [...]
