|
Economy
| Politics
| Canadian and World Events |
Local
Events | Religious and Social
Aspects
| Arts/Culture
Economy
Ottawa had a thriving lumber industry and one of the largest milling
operations in the world. Ottawa's booming economy soon attracted foreign
investment, priests and reverends who constructed churches and schools,
and a large middle class. With the arrival of these newcomers, a
profound transformation of Ottawa's urban life took place. The moneyed
classes (the bourgeoisie) gradually replaced the titled aristocrats. The
construction of schools, churches and businesses reflected Ottawa's
growing prosperity but there were those, particularly from the lower
class, whom the economic boom did not benefit and consequently Ottawa
was also poor and crime-ridden.
The bourgeoisie, through their work ethic, also facilitated trade and
commerce in Ottawa. This development had interesting consequences. In
1880, for instance, Ottawa's merchants were selling China and Java teas.
At the grocery store there were pineapples, coconuts and dates; fruits
whose existence in those days was quite unusual. Until that time, only
domestically-produced groceries were sold.
Ottawa also had a diverse manufacturing sector. The products were
interesting in that they illustrate the tastes of the moneyed classes.
In 1870, many worried about baldness and gray hair and they constituted
a market for "Mrs. S.A. Allen's Hair Restorers that, according to the
advertisement, "will restore gray hair to its natural life, color and
beauty... Falling hair is immediately checked." There were also
businesses that repaired watches, sold medicines, glasses, corsets and
tailored new suits. Of course, the beneficiaries of these goods were
those with large domestic savings.
Politics
In 1873, Sir John A. MacDonald’s government collapsed and the first
Liberal Prime Minister, Alexander Mackenzie from the Sarnia Lambton
Riding, was elected. In 1878, MacDonald was re-elected Prime Minister.
Canadian and World Events
In the 1880s there was growing tension in Manitoba. The year 1885 saw
Louis Riel’s Métis Rebellion and its failure. Riel was hung. Many from
Ottawa joined up to put down the Métis rebellion and a monument/statue
to the fallen in Confederation Park was erected by school children.
In the 1870s and 1880s many treaties were negotiated with First Nations
in the west. The North West Mounted Police (later the RCMP) were formed
and marched west to enforce order and Canadian sovereignty.
The last spike was put in the transcontinental railway in 1885 in
British Columbia.
Manitoba and the Northwest Territories joined confederation 1870.
British Columbia joined in 1871, and Prince Edward Island joined in
1873.
Local Events
In 1880, a strange murder took place called the ‘Billings Bridge
Tragedy’ in which Catherine Sabourin, while under the influence of
alcohol, allegedly inflicted a blow to the left side of her husband’s
head with an axe.
In 1875, Mrs. Daly won a lawsuit against a husband and wife for using
foul language. The husband and wife paid fines of $10 and $5
respectively. It was commonplace in this puritanical era to equate
insults with crime. High standards existed for moral conduct.
Religion/Social
We have a diverse picture of Ottawa's society for the period 1870-1885.
One can see this diversity in the rival notions about titles and money,
in the lives of the different classes (whether they are bourgeois,
working class or aristocrats) and in two simultaneous, yet
contradictory, developments: the growing prosperity that resulted from
the booming economy on the one hand, and on the other hand, the
appalling poverty that the lower class experienced in spite of the
economic boom on the other.
In the years' 1870-1885, Ottawa witnessed the titled aristocracy's fall
(after a gradual decline that began in the early nineteenth century) and
the bourgeoisie's rise. While the titled class continued to exist in
Ottawa, they gradually gave way to the moneyed class. From that moment
onwards, money would speak louder than titles, for those with money now
had as much say in government as the titled aristocrats. They could send
their children to the same schools and belong to the same clubs.
Arts/Culture
As money gradually replaced titles, a strange paradox resulted; a
paradox most evident in Ottawa's clubs. The Ottawa Dramatic Club
appeared to be a creation of the titled aristocracy. Its patron was the
Earl of Dufferin. The president and two vice-presidents were Esquires,
indicating that they were gentlemen at birth. Yet the Ottawa Dramatic
Club was open to anyone who could afford the annual membership fee.
Although Earl Dufferin was a patron, the members paid for the club
house’s construction.
The bourgeoisie's rise was also evident in the greater prevalence of
sports such as racquet, football and rowing. It was not a coincidence
that the prevalence of sports and the bourgeoisie's rise to prominence
occurred simultaneously, because sports embodied the very essence of
bourgeois values. The Puritan philosophy prevalent in bourgeois thinking
opposed idleness in their offspring. For this reason, the bourgeoisie
tried to check their children's idleness by involving them in sporting
activities.
|
