Tuesday, January 18, 2011

How to make people hate you

There are many lessons that can be learned from Lord Durham and his report. Sometimes he explains how proper administrative structures matter, sometimes he demonstrates that colonists will be the main victims of their own mistakes in a democratic context, and, most importantly, he demonstrates how to get the better part of a country's linguistic group to hate him for the rest of time.

I think the following quote does a good job of demonstrating this last point:

A plan by which it is proposed to ensure the tranquil government of Lower Canada, must include in itself the means of putting an end to the agitation of national disputes in the legislature, by settling, at once and for ever the national character of the Province. I entertain no doubts as to the national character which must be given to Lower Canada; it must be that of the British Empire; that of the majority of the population of British North America; that of the great race which must, in the lapse of no long period of time, be predominant over the whole North American continent.


Of course, he doesn't stop there. He goes on and on impending dominance of the English and their way of life, really cementing his place in history.

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