Review by Choice Review
Most colonial history, Canadian and American, is apt to be written from the inside out. Colonists like to recite the story of their emancipation from the ``heavy hand of Imperial oligarchy,'' from the ``grievous record of Imperial mistakes,'' looking to the time when the colonies and their denizens emerged out of their dark colonial past into the light of modern day. Prince Edward Island history, written mostly by Prince Edward Islanders, is a good example. Discovered by the French in the 16th century, captured by the British in 1758, Prince Edward Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence was out of the way, small (only 2,200 square miles), and fertile. The British government, for reasons of state sensible enough in the context of the years surrounding the Stamp Act, had the Island surveyed in 1766 and put it up the next year for auction to interested landlords. It was made a separate colony in 1769, and thus, with a local government, began its life of claims and recriminations against the British proprietors. This book corrects many distortions created by Whig and colonial historians. It is an admirable account of the complexities, hence realities, of transatlantic history in the 18th century. Elegantly written and produced, thoughtful, perceptive, it is by far the best book in its field.-P.B. Waite, Dalhousie University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
