Britain and the Origins of Canadian Confederation, 1837-67

Download or read book Britain and the Origins of Canadian Confederation, 1837-67 written by Ged Martin and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Britain and the Origins of Canadian Confederation, 1837-1867, Ged Martin offers a sceptical review of claims that Confederation answered all the problems facing the provinces, and examines in detail British perceptions of Canada and ideas about its future. The major British contribution to the coming of Confederation is to be found not in the aftermath of the Quebec conference, where the imperial role was mainly one of bluff and exhortation, but prior to 1864, in a vague consensus among opinion-formers that the provinces would one day unite. Faced with an inescapable need to secure legislation at Westminster for a new political structure, British North American politicians found they could work within the context of a metropolitan preference for intercolonial union.