Canada [antikvár]

If Canada was any smaller it would not be Canada. It is the vast, open reaches which have made the nation what it is today, for without them the character of Canada would be quite different. Though the majority of Canadians live cosily in cities and towns where the proximity of fellow humans makes life more civilised and enjoyable, it is the emptiness of the country which makes such an abiding impression.When John Cabot came from England in 149 7 he had no idea what he would find, but hoped it would be part of Asia's east coast. According to his report he found a land which was excellent, with a temperate climate and fishing grounds prolific enough to keep England going for years. Though he found signs of human habitation on the coast he visited, it was clear that there was plenty of spare land for any farmers willing to journey across the ocean.It was the fishing, however, which first brought men from across the ocean, but they set up supply and salting bases on the land and began pushing into the interior. Exactly what the fishermen were expecting to find we do not know, but none of them could have imagined what was out there. Some of them may have still nursed the idea that they were somewhere northeast of China, while others may have hoped for another gold-rich Aztec empire to conquer. Whichever way they turned, however, they found forests, sparsely inhabited by Indians, stretching away into the distance. For many years the settlements clung to the coasts of eastern Canada, remaining little more than supply depots for fishing ships far from their home ports. But even in this role they depended on the vast reaches behind them. They traded with the Indians and Eskimos and learnt from them the skills of hunting and gathering in the area with which to vary the monotonous diet of fish. The whalers, meanwhile, set up shore stations where they rendered the blubber down into whale oil, a process which used up great quantities of timber.Though the stocks of whales in the North Atlantic werequickly depleted and fishing has lost its prominent position in the economy of the region, the sea is still of importance for the Maritime Provinces. All along the coasts are small, rocky bays which offer superb harbours for small craft and which usually shelter a tiny village. The most often visited and photographed of these is surely Peggy's Cove, but it is only one of dozens of picturesque villages around the rugged coasts. The small craft which put out from the villages do so in search of the delicacies which have made Canada so famous in gourmet circles around the world. Lobsters are perhaps the best known and loved of the animals which come up from these waters, though swordfish, tuna and shellfish are also prized catches. It is the great distances between the fishing villages strung out along the coast that have defined their isolated nature and the character of the Maritimes.It was the great stretches of woodland behind the coast, however, which spurred on interest in eastern Canada after the whaling declined and fishing ceased to hold such attraction. For some time the timber was used simply as building material and fuel for the shore stations, but in time it grew into a major industry all its own. The tall, straight trees of the interior were found to be ideal for the masts and spars of sailing ships. The British navy, which in the 19th century was the largest and most formidable in the world, relied heavily on such spars and was a valued customer. It was not long before merchant ships were being built locally and the Bluenose fleet became one of the best known in the world, with Canada ranking fourth among shipbuilding nations. It was during these early days that colourful characters pushed out into the trackless wilderness in search of fresh stands of timber to exploit. One man whose name became immortalised in a lumbering expression was John Glasier. He was born in 1809 and while still a young man was employing hundreds of men felling trees in New Brunswick. Following his exploit of driving logs over the Grand Falls of the Saint John River, he acquired the nickname of Main John, a term transferred to the man in charge of any large lumbering camp.