Category: Nova Scotia

The Monarchist League on Facebook

5/31/2017

Ironically, for all the talk of the internet isolating people it
also has great usefulness in bringing people together. The
Monarchist League of Canada has various social media
accounts, of course, but some may not know that the
League's many branches maintain at least a Facebook
presence. I have taken the time to list them below:

New Brunswick
Facebook
Twitter

Halifax - SW Nova Scotia
Facebook

Northumberland and NE Nova Scotia

Quebec
Facebook

Ottawa - Ontario
Facebook

Barrie-Huronia - Ontario
Facebook

University of Toronto - Ontario
Facebook

Waterloo-Wellington - Ontario
Facebook

South Saskatchewan
Facebook
Twitter

Lethbridge and Medicine Hat - Alberta
Facebook

Victoria - British Columbia
Facebook

I find it encouraging that most of these pages have a healthy
number of members and are active. Even better, each page
has avoided that common pitfall of redundancy. They all have
a little bit of individuality to what is posted rather than being carbon copies of the League's main page.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Royal Tours Explained

3/21/2016

William & Kate during the 2011 Royal Tour

Royal tours are one of the
times when the monarchy is
most visible to Canadians. The
purposes of the royal tour, or
homecomings, are not always
that well understood by
Canadians.

Members of the Royal Family
have been living, working, &
visiting Canada since 1786. Early royal tours were made by
princes (and princesses) since the long sea voyage made it
unfeasible for the sovereign to both rule and visit their
overseas territories. The tours were meant to be a chance for
the people to see their royal family and for said royals to gain
experience in military and civil administration.

Sketch of King William IV

In many ways the American
Revolution had as much of a
hand in creating Canada as it
did the United States. How
fitting that the first royal tour
occurred at roughly the same
time.

Prince William (later King
William IV) was given
command of the HMS
Pegasus in 1786. He traveled
to Newfoundland, Nova
Scotia, and the Province of
Canada. The tour lasted
about a year.

In Placentia, Newfoundland Prince William had to break up a
riot on one occasion and hear a court case on another. As the
colonies largely lacked a permanent administration it was not
entirely uncommon for senior naval officers to take on such
duties. On two occasions Prince William led church services
attended by both Protestants and a few Catholics. He would
go on to finance the building of a church for the community.

He eventually proceeded to Halifax and to the Province of
Canada. The Prince traveled inland to modern-day Cornwall,
Ontario. There he encouraged the Loyalists building new lives
for themselves in the wilderness. He also met with First
Nations living around Montreal and was greeted with great
excitement.

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent

Prince William stayed in Canada
for only a short time but his
brother, Prince Edward, would
end up spending nine years in the
growing colonies. I have already
detailed Prince Edward's time in
another post so I will move on.

Both brothers saw to the positive
development of Canada and
began a tradition that continues
to this day.

The royal tours undertaken in the 1800s were for the most
part shorter in length with the exception of Princess Louise,
who served for five years as the vice-regal couple with her
husband from 1878 to 1883.

The 1900s brought an increase in the number of royal tours as
transportation across the Atlantic became faster. Tours also
tended to include more parts of Canada. Princess Patricia
would spend six years in Canada and become immensely
popular with Canadians. It was still only princes and
princesses undertaking royal tours until 1957 when Queen
Elizabeth II became the first reigning sovereign to visit Canada and open a session of the Canadian Parliament.

Tours have increasingly become centered around specific
themes. For instance the 2005 royal tour was organized as a
chance for Her Majesty and all other Canadians to honour
"The Spirit of Nation Builders."

Besides royal tours you also have 'working visits' that have
less of the pomp and circumstance and generally involve a
member of the Canadian Royal Family carrying out some of
their less public duties. The charity work of the Princess Royal
and Prince Harry's military training in Alberta being
examples. In a sense the working visits undertaken by
members of the Royal Family more resemble the royal tours
of the past while visits by the reigning monarch have become
a form of 'patriotic festival'.

Souvenir coffee can from 2002 Royal Tour

Back of can showing downtown Sussex, NB

Royal tours are a chance for the people and their monarch to
come together in celebration of Canada. As the personal face
of what would otherwise be the distant entity, the state, the
monarch serves to humanize it. By bringing attention to
communities that might not always be on the government
radar royal tours stress the importance of all peoples and
regions of our fair dominion.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The Monarchs of Canada: A Timeline

11/25/2014

Monarchs have ruled Canada since before Canada was a recognizable entity. This article is an overview of Canada's monarchs which is, as I will explain in a second, by necessity incomplete. Note that below if both the king and the queen are listed it means they ruled as co-sovereigns. Also note that I am defining 'Canada' as the geographic area of the current country. Finally, note that I have used the dates for the reign of each monarch rather than birth-death.

Pre-Contact North America

It is often overlooked that many of the aboriginal tribes that inhabit Canada at one time had hereditary chiefs. In fact some still do on a formal or informal basis. However, with 600+ recognized nations and fragmentary records from pre-contact civilizations it is nearly impossible to include a complete overview of native kingship in the context of this article. In the future I will attempt an article outlining a history of Canada's hereditary chiefs. Sufficed to say at present that hereditary and elected kingship has a long history in Canada.

Our French Monarchs (1534-1763)

The French Crown ruled over the parts of Canada now comprising of the Provinces of Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, & Nova Scotia. Two French dynasties ruled Canada before the colony was ceded to the British in 1763.

Francis I (1534–1547)
House of Valois

Henry II (1547–1559)
House of Valois

Francis II (1559–1560)
House of Valois

Charles IX (1560–1574)
House of Valois

Henry III (1574–1589)
House of Valois

Henry IV (1589–1610)
House of Bourbon

Louis XIII (1610–1643)
House of Bourbon

Louis XIV (1643–1715)
House of Bourbon

Louis XV (1715–1763)
House of Bourbon

Our English/British Monarchs (1497-1931)

The English Crown ruled parts of what would become the provinces of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and northern Ontario. It would gain areas ruled by the French Crown in 1763.

Until 1707 it is correct to refer to the English Crown. After March 6th of that year England and Scotland united into a single kingdom called Great Britain.

Henry VII (1497–1509)
House of Tudor

Henry VIII (1409–1547)
House of Tudor

Edward VI (1547–1553)
House of Tudor

Mary I
(1553–1558)
House of Tudor

Philip II of Spain
(Co-sovereign)
House of Habsburg

Elizabeth I (1558–1603)
House of Tudor

James I (1603–1625)
House of Stuart

Charles I (1625–1649)
House of Stuart

Charles II (1670–1685)
House of Stuart

James II (1685–1688)
House of Stuart

William III
(1650–1702)
House of Orange-Nassau

Mary II of England (Co-sovereign)
House of Stuart

Anne (1702–1714)
House of Stuart

-Kingdom of Great Britain established, 1707

George I (1714–1727)
House of Hanover

George II (1727–1760)
House of Hanover

George III (1760–1820)
House of Hanover

George IV (1820–1830)
House of Hanover

William IV (1830–1837)
House of Hanover

Victoria (1837–1901)
House of Hanover

-Dominion of Canada established, 1867

Edward VII (1901–1910)
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

George V (1910–1931 as British sovereign)
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Our Canadian Monarchs (1931-Present)

The Canadian Crown became separate from the British Crown in 1931 due to the Statute of Westminster. More than 3/4th of the intervening period has been reigned over by a single sovereign.

George V (1931–1936 as Canadian sovereign)
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (until 1917)
House of Windsor (after 1917)

Edward VIII (1936)
House of Windsor

George VI (1936–1952)
House of Windsor

Elizabeth II (1952-Present)
House of Windsor

Well I hope you enjoyed this timeline as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Monarchist Profile: Lt. Richard Wilson

6/16/2014

Uniform of the 22nd of Foot

Born in Ireland in the year 1740. Richard Wilson joined the British Army around 1757 at the age of 17. He was made a sergeant of his Majesty's 22nd Regiment of Foot. The 22nd had been formed in 1689 by the Duke of Norfolk but had yet to receive any battle honours. Richard Wilson would serve in the regiment for eight years and participate in the sieges of Louisbourg (1758) and Quebec (1759). The regiment next moved to the Caribbean to fight against the Spanish. With the capture of Havana in 1762 the French and Spanish sued for peace and brought The Seven Years War to an end.

Richard Wilson went with the regiment to the newly acquired Louisiana territory. In August of 1765 the regiment was ordered back to the British Isles. However, before they left they discharged any colonists who had enlisted in the regiment as well as any men who had reached the end of their terms and wished to stay in the colonies. Richard Wilson decided to stay and settled in North Carolina. It is possible he had been there around 1760 as two companies were detached from his Majesty's 22nd Regiment of Foot to deal with an uprising by the Cherokee in nearby South Carolina. However, since records indicate him being present at the capture of Dominica and Martinico this is questionable. Whatever the reason, Richard was happy to make North Carolina his home.

Richard Wilson re-enlisted in 1771 and was made a Lieutenant of a Company of Artillary by Governor Tryon. He fought in the final battle against a group of North Carolina rebels known as the 'Regulators' at Alamance. Afterwards he was given a commission as a Lieutenant of the Garrison at Fort Johnston, where he would serve until the 18th of July, 1775.

By the time the first rumblings of the revolution had started Lt. Richard Wilson was doing well for himself having a plantation, two houses, two lots in the town of Brunswick, and one house in the town of Crosscreek. He later built another house at Fort Johnston. He was married in 1767 and had four children. His wife died around 1776 from an unrecorded cause.

The only good public domain map of North Carolina I could find.

In 1775 the rebels stirred up his tenants to stop paying rent unless he accepted a commission in the rebel army; an offer he reported refused "with horror and contempt". At this point he probably realized he stood to lose everything he had built in his new home. It would have been very easy to side with the rebels or simply desert and remain neutral. However, he was not going to betray his oath to his king nor his support for the legitimate governing authority in the colonies. He would pay a high price for his principles as would others like him.

Lt. Richard Wilson and Captain John A. Collet were ordered by Governor Martin to dismantle the fort and transport the guns to Boston as the fort's defence could not be guaranteed due to lack of supplies and desertions (some likely due to the same ultimatum given to Wilson). They managed to save the guns, and embark for Boston. As the men waited for transport they watched their property being burned by the rebels. They arrived in Boston on July 21, 1775, delivering to General Gage "a very valuable and costly set of artillery, arms, stores, and ammunition belonging to the Crown". Both Lt. Richard Wilson and Captain John A. Collet would join the Royal Fencible Americans, a loyalist regiment, serving under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Gorham at Fort Cumberland, Nova Scotia. Richard Wilson would serve in the regiment until 1782 eventually rising to the rank of captain.

Fort Beausejour (aka Fort Cumberland)

The revolution wasn't quite done with Richard Wilson however, and in late 1776 Fort Cumberland was attacked by rebels led by Jonathan Eddy. The British were outnumbered 2-1 and endured a siege from November 10-29th. Matters were only made worse by the fact that the regiment had not received their uniforms and warm clothes were scarce. Thus the men were "permitted to wear the barrack ruggs and blankets". It must have been a miserable time.

Belt buckle and uniform button

However the regiment's courage to hold out despite some close calls helped greatly. The effect of the failed siege was the dampening of revolutionary sympathies in Nova Scotia. The colony would remain loyal throughout the rest of the American Revolution. The years following the failed siege were chaotic as the rebels brief control of the region and reprisals against their supporters afterwards resulted in a wave of litigation that crippled the judiciary in Cumberland County.

Richard Wilson would build a new life for himself in the nearby town of Sackville. He married Ann Harper, daughter of Christopher Harper. Christopher Harper himself had lost property during Eddy's Rebellion and it is easy to imagine the two men becoming quick friends through shared experiences and values.

Richard Wilson would continue his military career when he was made Lt. Col. of the Westmorland County Regiment of Militia consisting of two battalions. Militia drills were conducted on the field behind his house and provided a day of entertainment for the townspeople as the militiamen went through their maneuver.

Lt. Col. Richard Wilson died in 1810 having served king and country faithfully and well.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour