François-Xavier Garneau

François-Xavier Garneau

François-Xavier Garneau
Born June 15, 1809(1809-06-15)
Quebec, Lower Canada
Died February 3, 1866(1866-02-03)
Quebec, Quebec
Occupation notary, civil servant, historian, poet

François-Xavier Garneau (June 15, 1809 – February 2 or February 3, 1866)[1] was a nineteenth century French Canadian notary, poet, civil servant and liberal who wrote a three-volume history of the French Canadian nation entitled Histoire du Canada between 1845 and 1848.

Born in Quebec City, Garneau argued that Conquest was a tragedy, the consequence of which was a perpetual struggle against the forces of English Canada for the French Canadian nation; this struggle would continue into the future as long as French Canadians were under the oppressive reign of the British. The book was originally written as a response to the Durham report, which claimed that French Canadian culture was stagnant and that it would be best served through Anglophone assimilation.

Garneau died on February 2 or February 3, 1866.

Canadian actor Donald Sutherland narrated the following quote from one of his poems at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

In what other climate does the Queen of Silence
Show us more splendour?
I love, Oh Canada, night, the vast plain
Shining with whiteness!

Contents

Works

References

In English

Notes

  1. ^ Savard, Pierre and Paul Wyczienski. "Garneau, François-Xavier", in Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, University of Toronto and Université Laval, 2000, retrieved December 22, 2008

In French