Imprinting Britain: How the Printing Press Helped to Shape British North America
Dr. Michael Eamon Professor and Principal of Traill College discusses first book
“When people think of the history of 18th Century Canada, they think of the F’s: fur trade, First Nations and frontier. These are important things, however, I like to look at the P’s: press, people and politics. This is what is missing from much of our history.” This is how Dr. Michael Eamon, principal of Traill College and director of Continuing Education at Trent University, explains his new book.
What began as a dissertation when Professor Eamon was undertaking his Ph.D., transformed into his first book, Imprinting Britain: Newspapers, Sociability and the Shaping of British North America. Imprinting Britain, which officially launched in May, 2015, explores the instrumental role the printing press played in establishing a sense of community in Canadian culture. Although print media has often been discussed in the context of the United States and Great Britain, Prof. Eamon’s research compares the dynamic world of Canadian newspapers, coffee shops, and theatre in Nova Scotia and Quebec.
“Printing presses in Canada were all recreated from British sources, so everything is leaving an imprint on Canadian life,” explains Prof. Eamon. “We are trying to be like Britain, and we are trying to be more British than the British at that time.” However, he stresses that the key historical question is why.
“Imprinting Britain has a very strong political message,” says Prof. Eamon. “Those in power wanted to solidify British rule. They didn’t want Halifax to turn German. They didn’t want Quebec to turn French. They wanted very much to make sure that Britain was on the top of the heap and then everything else filtered down. So newspapers were key in fashioning a society where Britain would still remain on top of all of this diversity.”
Works relating to this period in history often focus on specific regions of Canada. “What is unique about my book, is that I took Nova Scotia and Quebec and compared them,” says Prof. Eamon. He argues there is a place for both micro-histories and for these greater histories that draw broader conclusions. Speaking of the book and its development, Prof. Eamon adds: “I think understanding is the most important thing we can build in life. We need more understanding in this world. When people understand the past, it’s not to forget it, but to understand the injustices that happened and to correct things for the next generation.”