Bytown's early years - as military outpost and lumber town - did not presage greatness. Yet this rough little town (renamed Ottawa in 1855) did not remain insignificant, for geography and politics soon combined to place it at centrestage as Canada's national capital.
Ottawa's fascinating story is recounted with skill and wit in John H. Taylor's Ottawa: An Illustrated History. Taylor tells this story in all its variations - the life of the French and the English, the poor and the rich; the politics of city hall and Parliament Hill; the social lives of Ottawans. Crisp and colourful, Ottawa: An Illustrated History focuses on the history of the city's relationship with its landlord - the federal government - but it also does more. It weaves together, for the first time, all the complex strands that over the years have shaped Ottawa's identity.
Ottawa: An Illustrated History is handsomely illustrated by 150 historical photographs and by a dozen original maps depicting the city's geographical evolution.
Contents
Illustration Credits
Foreword: The History of Canadian Cities Series
Acknowledgements
Introduction: The Valley and the Founding of Bytown
Chapter One: The Era of the Timber Trade, 1825–1849
Chapter Two: A City Emerges, 1850–1867
Chapter Three: Victorian City and National Capital, 1867–1900
Chapter Four: A Narrowing of Options, 1900–1940
Chapter Five: The City Transformed, 1940–1980
Appendix: Statistical Tables
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading and Research
Index
" ... perfectly balanced ... It combines serious but eminently readable history with archival photos and maps in an ideal way."
- William French Globe and Mail
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