Lord Durham was a 'larger than life' character of the early 19th century who wholeheartedly supported the passing of the 1832 Great Reform Act in Britain. Six years later in 1838, he was sent to Upper and Lower Canada to find a solution to the political turmoil that had resulted in two separate rebellions against British rule.
While Lord Durham's tenure was just 6 months in duration, he compiled a report in 1839 known as the 'Report on the Affairs of British North America', which advocated the extension of 'responsible self-government' to the Canada's.
Did Lord Durham really 'save' the white settler Empire for the Crown with the contents of his Report? In this episode, Patrick O'Shaughnessy (@historychappy) explains the rationale behind his critique of Lord Durham's role in the forthcoming book 'Versus Empire', as well as the disciplinary and research processes behind his work, while Elliott L. Watson (@thelibrarian6) poses the questions.
