Allegiance: The Ontario Story

Dennis Blake is a high-school history teacher with the Halton Board of
Education.

Oversized and beautifully bound, Allegiance is a richly illustrated
general history of Ontario, consisting primarily of 20 survey chapters,
each written by a writer distinguished in his or her area of historical
expertise or special interest.

In a work of this scope, which brings together so many contributors,
the process of blending and balancing outlooks is a complex one and
necessitates a culling intellectual thrust. In this case, Allegiance is
nakedly patriotic, providing a traditional, linear, liberal consensus
view of Ontario’s past and its “allegiance” to the fundamentals of
its British heritage. There is also an observable minor teleological
emphasis on an Ontario record of entrepreneurial success.

Reading down the list of contributors is akin to perusing a
mini-Who’s Who in contemporary Canadian historiography. There are no
disappointments in the finely crafted essays of Bliss, Careless, Morton,
Oliver, and Read. In addition, the contributions by geographers and
social scientists expand, color and reinforce the wide thrust of this
historical mosaic, making Allegiance an enjoyable read for both
generalist and specialist.

It is most interesting to note the inclusion of short historical (and
promotional) essays about the corporate sponsors of Allegiance’s
publication. As this small touch is so very reminiscent of the municipal
“booster” publications of Ontario’s early twentieth century, one
cannot help but reflect on how Allegiance itself may be viewed as an
interesting historical document in its own right in years to come.