Beyond the City Limits: Rural History in British Columbia

Fritz Pannekoek is an associate professor of heritage studies and
director of information resources at the University of Calgary. He is
also the author of A Snug Little Flock: The Social Origins of the Riel
Resistance of 1869–70.

Dr. R.W. Sandwell, in her provocative and well-articulated introduction
to this collection of 13 essays, argues that “current historiography
supports the dominance of resource-based capitalism as the shaping force
in British Columbia history.” The essays, written largely by doctoral
candidates or recent graduates in British Columbia history, are intended
to illustrate and argue that the rural dimension of the province’s
history was in fact more important.

While the introduction is a sound reflection of recent work in rural
studies, the essays show little connection to an overriding methodology.
In terms of their specifics, they are a mixed bag. “An Early Rural
Revolt: The Introduction of the Canadian System of Tariffs to British
Columbia, 1871–4,” in which Daniel P. Marshall argues that there was
strong opposition to Canadian tariffs in British Columbia, will not come
as much of a surprise to Canadian scholars who have followed Western
Canadian reaction to this instrument of Central Canadian oppression.
Similarly, Ken Favrholdt’s article, “Agricultural Settlement in the
Hills Around Kamloops,” communicates little more than traditional
environmental determinism.

On the other hand, Jean Barman’s essay on Métis women offers a
useful footnote to existing historiography on the subject. Richard
Mackie’s paper on the history of cougar habitat is among the more
provocative and leading-edge articles, as are Adele Perry’s “White
Men and Homosocial Culture in Up-Country British Columbia” and Tony
Arruda’s “Youth, Gender, and Jobs in Williams Lake.” These and
other superior contributions are enough to make this collection a
worthwhile addition to public or personal libraries.