William J Smyth

Toronto the Belfast of Canada William J Smyth

Commendation Quotes:"Toronto, the Belfast of Canada is grounded in a rich analysis of documentary, statistical, journalistic, and institutional sources. It provides a great deal of insight into the realpolitic of Toronto and the complex ethnic underpinnings of an evolving cultural identity." - Brian Osborne, Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography, Queen's UniversityTable of Contents: Introduction1. Canada and Ireland: Toronto and Belfast. The Imperial Context2. A Tale of Two Cities: Belfast and Toronto3. Toronto Orangeism: The Nature and Structure of The Orange Order4. Power, Patronage and Public Employment within the Protestant City, 1850-19205. The Emergence of a New Order: Toronto's Orangemen at the Close of The Nineteenth Century6. The Climax and Onset of Decline of the Orange Order, 1900-19407. The Faded Sash: Toronto and Orangeism, 1940-c.19508. ConclusionPublisher Marketing: In late nineteenth-century Toronto, municipal politics were so dominated by the Irish Protestants of the Orange Order that the city was known as the "Belfast of Canada." For almost a century, virtually every mayor of Toronto was an Orangeman and the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne was a civic holiday. Toronto, the Belfast of Canada explores the intolerant origins of today's cosmopolitan city. Using lodge membership lists, census data, and municipal records, William J. Smyth details the Orange Order's role in creating Toronto's municipal culture of militant Protestantism, loyalism, and monarchism. One of Canada's foremost experts on the Orange Order, Smyth analyses the Orange Order's influence between 1850 and 1950, the city's frequent public displays of sectarian tensions, and its occasional bouts of rioting and mayhem. Contributor Bio:  Smyth, William J William J. Smyth is the president emeritus of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and a past president of the Geographical Society of Ireland and the Association of Canadian Studies in Ireland.