The Harper Conservatives are going to great lengths to highlight the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, when the British and Americans fought for control over the north. It is in this context that James Laxer has published his history of the war.

Laxer places explicit focus upon the military aspects of the conflict, with central focus upon two unlikely allies: Tecumseh and Isaac Brock. Tecumseh was a Shawnee warrior who united tribes against the Americans, while Major-General Isaac Brock defended Upper and Lower Canada against the invading Americans. The biographies of these two military figures are detailed in the opening chapters, explaining their roots leading up to the war.

Laxer establishes the political context of the conflict, touching upon the American Revolution, the Québec Act and the Treaty of Paris. The Americans declared war on Britain for reasons ranging from naval trade restrictions to British collaboration with indigenous tribes. The war was to shape the boundaries and politics of the continent for centuries.

One does get a sense of the nature of colonization in the United States, based principally around the drive for property and agricultural development and rising imperial aspirations. It is also interesting to learn that some indigenous tribes exploited black slaves. Tensions with the French are also clear, along with English defections to the United States. Divisions between tribes are also detailed.

The book would benefit from breaking with two conventional approaches to history. One is its emphasis on leaders, rather than the subaltern figures who are wholly neglected. Tecumseh and Brock are glorified in this book, and this is a military history about elites above all else. It would be nice to read about the women and children in communities who sustained all sides on the conflict.

Another convention in historical work is to exclude philosophical and moral judgements. This book would greatly benefit from Laxer’s reflections about national identity, colonization, assimilation of tribal customs and the social context of war. There is a chapter on shifting political identities in Upper and Lower Canada, but it would be a pleasure to read more of Laxer’s critical reflections.

Despite these two important weaknesses, the book offers a sweeping military history of the war. It makes for important reading to understand the nature of American expansionism, British imperialism and white colonization.

Its greatest contribution is to highlight the fierce resistance that indigenous peoples waged against assimilation and colonization. As Tecumseh said in a rallying speech, “the blood of many of our fathers and brothers has run like water on the ground, to satisfy the avarice of the white men.”

The book would be of interest to readers wanting to know more about the military history of the war, specific skirmishes and battles and for those interested in the details of early American expansionism and British imperialism in Canada.

This article appeared in the September/October 2012 issue of Canadian Dimension (Québec Students Teach the World a Lesson).