Month: November 2013

  • Religious Conflict and the Search for Historical Explanations

    http://www.canadianmysteries.ca A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 16-18 Introduction Early in the morning of February 4, 1880, five members of an Irish immigrant family were murdered in rural southwestern Ontario, allegedly by an armed band of vigilantes from the community. No one was ever convicted of these crimes. While “Who did it?” is the most obvious…

  • What Caused Herbert Norman to Take his Life?

    http://www.canadianmysteries.ca A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 16 to 18 Introduction For many people it is hard to imagine the deep psychological and physical harm that resulted from the Cold War. Just as the idea of terrorism generates public fear in a post-9/11 world, the idea of communism after World War II had a…

  • Was Jerome Mistreated?

    http://www.canadianmysteries.ca A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 16–18 Introduction On September 8, 1863, a man whose legs had been cut off at the knees was found on the beach of Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia. He had no identity papers, money, or belongings, and didn’t speak. Unable to look after himself, Jerome was taken in…

  • Who Should Receive the Credit?

    http://www.canadianmysteries.ca A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 16-18 Introduction On August 16, 1896, four people — an American miner, a First Nations man, his sister, and their nephew — were looking for gold on a creek that flowed into the Klondike River a few kilometres east of the present town of Dawson, Yukon. One…

  • Protecting the Nation?

    http://www.canadianmysteries.ca A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 14-18 Introduction In the spring of 1864 a series of killings sent a chill across Canada. The blood of 14 men, spilled into the Homathco River before dawn on the morning of April 29th, 1864, was only the beginning of this conflict. By the end of May,…

  • Opposition to Slavery in New France

    http://www.canadianmysteries.ca A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 14-18 Introduction During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Canada maintained a practice of slavery that forced people of Aboriginal and African descent to endure captivity and servitude. Many people at that time saw slavery as a natural social condition for certain peoples. However, there appear to be…

  • Respecting the Doukhobors’ Rights in British Columbia

    http://www.canadianmysteries.ca A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 14-18 Introduction Late in the evening of October 28, 1924, Peter Verigin boarded a Canadian Pacific Railway train at Brilliant, British Columbia, the headquarters of the Doukhobor community. About one in the morning a horrific explosion blew away the roof and sides of the coach. Verigin and…

  • The Status of Women in New France

    http://www.canadianmysteries.ca A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 14-18 Introduction In the spring of 1734, a fire occurred in Montréal that destroyed a hospital and 45 houses on rue Saint-Paul. Criminal proceedings were soon underway against Marie-Josèphe, dite Angélique, a Black slave, and her White lover, Claude Thibault. The latter fled, leaving Angélique on her…

  • Investigating Suspects in the Death of Peter Verigin

    http://www.canadianmysteries.ca A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 16-18 Introduction Late in the evening of October 28, 1924, Peter Verigin boarded a Canadian Pacific Railway train at Brilliant, British Columbia, the headquarters of the Doukhobor community. About one in the morning a horrific explosion blew away the roof and sides of the coach. Verigin and…

  • War, Massacre, or Terrorism?

    http://www.canadianmysteries.ca A critical thinking challenge for students, ages 16-18 Introduction In the spring of 1864 a series of killings sent a chill across Canada. The blood of 14 men, spilled into the Homathco River before dawn on the morning of April 29th, 1864, was only the beginning of this conflict. By the end of May,…