Canadiana explores the grisly history of the Rideau Canal, a popular tourist attraction in Ottawa and marvel of human engineering from the early 1800s.

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Clarifications:

*While by today’s standards the working conditions during the construction of the Rideau Canal seem especially horrific, it was generally on par with engineering projects of a similar scale during the time period. Care was taken to prevent accidents, and any that did occur were subject to inquiry and documented to avoid repeat. Still, it was hard, dangerous work in an era before many of the fail safes we have today, and every life lost is a tragedy that might have been prevented. May we remember the workers and their sacrifice; the blood and sweat that poured into every inch of the Rideau Canal.

*There is no definitive number of worker deaths due to lack of complete records, particularly lack of records for the vast majority of deaths due to disease, but the best estimate is that at least 1000 workers were killed during the construction.

Rideau Canal History:

For more incredible history of the Rideau Canal, we strongly encourage you to check out this excellent website by Ken Watson: https://www.rideau-info.com/canal/his...
The “Tales of the Rideau” page is particularly interesting, with a mix of factual and ghost tales! (Direct link to the tales page: https://www.rideau-info.com/canal/tal...)

Colonel John By:

Col. John By, who led the construction, is recognized as one of the greatest engineers of early Canada. But in his lifetime, he was never properly recognized for the incredible feat that was the Rideau Canal. The 200km canal was built in just 5 working summers, without the aid of modern construction equipment, yet despite this achievement Colonel By returned to England only to be criticized by the Treasury Board. He died just three years later. Today, there are several monuments to Colonel By, including the statue we see in the episode and the ByWard Market area of Ottawa.

Alternate theory for the Duke of Richmond’s death (bonus story at the end of the episode):

For nearly 200 years, there were only whispers about the controversy surrounding the Duke of Richmond’s death by rabies. That is, until Dr. Hugh Whitney, a veterinarian, medical historian, and leading Canadian expert on rabies stepped forward to contest the long-standing theory. While it’s no longer possible to know for certain what killed Charles Lennox, the 4th Duke of Richmond, you can read more about the debate here: https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.c...

Ottawa Tourism:

The Rideau Canal is a beautiful place to visit! History, nature, physical activity, pleasure boating—there’s something for everyone! We encourage you all to visit this spectacular National Historic Site meticulously maintained by Parks Canada. https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/on/ri...

Malaria:

Malaria has been an infectious disease, spread by a parasite carried by mosquitoes, for over 50, 000 yrs all over the globe. It’s been humanity’s greatest enemy from Ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire to now—killing hundreds of thousands each year.

Not all mosquitoes can carry malaria, but the one that does—the Anopheles species—lives in both tropical areas known for malaria, and in colder latitudes. They inhabit regions as varied as the Philippines, Southern Ontario, Madagascar, Russia, and Brazil—they are everywhere. But the parasite is not…anymore.

Peruvians had been using the bark of a tree to treat malaria for thousands of years, and when the Spanish invaded in the 1600s they brought the remedy back to Europe. Today, we call it Quinine--which doesn't just treat malaria, it prevents it.

Soon, British soldiers in India were mixing drinks with it (it had a bitter taste). In fact, Quinine, mixed with water, sugar, lime, and gin was their go-to—and that’s how the gin and tonic was born.

Today, we don’t typically prevent malaria with quinine, due to its side-effects, but we do have vaccines.

Malaria was eventually eradicated from the United States in 1951 after a massive campaign over multiple years—similarly it was eradicated in Canada and most of Europe in the same era. Before then, it was a killer like any other disease, but it peaked in its spread and lethality in the 1800s.

#ottawa #canadianhistory #documentary #rideaucanal

00:00 Intro: Death on the Rideau Canal
01:44 War of 1812
02:26 The Idea
03:17 Duke of Richmond
05:04 Colonel John By
05:52 Death and Malaria
07:18 Bytown to Ottawa
08:44 Bonus Story