Toronto is located on the shores of Lake Ontario in south-eastern Ontario. It is the biggest city in Canada and the country’s main financial and business hub. Together with neighboring municipalities, it forms one of the largest urban centers in North America. Toronto has a reputation for being safe and clean; it has been described as being like a ‘New York City run by the Swiss’*(1).
“Bought at a bargain price”:
What is now Toronto was originally sold to the British by the Indigenous Mississaugas in 1787, for 24 brass kettles, 2 dozen hats, 10 dozen mirrors, a bale of flowered flannel, 96 gallons of rum, 200 gunflints and a small sum of cash. For these items, the British obtained 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) of land bordering Lake Ontario. The total value of all these items is probably a just two or three thousand dollars, at most, in today’s money. Definitely not enough to buy much real estate in downtown Toronto today.
“Another New York”
Toronto was originally called “York”. Just like New York City, it was named after the town of the same name in Yorkshire, England. The name was changed to Toronto in 1834. The name York still survives, however, in some areas in and around Toronto. There is the City of York, East York and North York within Toronto. North of Toronto there is a suburban municipality called the Region of York.
“The original Toronto”
Mississauga, a suburb west of Toronto, was named after the Mississauga First Nations who had originally sold the Toronto land to the British. Mississauga was created when the city of York officials bought additional land from the Mississaugas. The original name for Mississauga was Toronto Township. Its name was later changed to Mississauga.
“York becomes the capital of Upper Canada”
Toronto, which was then still called York, became the capital of Upper Canada in 1797. The former capital of the colony had been Newark- not Newark, New Jersey, but the town of Newark in Upper Canada, which was later renamed Niagara-on-the-Lake.
“Fort York is built- and built again”
At the foot of Bathurst street, near to the lake shore is the historic Fort York. Fort York was originally built in the 1790s. It was poorly constructed, however, because the British government diverted necessary building materials to help fortify the town of Kingston to the east. The British felt that Kingston, which guarded the Lake Ontario entry to the St. Lawrence River, was of more strategic importance than York. The poorly built original fort was soon abandoned and a new fort was built 100 meters to the east.
“It is never too late to return stolen goods”
During the war of 1812, an American force, 4 times the size of the British defenders, managed to take the fort. American soldiers spent 6 days in York, looting and pillaging. The recently built government buildings were burnt down, and the ceremonial Assembly Mace was taken. British forces retaliated the following year by burning down the Capitol and Presidential Mansion in Washington. The Mace was returned over 100 years later by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1934. Some rare books, taken by the Americans from York’s library in 1812, have never been returned.
“Fort York is rebuilt, better then ever”
American forces returned a second time to in 1813. This time they faced no resistance in reoccupying the city. But by the time they came back for a third time in 1814, the British had rebuilt Fort York into a relatively formidable fortress and American forces were forced to withdraw.
“Yonge Street, the world’s longest road”
Yonge Street, is the main street in Toronto and the longest street in the world. It was originally begun as a military road in 1796 to connect Toronto to the Great Lakes to the north. This was in case the Americans were able to take control of the southern Great Lakes. Upper Canadian Governor John Graves Simcoe named the road in honor of former British War Secretary Sir George Yonge.
“Toll roads return to Toronto, after 100 years”
In 1997, Toronto opened highway 407, a toll road. Although toll roads had not been seen in the city for over 100 years, they were not altogether new. Beginning in the 1830s, the government charged fees on Yonge Street. Bloor Street, another main Toronto road, was originally called Toll-gate road.
“So it wasn’t just to show off?”
Toronto’s famous CN Tower was built ...
Read the full article here
No comments:
Post a Comment