The Toronto Forest That Brought Down Napoleon

A forest with a story that spans the Atlantic, pitting lumberjacks against an emperor, during one of the most pivotal moments in Europe’s history. Napoleon, meet Toronto’s Rouge Valley. Explore Canada's only Urban Park: Rouge National Urban Park.

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FRENCH VERSION:    • La forêt qui a vaincu Napoléon  

Clarification:
In no way are we suggesting that the masts made from pine trees in Eastern Ontario were the be-all and end-all in the multi-decade battle between much of Europe and Napoleon--far from it. Without diving too deeply into the subject, we tried to generate some context. The trees shipped to England from the Rouge Valley undermined Napoleon's hopes, and produced the naval firepower the British needed to keep him off the island. But the wars were complex, alliances strengthened and fell, Napoleon was defeated and returned.

Note:
For simplicity we used “Toronto” to refer to that muddy early settlement, even though it was originally named York. We try not to go on expository tangents, in order to keep the pacing up.

White Pines:
To all those with a strong knowledge of tree species, you may have only glanced a couple of White Pines in this episode. We had a horrible time trying to hunt down actual White Pines in Rouge Park—the lumberjacks did a number on them. They are all over the rest of Ontario, but along the trails of the Rouge Valley, there seem to be far more Red Pines. We only had two days to film the minisode, and given how much walking was involved, we couldn’t spend ages looking for White Pines in cinematic spots.

White Pines are pretty easy to identify. Each nub on a branch sprouts five soft and long needles. They are the pine trees that look a little gentler than their counterparts, with needles that flow like feathers in a breeze. And boy can they grow tall.

White Pines aren’t just perfect for masts; they are great for any situation that calls for a strong, relatively knot-free, water-resistant wood. So sought after that many Ontario property deeds state that one must get permission before cutting a White Pine down—the Crown might call for lumber at any time. And for much of Toronto’s history, they were used in a peculiar way.

If you're ever in downtown Toronto and there’s a condo tower being built nearby, you might notice crews nearer to the lake pulling gigantic pine logs out of the earth. That’s because, for the decades that Toronto’s leadership allowed it, White Pine logs were used to make ‘baskets’ that would be placed into the lake, filled with garbage and dirt, and built on top of. Toronto’s shoreline used to be much further inland (as far North as Queen Street in places), and the ‘baskets’ were the standard method for building out into Lake Ontario. And when construction crews pull those White Pine artifacts out of the ground, they are often in pristine condition, and resold nearly 100 years after they’d been cut down.

Lord Nelson:
The famous naval commander, Lord Nelson, died fighting in the Battle of Trafalgar, becoming a national hero in England. They named the public square in the heart of London "Trafalgar Square" and built a giant column to honour Nelson's memory. It's one of the most iconic landmarks in Britain. But he was also a hero over here. Defeating Napoleon's navy meant the trade route between Canada and England stayed open. People in Montreal were so happy about that they built their own column to honour Nelson in their own public square more than 30 years BEFORE the Londoners built theirs. It's still there in Old Montreal at the top of Place Jacques-Cartier. Though it just as likely could have been built as a provocation to francophones.

Nelson had also played an important role when it came to those Baltic masts. Before Napoleon's embargo, some of the other most powerful countries in Europe wanted to keep England from being able to trade with the Baltics. So they shut down the narrow channel between Sweden and Denmark — the only way into the Baltic Sea. Nelson was the hero of that episode too. He led the British fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen. When his commander gave him permission to retreat, Nelson famously lifted his telescope to his blind eye so that he couldn't see the signal. He kept fighting and won. It meant that the British got to keep trading with the Baltics right up until Napoleon's embargo.

DESCRIBED VIDEO VERSION: https://vimeo.com/950424090/6647d19e6...

00:00 Introduction
01:11 Origins
02:23 French Revolution
04:13 The Problem
05:09 The Solution
06:37 The Aftermath
08:25 Bonus Story

#canadianhistory #toronto #fall #hiking #trails #napoleon