Canada and the South African War: A Case for Further Including the South African War into the Ontario History Curriculum
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53103/cjess.v5i3.366Keywords:
South African War, Canada, Ontario, History, CurriculumAbstract
The South African War (1899-1902) was an important event in Canadian history as it not only impacted English-French relations in Canada, but also shaped Canada’s imperial relations and national identity. That said, the South African War comprises a very small proportion of the Ontario history curriculum during the grades in which history is a mandatory subject. Through an analysis of the images and stereotypes surrounding Canadian soldiers, the creation of Canadian-specific battalions, and the success of Canadian forces in battles such as Paardeberg, this article provides an explanation for why the South African War is an important component of Canadian history that is worthy of study. Additionally, this article provides a study of how the South African War is currently included in the Ontario history curriculum prior to Grade 11 (at which time history is no longer a mandatory subject) and makes a case for why the war should be further included. It is ultimately argued that the South African War is an important event in Canadian history and should therefore be included to a greater extent in the Ontario history curriculum.
Downloads
References
Chaktsiris, M. G. (2013). ‘Our boys with the maple leaf on their shoulders and straps’:
Masculinity, the Toronto press, and the outbreak of the South African War, 1899. War & Society, 32(1), 3-25. https://doi.org/10.1179/0729247312Z.00000000014
Chalkley, J. (2024). Rugged masculinity: British settler colonial soldiers in the Boer War.
Journal of Australian, Canadian, and Aotearoa New Zealand Studies, 4, 71-95. https://doi.org/10.52230/EXZX5309
Government of Ontario (2015). The Ontario curriculum, grades 11 and 12: Canadian and world studies. https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/2015cws11and12.pdf
Government of Ontario (2018). The Ontario curriculum, grades 9 and 10: Canadian and world studies. https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/canworld910curr2018.pdf
Government of Ontario (2023). The Ontario curriculum, grades 1-8: Social studies, history, and geography. https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/fbd574c4-da36-0066-a0c5-849ffb2de96e/d5da6bd8-63e6-41ca-80b3-ce2cf63d9546/SocialStudiesHistoryGeography-AODA_ISBN-v1.pdf
McGowan, K. (2009). ‘A finger in the fire’: Canadian volunteer soldiers and their perceptions of Canada’s collective identity through their experience of the Boer War. War & Society, 28(1), 61-87. https://doi.org/10.1179/072924709791329153
Miller, C. (1993). Painting the map red: Canada and the South African War 1899-1902. McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Miller, C. (1999). Loyalty, patriotism and resistance: Canada’s response to the Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902. South African Historical Journal, 41(1), 312-323. https://doi.org/10.1080/02582479908671896
Miller, C. (2008). Framing Canada’s Great War: A case for including the Boer War. Journal of Transatlantic Studies, 6(1), 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14794010801916982
Shaw, A. (2013). The Boer War, masculinity, and citizenship in Canada, 1899-1902. In P. Gentile & J. Nicholas (Eds.), Contesting bodies and nation in Canadian history (pp. 97-114). University of Toronto Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jacob Chalkley
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles published by CJESS are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits third parties to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon the original work provided that the original work and source is appropriately cited.
