The Quality of Life of Agricultural Workers in Canada - Book Report/Review Example

The Quality of Life of Agricultural Workers in Canada The two books consider the same subject matter, which mainly concern the lives of peasant farmers and workers during the early twentieth century in Canada. The approach is, however, different for each book. Cecilia Danysk looks at the labor market in the prairies, particularly the ease with which farm laborers led their lives and how they improved it using the earnings of their labor. On the other hand, Allan Greer considers the lives of peasant farmers in rural Quebec, specifically lower Richelieu. The consideration is given to the qualitative aspects of life, particularly the values and morals upheld by the peasants. The books present the content in a complementary approach to each other. According to Danysk (9), at the advent of prairie farming in the west, the agricultural frontier was full of promise. The immigrant laborers had the assurance that the wage from the agricultural labor would enable them to own land and as well as live a life that is free from economic uncertainties and social constraints. Most of the laborers intended to work in the prairies briefly just to gain experience and money before moving on to start their own farms. In the early twentieth century, prairie farming was expanding rapidly. This saw workers gain a lot of experience that enabled them to be self sufficient. Danysk (10) explains about Rowell, a worker in the prairies, as proud of what he was able to accomplish. Rowell is reportedly healthy in body and mind, with a secure future and a happy life. He would later own a farm of his own. However, after the boom had ended in the prairies, the farmers who came with similar aspirations were unable to attain their dreams. It had become difficult for farmers to secure jobs in the prairies, leave alone owning farms of their own. Wages in the prairies dropped drastically as immigrants continuously flooded the labor market. The initiation, expansion and the consolidation of the Canadian agricultural industry saw the realization of changing roles and mixed fortunes by the workers who shaped its development. The labor history in Canada realized significant development in the first fifty years of the twentieth century. This is the time that the working people of Canada had their way into the emerging capitalist way of the urban industrialists (Danysk 12). Despite the Royal Commission on labor relations terming the simple exchange of wages and labor as absurd, the agricultural workers in the prairies did not face any hardships as it would be expected. The unemployed workers in the prairies did not necessarily have to starve since there was plenty to afford everyone food and shelter. Men who chose not to be laborers would still lead a relatively decent life. The large tracts of unoccupied land coupled with government generosity enabled laborers to become independent land owners if they worked hard enough for it. Despite land being abundant, labor and capital were in short supply. There was a strong sense of equality between the hired hands and the farmers due to the realization that employees were increasingly becoming employers in the prairies (Danysk 67). Greer (48) explains the life of peasants in Lower Richelieu. The peasants are reported to obtain land as inheritance from their old, deceased parents. However, since inheritance alone could not satisfy the desire for land, many of the peasants would be accommodated in the colonial settlements where forests would be cleared to establish farms. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, rural Quebec experienced wedding ceremonies, which indicated the beginning of new families. Wedding ceremonies were attended by neighbors and relations and were preceded by other semi-public and public events such as the publishing of banns and signing of marriage contracts. Weddings were, however, held in winter or late fall. These were months when there were little agricultural tasks, plenty of fresh meat and other supplies. The catholic faith was prominent in rural Quebec. Most of the peasants followed the faith and held their marriages under it, which means, separation and other marital discordances were rare (Greer 55). According to Greer (63), sexual morality based on the Christian doctrine was practiced and upheld by the community as a whole. The clergy were particularly vigilant to ensure this was the case. The families of the inhabitants kept growing and filling the region. The French-Canadian population expanded exceptionally. It was influenced significantly by the national spirit and the church. The French Canada experienced periods of food crises which are seen as having been the main factor that kept the populations of peasants and agricultural workers on check. Greer (65) explains sources that suggest hunger was severe in the isolated poor communities and that lower Richelieu occasionally experienced poor harvests. Emergency relief was given during such times by the parish vestries mainly in the form of seed grain loans. Major epidemics such as smallpox also claimed many lives in the peasant community of rural Quebec (Greer 69). Colonization altered the peasant lifestyle of lower Richelieu as trees were felled and new land brought under cultivation by habitant families. During the seven years’ war, the settlers penetrated the interior and established new farms. The lands were surveyed and maps drawn up to indicate the property lines, fields, woods and buildings. The cultivated fields and concession lines disregarded the geometric order and instead followed the hydrographic patterns that were adopted locally. The imposition of geometric patterns that disregarded the topography was common among the early French and English Canadians. The maps portrayed communities that had lived in that place for centuries especially by the narrowness of the cleared lands. Colonization had both legal and physical aspects. The settlers acquired land and transformed it to arable. The legal aspects in the acquisition of land involved the granting of the farm lots to the settlers by the seigneurs of the lower Richelieu (Greer 112). In explaining the hygienic conditions of rural Quebec, Greer (70) portrays a much deteriorated situation. The wells are reportedly polluted with the floors covered in spittle. The society is described as being exceptionally unhygienic among the Canadian pre-industrial societies. The life conditions for the lower Richelieu are likened to those of Western Europe at the time which are said to have been as unhygienic as well. The mortality rate in the North America at the time is reported as being lower than in Europe. However, the rates are neither attributed to better hygiene nor better medical care. Greer (71) suggests the mortality rates may have been lower in Canada than in Europe due to the secure, plentiful and better nourishing food supply. As Greer’s book concerns itself more with the qualitative aspects of the general life led by the peasants in rural Quebec, Danysk concentrates on the aspirations of farm laborers to improve their lives from the worker lifestyle to owning land. Danysk (47) explains a one of the worker’s perspective of the farm labor experience. The worker, who is reportedly new to the country’s farming lifestyle, appreciates the experience obtained from the work. The experience is said to assist him in settling on his own farm. He seems quite pleased with the achievement and the lifestyle. He reports the food as satisfactory; the meals brought immense joy. However, another worker reports the work as being weary, dull and exhausting. He accuses his employer of treating him to slavery. The worker reports being discriminated against by his employer due to his slight build and short stature. The bitterness drives him to struggle in order to obtain his own farm. In one occasion, the worker has to fight with his boss for refusing to pay his wages. He lost the fight but got the wages (Danysk 48). The two books look at the lives of the peasant farmers and farm workers from two different fronts. While the workers in the prairies may be seen as ambitious and determined to own land and run profitable agriculture on their own, peasants in rural Quebec are portrayed as having been settled until the time colonization is introduced. The book by Greer addresses the general lifestyle of the peasants and especially the social welfare and moral aspects. The book by Danysk looks at the lives of the farm workers in the prairies. The book approaches their lives from individual perspectives and explains the struggles they had to go through as they struggled to attain the goal of owning land in the prairies. As much as the struggles and aspirations of the peasants and workers may be portrayed as being different from the two perspectives, they give the reader two different perspectives to the lives led during the time. From the book by Greer, the struggles of the peasants are not as stringent as struggles of workers in the prairies portrayed by Danysk. The workers in the prairies seem on the verge of setting themselves free from the labor in the farms as they acquire their own farms and continue with the farming. The peasants in rural Quebec are portrayed by Greer as settled. Their struggles mainly involve moral issues as well as struggles with famine and other disasters. The two books cannot be compared directly. However, they give two different dimensions to the lifestyles of the farm workers and peasants in Canada. As it is from the way the books present the subject matter, they are not dependent on each other in the sense of their approach. Each focuses on specific aspects of the agricultural workers and peasants in different parts of Canada. Reading both books reveals a different dimension for the Canadian lifestyles both before and during colonization by the settlers. Both books have the weaknesses of giving a one sided approach to the subject. This may also be viewed as strength in other aspects since they handle the specific areas exhaustively. Works Cited Danysk, Cecilia. Hired hands: labor and the development of prairie agriculture, 1880-1930. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995. Print Greer, Allan. Peasant, lord, and merchant: rural society in three Quebec parishes, 1740-1840. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985. Print Read More