Books with author Beatrice Home

This excellent short introduction to Canadian history covers the span of history from the early settlements of Cartier and Champlain to the early years of British domination. Richly illustrated to enhance the reading experience. Contents include:The Early DicoverersSamuel de ChamplainThe French in AcadieConcerning Jesuits in CanadaCanada as a Royal ProvinceA Half-Century of ConflictThe Loss of New FranceEarly Years of English DominionThe Growth of Canada

Canada, which is now bounded by the Atlantic on the east and the Pacific on the west, was at one time a small province on the St. Lawrence, the name as used by the Indians meaning nothing more than a village.The history of Canada begins with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492, though there are stories that, as long ago as A.D. 1000, the island of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia were discovered by Norsemen who went exploring from their homes in Greenland. There are two old sagas, or songs, of the Icelanders, which tell of the heroic deeds of these Norsemen, but their adventures belong to the days of legend. Real history does not begin until Columbus opened to Europe the way to the West.While Spain, through Columbus, was getting rich with the wealth of the West Indies and Central America, England turned her attention to the north of the wonderful New World that had just been discovered. She was the first to set foot in Canada, little dreaming that it would in after-centuries become such an important part of the British Empire. John Cabot, an Italian sailor from Venice, appealed to Henry VII. of England for permission to discover some of the unknown lands in his name. Cabot had appealed first to the Kings of Spain and of Portugal, but these monarchs had been too much occupied with the lands they had already discovered to give him any support. Henry VII. was anxious to obtain a share in the wealth and honour which were being showered upon Spain and Portugal, so he willingly granted a patent to the bold sailor and his son Sebastian. But, being both cautious and mean, he gave them nothing else. They were to provide the whole cost of the expedition themselves.The Cabots set sail from Bristol in the spring of 1497, and discovered Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador. The next year they started off again, and travelled all down the coast from the bleak shores of Labrador to South Carolina, finding an open sea in the North which they hoped would lead to Cathay and the spice islands of the East. These spice islands were the great attraction for all the adventurous spirits of the sixteenth century, who were fired with the desire to find a new and quicker way to the wealth of India and China, instead of the long and dangerous journey round Africa. All classes of people shared their enthusiasm. Kings were eager for new lands to be added to their dominions, merchants for new openings for trade, sailors for the joy of discovery, and priests for more souls to be won for Christianity.England did not follow up the discoveries of the Cabots, and until quite the end of the sixteenth century, did not trouble to find out more of the North American continent. Her bold sailors spent their energies sailing round the world, pushing into the Arctic, or fighting Spain among the beautiful islands of the West Indies which Spain claimed as her own. But in the meantime other countries had been sending out navigators to find out more of the northern continent. Spain was entirely occupied over her possessions in Central and South America, finding it work enough to keep her hold upon these. But Portugal, thinking if others were looking for a better way to her spice islands in the East, she should be the first to discover it, sent Cortereal, who made his way to Labrador and Newfoundland in the year 1500.France was slower than her more energetic rivals in Europe in discovering the great importance of the New World. But when Francis I. came to the throne in 1515, he began to realize the wealth and importance that Spain had gained by her vast new possessions. In a letter written by him to his life-long enemy, the Emperor Charles V., who was also King of Spain, he said he was not aware that "our first father Adam had made the Spanish and Portuguese Kings his sole heirs to the earth."

However contrary their point of view may be, all historians are agreed upon one thing, that the history of Ireland is one of the saddest on record, and that its unfolding story tells of a persistent and dogged ill-luck. At no period during the past centuries can the blame for the unsuccessful government of Ireland be laid entirely upon the English conquerors or upon the Irish people. A combination of circumstances, differences of race and religion, the Celtic temperament, climatic conditions, the partial conquest of Henry II., necessitating the constant, irritating renewal of English force—all have united to produce the almost continual civil war, suppressed or breaking out into open warfare, that has prevailed in the beautiful but unhappy island. There have been so few moments of real national triumph, that its history has been left for the invading conquerors to write, who naturally have exaggerated the outbreaks of disorder and tumult, describing as traitors those who in happier lands would be called patriots, and enlarging upon the almost insuperable difficulties of dealing with an unruly and ungrateful people. But the historians of the present age are, happily, more just and impartial, saying with Mr. Bagwell, who has made an exhaustive study of Ireland under the Tudors and the Stuarts, that "the history of Ireland is at best a sad one; but its study, if it be really studied for the truth's sake, can hardly fail to make men more tolerant."

Shakeel rides to school in an autorickshaw. Sasha builds houses in the snow. Cidinha helps her mother crack nuts to trade at the market. All around the world children are waking up, going to school, helping their families, and playing with their friends. Wake Up, World! follows eight children from eight different countries as each one goes through his or her day. Young readers can see how their own lives compare with other children's in such diverse places as Ghana and Russia, Australia and Vietnam, Brazil and England, India and the United States. A portion of the proceeds for this book will be donated to Oxfam, a non-profit organization working to address the causes of poverty and social injustice.

"I don't know about you, but I've always been really curious about what other people eat. Being nosy is how I've got some of my best ideas as a chef-and discovered some of my favorite things to eat." -From the Introduction to Let's Eat by Jamie Oliver, The Naked ChefA beautifully photographed introduction to the way children from around the world eat What we eat says a lot about who we are and where we come from. The five children in this book live in very different countries, and they each have their own ideas about what tastes good. But they have lots in common, too: they all go food shopping and help with the cooking, share mealtimes with their families, eat special foods to celebrate, and have things they love to eat and things they definitely don't.Endorsed by Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef, this vibrant companion book to Wake Up, World! is a friendly and fascinating introduction to the way people eat and live around the world.

Wherever we live in this world―whether our country is rich or poor―water is vital to our survival on this planet. This book follows the daily lives of children in Peru,Mauritania, the United States, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Tajikistan, and explores what water means to them.Where does it come from? How do they use it? With the growing threat of climate change affecting all our lives, this book invites discussion on the ways different countries and cultures value this most precious of our planet's natural resources.

This vivid collection of photographic images teamed with lively, accessible text invites young readers to follow eight different children from eight different countries through the day, exploring the differences and similarities between their routines, in this stunningly simple introduction to other ways of life around the world. As the day unfolds, we are invited to look inside the homes of these children and meet their families; we see them eat, learn, play, and explore their own world, and in the process we learn about countries as diverse as Ghana and Russia, Australia and Vietnam, Brazil and the UK, the US and India. Wake up, World! makes an intriguing, effective introduction to world cultures for children aged five and up, whether reading alone or with an adult.