"Our God, Our Country, and Our Queen" - Orangeism, the Prince of Wales, and the Canadian Popular Political Tradition

Abstract

Despite the Royal Visit to Kingston in 1860 being billed as a celebratory event, it would not be remembered as such. The Orange Order, one of the largest fraternal organizations in the Canadas at the time, attended the Royal Arrival, despite receiving explicit instructions not to do so. Loudly protesting what they perceived to be an attempt to convince the Crown that the Canadas were Catholic in nature, the Orangemen pushed a two day standoff with the Royal Party. The Royal representative, the Prince of Wales, never left his boat, and Kingston never saw its Prince. In spite of this, the Orange Order proclaimed a victory. They, like their brothers at the Siege of Derry, had stood firm in the fact of Papism. What may seem today like an overreaction on the part of the Orangemen was actually an illustration of the organized violence that characterized mid-nineteenth century Canadian popular politics. The Orange Order represented the interests of Conservative, Tory Protestants, and their actions that day illustrate the fact that said group had reason to be frustrated at the time. The Orange Order, instead of being a violent and unwanted anomaly, represent but an important aspect of the Canadian popular political tradition.