Imperial Life Research Articles

Imperial Lives: Two Children in Asian Clothing

Imperial Lives: Two Children in Asian Clothing

The pursuit of Italy: a history of a land, its regions, and their peoples

This is the book that explains the whole extraordinary course of Italian history like no other in English. The Pursuit of Italy traces the whole history of the Italian peninsula in a wonderfully readable style, full of well-chosen stories and observations from personal experience, and peopled by many of the great figures of the Italian past, from Cicero and Virgil to Dante and the Medici, from Cavour and Verdi to the controversial political figures of the twentieth century. The book gives a clear-eyed view of the Risorgimento, the pivotal event in modern Italian history, debunking the influential myths which have grown up around it. Gilmour shows that the glory of Italy has always lain in its regions, with their distinctive art, civic cultures, identities and cuisine and whose inhabitants identified themselves not as Italians, but as Tuscans and Venetians, Sicilians and Lombards, Neapolitans and Genoese. This is where the strength and culture of Italy still comes from, rather than from misconceived and mishandled concepts of nationalism and unity. This wise and enormously engaging book explains the course of Italian history in a manner and with a coherence which no one with an interest in the country could fail to enjoy. David Gilmour is one of Britain's most admired and accomplished historical writers and biographers. His previous books include The Last Leopard : A Life of Giuseppe di Lampedusa (winner of the Marsh Biography Award) Curzon (Duff Cooper Prize) and Long Recessional:The Imperial Life of Rudyard Kipling (Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography).

A.3. Suetonius and his treatment of the Emperor Domitian's favourable accomplishments

Suetonius has become one of the most influential and important ancient sources for our understanding of the socio-political climate in First Century Imperial Rome and the personalities of its emperors. However, he has illustrated in his texts a bias, often in a subtle manner that illustrates the historical and cultural aspects of the literary climate during this period. One notable example is his Life of the Emperor Domitian, which corresponds well with the maturity of Suetonius' writings by this time, but is also unique because of its construction and personal attributes, being the most recent imperial life written by Suetonius. This life illustrates both the literary climate of this period (being clearly influenced by its Senatorial audience) as well as the damning and lasting impressions that the damnatio memoriae has had upon the historical sources on the Emperor Domitian.

A Companion to Japanese History (review)

Reviewed by: A Companion to Japanese History Robert Stolz A Companion to Japanese History. Edited by William M. Tsutsui. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2007. 632 pp. $49.95 (paper). William M. Tsutsui introduces A Companion to Japanese History as an amibtious snapshot of Japan studies since the breakdown of the authority of modernization theory in the last half of the twentieth century. Though partially revived to consider empire's "benefits," especially since the Vietnam War, modernization theory has largely disappeared as the paradigm by which we approach not only Japan, but all non-Western nations. Nevertheless, as Tsutsui explains, with a few exceptions, there is no reference work that captures the expansive set of interests and methodologies since modernization theory's collapse. The Companion, then, places itself against the six volumes of The Cambridge History of Japan (Cambridge University Press, 1988–1999), the latter's modernization theory bias, Tsutsui claims, rendered them "anachronisms from the moment they appeared." The Companion's thirty essays form five sections. The first four are largely chronological. A fifth section of eleven essays is titled "Themes in Japanese History." This chronological and thematic division puts tremendous pressure on the authors of the chronological pieces to summarize their fields while also providing the necessary narrative and background of the periods. Each has adopted different ways to address this tension. Mark J. Hudson's essay on archaeology, "Japanese Beginnings," places Japan's population, land mass, ecology, and technology into global periods and geographies without slighting the politics of the competing archaeologies of commoner and imperial life. As throughout the Companion, a lack of maps makes this essay harder to read and potentially less useful than it might have been. G. Cameron Hurst III's essay on the Heian period not only points out the difficulties of the period (a mere 1,250 diplomatics for the first three hundred years! [p. 31]), but, like the other essays in this and other sections, it subtly discusses the problems of periodizing the Heian era as function of historiographical debates on the organization of power—insei (Royal Court State), kenmon seika (joint rule)—it also displays the theoretical richness of this understudied (in [End Page 313] English) period. Andrew Edmund Goble subverts the rise of the modern state view with regional concerns in the Kamakura bakufu. Given that the Tokugawa period was often the site of the confrontation between modernization theory and the new theoretical and critical histories, the essays in part 2, "Early Modern Japan," by Philip C. Brown, Edward E. Pratt, Peter Nosco, and Lawrence E. Marceau, confront extra ideological obstacles, which they do well. Brown explores the complicated, even contradictory, nature of Tokugawa authority. It lacked an integrated central bureaucracy, but nonetheless the "authority of the shogun had very real political and administrative consequences" and could maintain and even increase its monopoly on the use of force. Perhaps because of this complex authority numerous studies highlight other centrifugal and centripetal trends, especially the simultaneous strength of regional identities within a growing sense of domestic connections and national consciousness. Pratt's essay bounces the older tradition of T. C. Smith off the later "protoindustrialization rubric" of later scholarship to better integrate the connections of political and economic thinking to the social and economic changes of the period. This approach is especially fruitful when both Marceau and Pratt relate commercial culture and popular literature. Nosco's look at intellectual trends follows examination of Ogyu Sorai, Motoori Norinaga, popular neo-Confucianism, and other schools of thought with a succinct discussion of their use by Maruyama Masao and others to prove or disprove the incipient Japanese modernity. In all, part 2 impressively highlights the creativity of recent work. Dozens of dissertations remain in these sources. If part 2 ostensibly laid modernization theory to rest, part 3 shows that, in discussions of Japan as a modern state, the old debates still pack some punch. James L. Huffman's extensive essay on the shift in Meiji studies from a "traditional account" (p. 140) to questions of "power" and Stephen S. Large's contribution on Japanese authoritarianism take some issue with recent trends. Huffman welcomes the turn to "every-dayness," but he prefers Susan Hanley's...

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone ‐ by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

<i>Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone</i> ‐ by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

The Emperor Jahangir and the Pursuit of Pleasure

The Mughal emperors of India were remarkably mobile kings, inspiring modern historians to describe their imperial court culture as ‘peripatetic’. While the Mughals were not immune to the impulse to construct massive urban architect, no Mughal city, no matter how splendid, innovative, accessible or enlightened, remained the imperial centre for long. Through generations of Mughal rule in India, the political relevance of Mughal imperial cities continued to be very limited; it was physical mobility which remained at the centre of Mughal imperial court life and, for much of the Mughal period, the imperial court was encapsulated in the physical presence of the king.

Еженедельные Праздники, Дни Господские И Царские: Время Отдыха Российского Горожанина Второй Половины XIX – Начала XX вв.

SUMMARY: This article examines the history of the Russian holiday calendar from the imperial post-reform era to the early Soviet period. Svetlana Malycheva argues that contrary to the western European practice of negotiations between employers and their employees and strong traditions of urban culture, in the Russian Empire the major impetus toward modernization and universalization of the holiday calendar came from the top. Many different groups of the urban population responded to state attempts to universalize the official holiday calendar by lobbying for their confessional and social interests and, at the same time, by reforming traditional confessional and local patterns of rest to make them fit into a common empire-wide system of holidays. The official imperial holiday calendar was based on the Orthodox calendar and dynastic universalism. At the same time, it never became mandatory for all subjects of the Empire and dynamics of universalizing versus particularistic tendencies remained central in the process of reforming imperial urban life. In the late nineteenth century, the city itself became an important locus of horizontal dialogue between different groups of urban dwellers about their calendars of holidays and rest. The first part of the article deals with government laws regulating holiday calendars of the imperial subjects. The second part is a case-study of a region in central Russia. The author investigates negotiations of different groups of the urban population with government officials about their rights to observe local and religious holidays and days of rest. In conclusion, the author shows that the imperial dynamics of universalism and particularism survived into the early Soviet period and were reconsidered only in the early 1930s in the course of the anti-religious campaign.

Revelation's Visionary Challenge to Ordinary Empire

Revelation addresses the ordinary challenges facing Christians under Roman rule, rather than speaking only to those enduring a time of terror. Some of the readers were struggling, but others were affluent and complacent. The book's visions seek to alter the way they see the political, religious, and economic dimensions of imperial life and to call them to renewed faithfulness to God and the Lamb.

Some Remarks on a Tenth-Century Paraphrase of the “Epitome de Caesaribus”1

This article analyses several passages from a tenth-century paraphrase of the Epitome de Caesaribus, an anonymous and epitomized collection of imperial lives originally produced around the year 400. The analysis shows that among the many textual changes of linguistic, stylistic and ideological nature, errors did also occur during the rewriting process. The author explores some possible approaches to these passages.

Письма Почтальона: Дистанционная Интимность и Семейная Жизнь Индийских Колонизаторов

SUMMARY: The article by Elizabeth Buettner investigates intimate life of “empire families” in British India as an expression and a formative area of British colonialism. The first part of the article examines intimate life and behavioral practices of British families whose imperial lives more or less accorded with what were commonly asserted to be standard forms of behavior. In the second part Buettner argues that paying attention to a broader colonial social spectrum – groups which, because of their lower status, are only gradually receiving the historical scrutiny they deserve – enables the wider meanings and importance of family practices to imperial rule to be rendered fully comprehensible. There she focuses on “empire families” whose life not wholly corresponded with standard assumptions, showing how much scholars have to gain through comparing different kinds of Raj family histories. The article is based on close reading of family letters which simultaneously reflected, enhanced, and created forms of long-distance intimacy, illustrating the realities and implications of family separation, the meanings of the divide between metropole and colony, and how this was bridged. When written during the interwar years, they attested to family attachments, helping ensure these were not severed across the twin expanses of time and space. Equally important, they also helped families maintain a British, or “European,” identity via direct communications with the metropole - both with the people they knew residing at home, and with “home” more broadly construed. Members of India’s diverse colonial community thereby maintained a direct connection with the colonizing power – with the heart of the empire – that was empowering on racial, socio-economic, and cultural levels. Buettner shows that long after these letters were written, posted, received, and read, they could survive to provide an enduring material testament to the ways Britons experienced their nation’s overseas presence.

“There Was No Plan”: An Interview with Rajiv Chandrasekaran

The George W. Bush administration’s doctrines of preemption and democratization through military action have been much debated. Discussants have included former members of the military, students of international relations and diplomacy, philosophers, and legal theorists, to name a few. Not surprisingly, the focus of these expostulations has been on the utility of hard and soft power, the international ripple effects of military action and state toppling, and the legal and moral propriety of preemption. For the most part, public administrators have little participated in these debates. This is regrettable, for the central question nestled within any debate over public policy is the question of plausibility. Can this policy be executed successfully? The governance challenges in postconflict states are profound. Who should rule? How should the state be reconstructed? What administrative structures should be erected? Who should staff government offices and bureaucracies, and what principles should guide them? If preemption and democratization are to succeed, then these questions must be answered. Rajiv Chandrasekaran is an assistant managing editor of the Washington Post. His book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone (Alfred A. Knopf, 2006) is an examination of the Coalition Provisional Authority that governed Iraq from April 2003 through June 2004. Mr. Chandrasekaran has served as the journalist in residence for the International Reporting Project at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies and as a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C. In March 2007, Mr. Chandrasekaran was interviewed by Kevin Kosar on behalf of the Public Administration Review.

Edge of Empire: Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East, 1750?1850, by Maya Jasanoff andThe Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj, by David Gilmore

Reviewed by: Edge of Empire: Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East, 1750–1850, and: The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj A. Martin Wainwright (bio) Edge of Empire: Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East, 1750–1850, by Maya Jasanoff; pp. ix + 404. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005, $27.95. The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj, by David Gilmour; pp. xxviii + 381. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005, $27.00. These recent books call into question postcolonial critique, particularly when it adopts too stereotypical a view of Britons in their relationship with the societies of Asia and Africa. Both Maya Jasanoff and David Gilmour argue against such extremes of postcolonial scholarship, but the former does so more effectively and originally than the latter. [End Page 555] In Edge of Empire: Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East, 1750–1850, Jasanoff focuses on "collecting" as a form of encounter between East and West. Much of her work is quite original, delving into a variety of government records, museum catalogs, diaries, and the collected artifacts themselves. Even more original, however, is her analysis of this process as a metaphor for the acquisition of territories. Beginning with the British East India Company's acquisition of Bengal, Jasanoff follows collectors' careers in the emerging Raj. As she approaches 1800, her focus shifts—along with the focus of Britain's wars with France—to Egypt. At first glance, this shift is a bit jarring. Why does Jasanoff move between India and Egypt in the middle of her book rather than focus exclusively on one country? This change of geographic focus makes sense, however, in the context of her theme of collection as a metaphor for imperialism. Central to this theme is Jasanoff's assertion that Britain's imperial expansion was not a "project" so much as a strategic response to the rivalry with France. The historical evidence for this claim is abundant, from François Dupleix's involvement in Hyderabad in the 1740s to Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798. For Jasanoff, imperial expansion was a more coherent affair than the "fit of absence of mind," described by J. R. Seeley. In fact, her view of this process is reminiscent of Ronald Robinson, John Gallagher, and Alice Denny's in Africa and the Victorians (1961), in marked contrast to postcolonial scholars who have often depicted imperialism as a concerted policy arising mainly out of racism, greed, or both. Just as Jasanoff rejects the notion of an "imperial project" in empire-building, so she does also in collecting. In this regard she draws a sharp distinction between her approach and the method that Edward Said pioneered in Orientalism (1978). Although most of her collectors were agents of imperial armies or bureaucracies, their primary purpose in collecting was often "[p]lain curiosity" (64) rather than imperial expansion. As children of the Enlightenment, their motives were often aesthetic and intellectual. For Jasanoff, evidence of such aesthetic priorities can be found even in the family of the conqueror of Bengal, Robert Clive, whose son, Edward, served as governor of Madras. Both men were avid collectors of material culture, but so were the women of Edward's family. Four of them, led by Lady Henrietta Clive, undertook a grand tour of southern India in 1800, collecting flora, fauna, weapons, and porcelain. Jasanoff's analysis of this episode is instructive because rather than emphasize disparities of power, she focuses on the personal. Lady Clive's pattern of collection reflected her class, as a member of the aristocracy; her political position, as the governor's wife; her gender, since the collection of plants and animals remained primarily the province of women at the time; and most of all it reflected her recent family history. This emphasis on personal, rather than political, motives follows Jasanoff's shift in focus to Egypt, perhaps the most famous site of British archaeological loot. Regarding the collecting rivalry between Henry Salt, the British consul in Egypt, and Bernardino Drovetti, the French vice-consul (of Italian birth and upbringing), the author explains: "For Henry Salt, collecting antiquities was to be a way of attaining social prominence in Britain; for...

The ruling caste: imperial lives in the Victorian Raj

The ruling caste: imperial lives in the Victorian Raj

The Imperial Idea: Ideas of Honor in British India

The Imperial Idea: Ideas of Honor in British India Steven Patterson Studies of the British Empire have always had to deal with the ambiguity of the term empire and the somewhat amorphous nature of the system built by England to administer its scattered possessions. Although the empire was held together by various means, few imperialists during the apogee of empire in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century questioned the benefits of British dominion over palm and pine, and even if methods of rule may have differed greatly throughout the empire, the British generally sought to impose rule that was more regular and more defined than the perceived inferiority of “native” rule.1 Yet, for all the various methods of coercion and rule employed in ruling the empire, at least one common thread of imperial thought could be found wherever one traveled in the Empire. Most simply, the superiority of British institutions and customs was rarely publicly questioned, at least not by those who served in an official capacity.2 Individually, imperialists of all classes almost always had more power than Britons back home of equal rank, and imperial lives, with their heightened sense of power, seemed to be much more dramatic because of this superiority, which was itself dutifully cloaked in Kiplingesque terms of the burden of ruling others fairly for little reward. Because of this almost autocratic power, and the apparent predisposition of many “natives” towards hero worship, one of the greatest imperial temptations was the individual tendency towards despotism, which ran against the increasing liberty of hundreds of years of English history. Yet, failure to preserve one’s authority was the gravest of imperial sins, and for small communities of Britons living abroad, especially in British India after 1857, the tendency was towards a homogenous culture always wary of another revolt, a feeling that bound the “aliens under one sky” together for the sanctity of the Raj. Power therefore had to be embraced in ways that were not too “nakedly illiberal,”3 using methods that preserved the somewhat delicate balance of ruling others despotically while still claiming to be morally superior. Yet, what was the basis of this superiority? Where did this perceived superiority spring from and what was its foundation? How was it learned and maintained? What was the danger in abandoning or changing such a belief? Who could claim imperial power based on such notions of supremacy and who could not? How much of this power rested solely with the British and how much could be shared? The answers to these questions are not straightforward, to the degree that they are answerable at all, but this sense of superiority was keenly felt by Britons ruling abroad during the late Victorian and Edwardian era, especially in the area that is the focus of this paper, British India. By definition, empires are built and maintained by superiority, notions of which are carefully cultivated in as many different realms as possible, including political, economic, cultural, and martial. Consequently, studies of empire must account for the basis of the superiority of British institutions—both perceived and real—since empires rely on an unequal distribution of power, and the Raj was no exception to the rule. While the wielding of power has long been a concern of both imperialists and imperial historians, until recently power has been measured in political, military and economic terms.4 More recent approaches to empire focus on social and cultural power and the microprocesses of everyday rule, but as Dane Kennedy shrewdly points out, all approaches to empire must take into account the systematic effort by the British to “impose their will on other peoples.”5 Power is never employed without emotion, and Anglo-Indians6 spent much energy trying to convince Indians, the British back home, the rest of the world, and even themselves, that the interests of the subcontinent were best served by the Anglo-Indian rule. Like a suitor continually wooing his prize, the Raj sought to proclaim its honorable intentions toward the subcontinent and that the relationship could be beneficial for both societies. Like most relationships, however, there was a stronger and weaker partner, and the sense of superiority found outlets...

Postcards from the Raj

ABSTRACT Patterson's article explores aspects of British identity as they relate to depictions of Britons and Indians on postcards during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He argues that these were not innocuous ‘comic’ pieces, as they were intended to be seen at the time, but rather were integrally linked to the justification of the Raj, since they emphasize the civilizing mission of empire and the ‘backwards’ nature of India. Nearly all aspects of imperial life, whether running the bungalow, dispensing justice or even travelling by train, required the British to maintain an imperial façade of control and an aura of invincibility. Part of this process required the British to depict Indians as incapable of self-rule, and the postcards depict the British as natural overlords of India, born ‘booted and spurred’ to rule, while Indians are portrayed ‘saddled and bridled’. Indians then, due to their ‘Oriental nature’, are portrayed as too lazy, too effeminate or too dishonest to run their own country effectively. Another theme that can be explicated through the postcards is that of masculinity. By constantly posing as a more masculine and worthy race, the British laid down an entire grid of civilization in which they could be the only legitimate rulers. This aspect of the White Man's Burden further bolstered and perpetuated the masculine authority of the Raj, and the postcards became a key component linking empire and metropole for the re-export of imperial ideology to Britain.

Forgotten empire: the world of ancient Persia

This sumptuous book traces the rise and fall of one of the ancient world's largest and richest empires. Encompassing a rich diversity of different people and cultures, Persia's Achaeminid flourished between 550 and 331 B.C. The empire originated with Cyrus the Great (559-530 B.C.) and expanded under his successors, who ruled from the royal capitals of Susa and Persepolis, until at its peak it stretched from the Indus Valley to Greece and from the Caspian Sea to Egypt. The Achaeminids acted as a bridge between the earlier Near Eastern cultures and the later Classical world of the Mediterranean and had a profound influence on Greece in political, military, economic, and cultural fields. Forgotten Empire was created in association with the British Museum, which is mounting the most comprehensive exhibit ever staged on the Achaeminids. This book opens a window onto the wealth and splendor of Persian society - its rich palaces, exquisite craftsmanship, and sophisticated learning. Showcasing an unprecedented loan of unique material from the National Museum of Tehran - most of which has never before been presented outside of Iran - this beautifully illustrated and produced book demonstrates why the sculpture, glazed panels, gold vessels, and jewelry of the Achaeminids rank among the finest ever produced. Because the palace was central to imperial life, remains from the royal sites of Susa and Persepolis are a major focus. Forgotten Empire is divided into sections such as the expansion of the Persian Empire, arms and warfare, trade and commerce, writing, luxury dinner services, jewelry, religious and burial customs, and the rediscovery of ancient Persia.

The sweet sound of cultures clashing

For over a decade, the ensemble xviii-21 Musique des Lumières has made a speciality of transcending cultural barriers. Under the direction of Jean-Christophe Frisch in collaboration with the ethnomusicologist François Picard, the group has embarked on a series of fascinating recordings that explore musical life in 17th and 18th-century China. Reflective of this entire milieu, in which hundreds of European missionaries pursued their religious goals despite difficulties and often severe imperial punishment, music is presented here with an admirable sense of risk and high adventure, for a worthy cause. In their desires to please the court and so maintain hard-won permission to convert the Chinese to Christianity, the missionaries' world became closely entwined with imperial life. The late Ming and early Qing emperors highly valued and utilized their skills, especially in the areas of military strategy, diplomacy, astronomy and the arts. The emperor Kangxi particularly loved music, but was also capable of ordering the beating and imprisonment of a favoured musician. House arrests were not uncommon. Meanwhile, the building of churches and conversion of the Chinese continued to progress. Music, both western and Chinese, played an enormous role in that effort.

Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China - The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle Class Parents are Going Broke - The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the British Raj - Population Pressure and Cultural Adjustment

Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China - The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle Class Parents are Going Broke - The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the British Raj - Population Pressure and Cultural Adjustment

The Long Recessional: The Imperial Life of Rudyard Kipling (review)

Long unpopular in academic circles, Kipling's reputation has undergone a sea change since 9/11 provoked American sabre rattling, and David [End Page 582] Gilmour could not have picked a better time to publish his latest work, The Long Recessional: The Imperial Life of Rudyard Kipling, a sympathetic look at the British Empire's best known and possibly most prescient apologist. As Gilmour points out in his readable and well-informed biography, Kipling prophesied the Hindu-Muslim butchery in an independent India and the racism of a Boer South Africa, both of which he felt the British Empire's benevolent paternalism could have prevented, and cautioned an indifferent England that Germany would soon prove a vicious enemy.

Development of Caissassurance in Quebec

Desjardins Financial Security is the new life and health insurer of the Desjardins Group. A result of the merger between Desjardins-Laurentian Life Assurance and Imperial Life, our company is the largest life and health insurance company in Quebec and among the top ten in Canada. We are also one of the rare insurers that distribute products using several different distribution methods, including caissassurance. Bancassurance consists of a range of financial and insurance services made available to the customers of deposit and lending institutions. At Desjardins Financial Security, we refer to it as ‘‘caissassurance’’since it meets the needs of the members of the Desjardins caisses. We are the pioneers in our market, and I would like to briefly discuss our nearly 50 years of experience in this area. The idea of providing caisse members with insurance products designed especially for them is part of the origins of our company. Senior management of the Desjardins Group wanted to broaden their loan and savings offer to include insurance coverage. And so the creation of a property and casualty insurance company in 1944 enabled the caisses to offer members who took out a mortgage loan to insure their property against fire. This way, both the member and the creditor were covered. The next phase consisted in providing caisse members and their families with life insurance, through the establishment of a life insurance company in 1948. The emergence of caissassurance, however, is meeting opposition from competitive life insurers who are contesting the right of caisse employees to sell individual insurance products. In 1954, Desjardins Life Assurance started offering their first insurance product to its caisses and their members: a group loan insurance plan, as authorized under legislation. The caisses take out the group insurance plan in the same way an association or a company does, and then offers the various benefits of the plan to their members or employees. Bringing our products into line with members’ needs and integrating the insurance offer into the caisses’s service offer is caissassurance’s most critical success factor. Today, Desjardins Financial Security’s loan insurance plan is ranking it first in Canada and third in North America. Over the years, we have designed life and health insurance products and services to meet specific insurance needs. The range of products now available to caisse members by way of the group plan authorized under legislation includes loan, savings, accident and travel insurance, to name but a few. The enactment in 1999 of the Act respecting the distribution of financial products and