Kingdom Myth: History and Christian Europeans

kingdom myth: In fact, f oundation myths are the primary organizing myths of nations, says Brock University history professor Joanne Wright, because they establish a common history, a common origin, a national identity . and sanctify an imaginary beginning to the nation . 1In Canada's case, the age-old Peaceable Kingdom myth is built on the bedrock of creation stories that celebrate those brave explorers who led the way for European conquest, according to Rabble. The history of these symbolic heroes, says University of Guelph history professor Alan Gordon, is used to legitimize the possession of North America by Christian Europeans. Published by the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade COAT .by Richard Sanders View as PDFCreation myths are as important to the formation of nationalist cults as they are to formulating the identity of religious groups. Despite what Gordon calls the specious logic inherent in such claims, the narrative of these founding fathers provides a binding social myth and strengthens the bond of brotherhood that nationals are supposed to feel for one another. 2The business of constructing Canada's pantheon of mythic founders was aided in 1911 when the national archives published what it called the chief manuscript sources of the earliest history of Canada. 3 This, it said, brought together for the first time key documents about the European navigators who supposedly discovered Canada between 1497 and 1534. This official document resurfaced Cabot, and other founding European mariners, at a pivotal point in Canada's naval history. This Government of Canada publication exemplified the definitive process that Gordon described asreinvigorating and repackaging real historical people in order to fit them for the needs of the present in a continuous negotiation between history and politics.4For instance, virtually every page of this 1911 book on The Early History of the Dominion of Canada, was awash in references to the importance of seagoing ships in the creation and development of Canada as a nation. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.