John Richardson (4 October 1796 – 12 May 1852) was a Canadian officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

who became the first Canadian-born novelist to achieve international recognition.

Life

Richardson was born at Fort George or in

Queenston Queenston is a compact rural community and unincorporated place north of Niagara Falls in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Highway 405 to the south and the Niagara River to the east; its location at the eponym ...

on the

Niagara River The Niagara River ( ) flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce T ...

in 1796. His mother Madelaine was the daughter of the fur trader

John Askin Lieutenant-Colonel John Askin (1739 – 1815) was an Irish-born merchant and militia officer who was instrumental in the establishment of British rule in Upper Canada. Early years John Askin was born in Aughnacloy, County Tyrone in 1739; his ...

and an

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long prec ...

woman Monette. His father, Dr. Robert Richardson, was a surgeon with the

Queen's Rangers The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalists fighting in the American Revolution, Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War that specialized in cavalry tactics, clo ...

. As a young boy, Richardson lived for a time with his grandparents in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and later with his parents at

Fort Malden Fort Malden, formally known as Fort Amherstburg, is a defence fortification located in Amherstburg, Ontario. It was built in 1795 by Great Britain in order to ensure the security of British North America against any potential threat of Americ ...

Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town ...

. His step-mother, Marie Archange Barthe, told him of stories about early Detroit and the

Siege of Fort Detroit The siege of Fort Detroit was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt by Indigenous peoples of the Americas#North America, North American Natives to capture Fort Detroit during Pontiac's Rebellion. The siege was led primarily by Pontiac (Odawa lead ...

in 1763, which inspired his interest in writing. At age 16, Richardson enlisted in the British

41st Regiment of Foot The 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1719. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881. History Early h ...

. During his service with this regiment. he met Chief

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

and Major General

Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. He is best remembered for his victory at the Siege of Detroit and his death at the Battle of Quee ...

, whom he later wrote about in his novel '' The Canadian Brothers''. While stationed at Fort Malden during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, Richardson witnessed the execution of an American prisoner by Indigenous forces at the

River Raisin The River Raisin (, 'River of Sturgeon') is a river in southeast Michigan, United States, that flows in a generally easterly direction through Ice age, glacial sediments before emptying into Lake Erie. The River Raisin drainage basin covers app ...

, a traumatic experience which haunted him for the rest of his life. During the

, Richardson was imprisoned for a year in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

United States after his capture during the battle of Moraviantown. Richardson was commissioned into the 8th Foot in 1813, exchanged into the 2nd Foot in 1816 and transferred to the

92nd Foot The 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1794. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gordon Highlanders in 1881. History Forma ...

in 1818. His later military service took him to England and, for two years, to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. While in the West Indies, Richardson was appalled by the treatment of slaves there. Richardson stated that his mixed racial background made him uneasy with his fellow officers in the West Indies. This is surprising given the stereotypical and racist treatment of

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

people in his novels. Although Richardson's most savage characters, Wacousta in the novel '' Wacousta'' (1832) and Desborough in ''The Canadian Brothers'' (1840), are in fact white men who have turned "savage," his depiction of other Indigenous characters typically affirms a European settler perspective that envisions Indigenous people as pre-modern, irrational, and innately warlike. Richardson began his fiction-writing career with novels about the British and French societies of his time. In his third and most successful novel, ''Wacousta'', he turned to the North American

frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

for his setting and history. He followed the same practice in the sequel, ''The Canadian Brothers''. From 1820 to 1827 he lived in Paris and traveled throughout Europe, as he spoke fluent French, according to David Beasley. He returned to London in the fall of 1827. David Beasley has identified him as the anonymous author of ''The Roué; or The Hazards of Women,'' ''The Oxonians: A Glance at Society'', and ''Écarté; or the Salons of Paris.'' In 1838, after fighting with the British during the Spanish

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

, Richardson returned to Canada from England, promoted to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. He tried to earn his livelihood by writing fiction and by setting up a series of weekly newspapers. He was appointed superintendent of the police on the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller, Ontario, Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lak ...

in 1845, but was fired the next year. In 1849 Richardson moved to New York City, where he continued to write fiction. However, his attempts to build a literary career in the US failed. John Richardson died (supposedly of starvation) in New York City in 1852. He was buried in the paupers' cemetery in New York; his grave site is unknown.

References

External links

* * *
John Richardson's
entry in

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, John 1796 births 1852 deaths British Army personnel of the War of 1812 Canadian male novelists King's Regiment (Liverpool) officers Queen's Royal Regiment officers Gordon Highlanders officers War of 1812 prisoners of war held by the United States 41st Regiment of Foot officers People from Niagara-on-the-Lake Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Canadian prisoners of war 19th-century Canadian novelists Deaths by starvation

Life

References

Further reading

External links