Keywords
Quebec, 1759, Violence, Trauma
Abstract
Ghosts of Quebec spotlights the violence and killing in the Seven Years’ War and how it exemplifies a cycle of violence perpetuated by common soldiers. In doing this, the main analysis of this essay includes modern research on violence and killing as well as psychological combat trauma at the Siege of Quebec, 1759. The present literature on the Seven Years’ War often assumes a top down approach and emphasizes the roles of leaders and politicians without engaging the combat experience of common soldiers. Research on the siege and battle for Quebec follows a comparable methodology that leaves out the story of common soldiers and analyzes the three-month siege in terms of tactics and strategy. Ghosts of Quebec takes a socio-historical approach, applying the literature on killing and psychological trauma in modern warfare to the primary documentation of British soldiers at the siege of Quebec. This essay will fill the void in the historiography of the Seven Years’ War and address the guerilla warfare waged by soldiers at Quebec in 1759 as a part of a cycle of violence driven by psychological combat trauma.
Primary Advisor
Peter Way
Program Reader
Guillaume Teasdale
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
History
Document Type
Major Research Paper