113. Prize Money: Spanish Silver & the Rideau Canal

Why were local contractors building the Rideau Canal like Ottawa’s Thomas Mackay paid handsomely by the British War Office with barrels of Spanish silver coins? And learn how the debates in the British House of Commons reveal why Colonel John By did not receive the acclaim he was due in his day. By Alastair Sweeny.

Why were local contractors building the Rideau Canal like Ottawa’s Thomas Mackay paid handsomely by the British War Office with barrels of Spanish silver coins? And learn how the debates in the British House of Commons reveal why Colonel John By did not receive the acclaim he was due in his day. By Alastair Sweeny.