By April 1776, the American invasion of Canada was foundering, in part because the invaders were mistreating ordinary French Canadians. “The peasantry in general have been ill-used,” rebel officer Moses Hazen wrote #OTD April 1, 1776. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution

It delights me to no end to see my book on display in bookshops! Is it just me or does this cover stand out wildly amidst other nonfiction books (no disrespect to other nonfiction books). I took this pic at @mcnallyrobinson.com where it’s up front on a table of local bestsellers!

Worth reading.

I worry sometimes that young people might not be interested in history. That certainly wasn’t the case yesterday, when I talked about my book at Nipissing University in North Bay, ON. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution

#OTD March 20, 1776, Benjamin Franklin received official instructions from the Continental Congress on how to govern Canada. He was to travel to Montreal, then occupied by the Continental Army, and salvage the faltering American invasion. #hedidnotconquer #Canada #history #books #America250

The use of public office for private gain is corruption.

When I first started researching my book on Benjamin Franklin and Canada it seemed like a niche topic. Why would anyone care than an American icon wanted to possess Canada? #hedidnotconquer #CIHE #canada #history #books #cdaus @revwar250.bsky.social @dundurnpress.bsky.social

Did Benjamin Franklin do Canadians a favour by insisting Britain keep it instead of Guadeloupe after the French and Indian War? That was one of the interesting questions posed last night when I talked about my book to the officers and guests of the Queen’s York Rangers. #canada #history #books

What a pleasure to talk about my book to members of the Canadian International Council, Waterloo branch, last night at St. Jerome's University. An engaged and thoughtful audience! There are a lot of people to thank for making it happen. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #cdaus

Join @mdrohan.bsky.social, award-winning author as she discusses her book, He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin's Failure to Annex Canada. @stjeromesuni.bsky.social, SJ2, Rm 2002. Tuesday, March 3, 7:00 pm. Light refreshments will be served. bit.ly/sju_franklin

Donald Trump is not the first American to use trade for political ends. #OTD March 2, 1776, Benjamin Franklin and others decided to offer France access to American trade if it would support the American Revolution. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution #america250

One of the reasons the Americans failed to conquer Canada in 1775-76 was they under-estimated how hard it would be and did not allocate sufficient men, money, weapons, and provisions. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revwar250.bsky.social

#OTD February 26, 1776, the Continental Congress agreed to pay the expenses of French printer Fleury Mesplet and to give him “25 Half Joes to remove Himself, his Family and Types to Canada and there set up a free Press.” #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #montreal #quebec Dundurn Press

#OTD February 22, 1776, the commander of the American forces occupying Trois-Rivières, Quebec, wrote Benjamin Franklin, urging him to use his reputed supernatural powers to conquer Canada. #hedidnotconquere #canada #history #cdaus @revwar250.bsky.social #America250 @dundurnpress.bsky.social

Interesting article that mentions the profit motive behind ICE actions. Has anyone seen a good overview of the companies and people making money from detaining people in the US?

“The Unanimous Voice of the Continent is Canada must be ours. Quebec must be taken.” So declared John Adams in a letter sent #OTD Feb. 18, 1776, to fellow revolutionary James Warren. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #cdaus #America250 @dundurn

#OTD Feb. 15, 1776, the Continental Congress asked Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton to go to Canada to ask the French Canadians to join the American Revolution. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #cdaus @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revwar250.bsky.social

There’s an ongoing guessing game about how far in the past Trump is trying to drag the US. I argue it’s 1775, the year Americans began their revolution and invaded Canada. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history @dundurnpress.bsky.social @theglobeandmail.com

nationalpost.com/news/world/t... Trump's Gordie Howe bridge threats came after U.S. commerce secretary met with owner of rival Ambassador Bridge On Monday, Howard Lutnick met with billionaire Matthew Moroun, whose family owns the Ambassador Bridge. Following the meeting, Lutnick called Trump

Americans still thought the conquest of #Canada was possible, despite the defeat of their Continental Army at Quebec City on December 31, 1775. But they continued to face a shortage of men, money, and, crucially, gunpowder. #OTD February 11, 1776, Benjamin Franklin wrote Charles Lee, . . .

It is heartening to see two former prime ministers, from different parties, have a friendly conversation about Canadian unity in the time of Trump. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #cdaus #americanrevolution @[email protected]

Really enjoyed speaking with Larry Ostola of the Champlain Society about my book and its relevance to Canada-US relations today. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #cdaus #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revolution250.bsky.social

In 1775 the USA was still getting itself together. But already they had decided to invade a neighbor. "The newly formed 'Continental' Army ... failed because the inhabitants set aside their differences when faced with the American threat." Read all about it at www.dundurn.com/books_/t2211...

My take on the historical aspects of the prime minister’s Quebec speech. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #cdaus @dundurnpress.bsky.social

American politicians have regarded Canada as a pawn to be played in their power struggles for quite some time. 250 years to be exact. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revwar250.bsky.social

Vancouver I’m coming! Come hang out with me and celebrate my book at Iron Dog Books on Friday February 27! All the info and RSVP here: irondogbooks.com/events/44867...

Notice something missing from this chronology of the American Revolution in a commemorative edition put out by Time magazine? #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books

#OTD January 20, 1776, the Continental Congress scrambled to collect coins to send to Canada because the French Canadians refused to accept paper currency. Despite the disastrous defeat at Quebec City, delegates still thought the invasion would succeed if they could send more money and men north.

If anyone had any doubts about where Trump intends to go next, these faked photos, which MSN says Trump posted last night, make it clear. Take a look at the map showing Canada covered by the American flag. #hedidnotconquer #canada #cdaus #history #books @dundurnpress.bsky.social

Benjamin Franklin received a disappointing birthday present when he turned 70 years old #OTD January 17, 1776. He and fellow delegates to the Continental Congress learned that the Continental Army failed to take Quebec City by storm more than two weeks earlier. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history

Trump is not inventing a new foreign policy with his threats to Greenland. He’s resurrecting an approach that is 250 years old. #hedidnotconquer #canada #cdaus #history @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revwar250.bsky.social

Vous vous demandez comment interpréter les menaces de Trump de s'emparer du Groenland ? @mdrohan.bsky.social se penche sur l'histoire et sur la tentative des colons américains de s'emparer de la colonie britannique du Canada, il y a 250 ans, en utilisant la sécurité nationale comme prétexte.

Wondering what to make of Trump's threats to take Greenland? @mdrohan.bsky.social looks to history and an attempt by American colonists to capture the British colony of Canada, 250 years ago, using national security as the pretext. Read her blog here ➡️ www.cips-cepi.ca/2026/01/14/a...

“Uruguay did what most nations still call impossible: it built a power grid that runs almost entirely on renewables—at half the cost of fossil fuels. The physicist who led that transformation says the same playbook could work anywhere—if governments have the courage to change the rules.”

This paper lays out a new and scary explanation for what motivates Donald Trump. It also explores the lowly place for Canada and other countries in this new system. Well worth reading. #canada #cdaus #history

Benjamin Franklin once proposed that the United States buy Canada from Britain. This was in the autumn of 1776, after the Americans had tried and failed to conquer the British colony. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books @revwar250.bsky.social @dundurnpress.bsky.social

#OTD Jan. 6, 1776, David Wooster, the general in charge of American troops in Canada, issued a declaration that threatened any Canada who opposed the American invasion. Wooster was reacting to the disastrous failure of the Continental Army to take Quebec City on December 31.

There are a lot of lessons Canada can learn from the American invasion of 1775-1776, including that it could happen again. I wrote about that invasion in my book He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin’s Failure to Annex Canada. #hedidnotconquer #history #books

I wrote a book and it’s coming out NEXT MONTH!! REBEL OF THE REGENCY is a funny biography of Caroline of Brunswick, the British queen who, at one point, wore a pumpkin as a hat. Get all the info at rebeloftheregency.com

#OTD January 1, 1776, it was not immediately clear to the defenders of Quebec City that they had killed the general leading the American invasion of the British colony of Canada or the Province of Quebec. #canada #history #books #americanrevolution @revwar250.bsky.social @dundurnpress.bsky.social

I was pleased and surprised to see The National Post ran an interview with me today about my book. #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social

#OTD Dec. 31, 1775, the newly-formed Continental Army tried and failed to take Quebec City and with it Canada or the Province of Quebec. American troops had already taken Montreal and Trois-Rivières and only needed to capture and hold Quebec City to make Canada the 14th colony.

Dec. 29, 1775: The American army besieging Quebec City makes preparations to storm the garrison before the soldiers' enlistments are to expire in the new year. "We got the rockets all ready and some shells," records Robert Barwick, an artilleryman. 1/2

Other than buying our books, one of the BEST gifts you can give an author is to write a review and/or tell some friends about what you've read 😁 Thanks for reading!!!! #BookSky #Review

Why should Canadians care about Benjamin Franklin’s failure to annex Canada? I make the case to Antonio Michael Downing on CBC Radio’s The Next Chapter. My bit starts 10 minutes in. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... #hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social

When rumours began to spread of an American invasion of Canada in 1775, the governor of the British colony did his best to solicit the support of local First Nations at a meeting in Montreal. #OTD Dec. 20, 1775, newspaper readers in London belatedly read he had failed.

Do you have a special person on your list who is always difficult to buy for? Get my book. It puts Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state into context. #hedidnotconquer #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social

Dec. 19, 1775: The Continental Congress resolves that all merchant ships in the colonies “that shall be employed in carrying provisions or other necessaries” to the British armed forces are subject to seizure.