description: This is more than a bio about Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, although he is, in himself, a fascinating subject. He was the son of Morelos, one of the fathers of the Mexican revolution and its break with the mother country, Spain. His formative years were spent on the battlefield with his father. He established himself as a spokesman for reform although his politics moved from being a liberal to conservative to a monarchist, whatever seemed to be the best for his country's volatile situation became a general and fought against the United States at the Alamo and during the Mexican/US war. In time, he ran for the presidency of his country and represented it in diplomatic circles in the United States and various European capitals. In the process, he generated publicity for the injustices in Mexico/US relations thus his tie-in with the Lanark County, Ontario, town that took his name for its community.There, too, fears for real or perceived manifest destiny policies of the US were prevalent, as were local inequities crying out for change among some members of the family compact, England-based policies of clergy reserves and an established church. All of this culminated in 1855 when reformers in the combined towns of Victoriaville and Ramsayville in search of a new name for their merged community chose Almonte.It s a wonderful story that helps the reader better understand the many currents which influenced pre-confederation nineteenth century Canada and why in a north-eastern Ontario Scottish-Irish community, there is a town on the Mississippi River with a proud Spanish name, Almonte.
language: English
title: Almonte
titlecomplete: Almonte
characters: Juan Almonte
publisher: General Store Publishing House