This is provocative, entertaining viewing for all Canadians. Up for Grabs takes us from the raw beauty of geography and native settlement, to the smoke stacked Toronto of post Confederation.
European history begins with the French and English jabbing their flags into Toronto's flank.
Governor John Simcoe founds York in 1793, then abolishes slavery. Black Americans, Loyalists, Germans, and British immigrants carve out roads and businesses. Toronto's first brothel keeper is put into stocks. Ten years later, the Irish famine spits out thousands of refugees - Catholics who startle the Protestant town. Order and tolerance keeps the place from exploding.