President John F. Kennedy’s announcement, on Monday 22 October 1962, that there were offensive missiles on the island of Cuba began the public phase of what would be remembered as the Cuban missile crisis. This Cold War crisis had ramifications in many other countries than just the Soviet Union and the United States. Due to the danger involved in this nuclear confrontation, the entire globe was threatened. If either side lost control of negotiations, an atomic war could have broken out which would have decimated the planet. As the direct northern neighbors of the United States and partners in continental defence, Canadians experienced and understood the Cuban missile crisis in the context of larger issues. In many ways, Canadian and American reactions to the crisis were similar. Many citizens stocked up their pantries, read the newspapers, protested, or worried that the politicians would make a mistake and set off a war. However, this dissertation argues that English Canadians experienced the crisis on another level as well. In public debate and print sources, many debated what the crisis meant for Canadian-Cuban relations, Canadian-American relations and Canada’s place in the world. Examining these print and archival sources, this dissertation analyzes the contour of public debate during the crisis, uniting that debate with the actions of politicians. Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker hesitated for two days before making a statement which fully committed Canada to a position which supported the American quarantine of Cuba, and shortly after the crisis, was defeated at the polls. This dissertation argues that understanding the Canadian reaction to and experience of the Cuban missile crisis necessitates an understanding of how different Canadians talked about and understood the actions of their leaders. The shifting terrain of memory also serves to demonstrate the manner in which this history is told and remembered in Canada. This dissertation, therefore, examines the intersections between this Cold War confrontation and Canadian identity in the postwar period. / Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2011-12-23 09:01:36.5

Durant la première moitié du XVIIIe siècle, en Espagne, tout particulièrement à Madrid, principal lieu de résidence de la Cour et capitale du royaume, divers facteurs historiques, culturels et artistiques engendrèrent une évolution de la profession de comédienne vers une spécialisation lyrique.Dans chaque compagnie, le nombre de comédiennes-chanteuses augmenta régulièrement, les attributions de chacune (fonction ou emploi) se précisant peu à peu jusqu’à l’interprétation exclusive de drames en musique en espagnol. Aussi, la place principale que l’on attribua désormais aux comédiennes-chanteuses modifia-t-elle leur existence, leur formation et l’exercice de leur métier. D’autre part, la présence d’interprètes lyriques italiens à Madrid entre 1737 et 1759 réorienta l’évolution des fonctions des chanteuses espagnoles.Dans une perspective historique et sociale centrée sur la période 1700-1767, cette étude considère tout d’abord les origines et la vie privée de ces artistes dans la Villa y Corte, puis les différents aspects de leur vie professionnelle, enfin leur place dans la société madrilène et plus largement espagnole, ainsi que le regard porté sur elles par leurs contemporains. / During the first half of the XVIIIth century in Spain, particularly in Madrid, principal place of residence of the Court and capital of the Kingdom, various historical, cultural and artistic factors engendered an evolution of the profession of comedienne towards a more specialized lyrical interpretation.In each company, the number of comedienne-singers regularly increased, their remit becoming little by little more defined, until they reached the exclusive stage of interpreting musical dramatizations in Spanish. Consequently, the new position attributed from then on to the comediennes-singers altered their existence, their training and the practice of their art. Moreover, the presence of Italian opera singers in Madrid between 1737 and 1759 re-oriented the evolution of the role of Spanish singers.In a historical and social perspective focused on the period 1700-1767, this study considers initially the origins and private life of these artists in the Villa y Corte, then the different aspects of their professional life and finally their position in the Madrid society and, more widely, in the Spanish society, as well as the way they were considered by their contemporaries.