Madelaine Drohan
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mdrohan.bsky.social
Madelaine Drohan
@mdrohan.bsky.social
250 followers 190 following 280 posts
Author of He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin's Failure to Annex Canada (September 30, 2025.) Writer. Former foreign correspondent. Senior fellow GSPIA, University of Ottawa. Curious about how the world works.
Visit my website: madelainedrohan.org
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mdrohan.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Outrage in Mexico at Trump praise for ‘legendary’ 19th-century US invasion
The US president’s celebration of the 1847 conquest draws fury from Mexican leaders over ‘imperialist tone’
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:42 PM
mdrohan.bsky.social
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 @dundurnpress@twitter.piriklub.eu
In Conversation with Stephen Harper and Jean Chrétien – February 2, 2026
At a ceremony in Ottawa, former prime minister Stephen Harper receives a gold medal from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) in recognition of his career in public service. Following the ...
www.cpac.ca
February 3, 2026 at 2:50 AM
mdrohan.bsky.social
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
champlainsociety.utppublishing.com
January 28, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Madelaine Drohan
ravenspoint.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...
January 27, 2026 at 6:42 PM
mdrohan.bsky.social
My take on the historical aspects of the prime minister’s Quebec speech.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #cdaus @dundurnpress.bsky.social
Opinion: Carney picks the wrong battle in Quebec City
Another historic confrontation is more perfectly suited to this moment — the defeat of American invaders in 1775 by combined forces.
montrealgazette.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM
mdrohan.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
A portrait of a corpulent gentleman in the 18th century. His grey hair is tied back with a black bow. He is wearing a black jacket and a white neckerchief. He is seated at a table and holding a piece of paper in his hand. His expression is serious.
January 27, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Madelaine Drohan
vulgarhistory.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...
January 24, 2026 at 7:55 PM
mdrohan.bsky.social
Notice something missing from this chronology of the American Revolution in a commemorative edition put out by Time magazine?

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books
Image shows a two-page spread in a commemorative issue of Time magazine of the major events in the American Revolution. It begins in April 1775 with the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord and ends in April 1789 with the inauguration of George Washington. It does not include the invasion by the Americans of the British colony of Canada, which began in September 1775 and ended in failure.
January 23, 2026 at 1:08 PM
mdrohan.bsky.social
#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.
Image of two faces of a Spanish silver dollar from 1740. The coins appear slightly copper coloured. One side shows three crowns, with the date 1740. The other is a coat of arms with the initials MF beside it.
January 20, 2026 at 8:21 PM
mdrohan.bsky.social
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
January 20, 2026 at 12:26 PM
mdrohan.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
Black and white etching made to appear old-fashioned of Benjamin Franklin with a birthday cake in front of him. He is wearing spectacles and is pursing his lips.
January 17, 2026 at 1:54 PM
mdrohan.bsky.social
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
America’s Roots are Showing with its Threat to Greenland – Centre for International Policy Studies
Canada's leading centre for analysis and debate of international affairs.
www.cips-cepi.ca
January 14, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by Madelaine Drohan
cepi-cips.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.
January 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Madelaine Drohan
cepi-cips.bsky.social
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...
January 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Madelaine Drohan
ediparolev.bsky.social
“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.”
Uruguay’s Renewable Charge: A Small Nation, A Big Lesson For The World
Uruguay built a power grid that runs 99% on renewables—at half the cost of fossil fuels. Here’s how its bold energy overhaul became a global model.
www.forbes.com
January 10, 2026 at 8:29 AM
mdrohan.bsky.social
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
Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System | International Organization | Cambridge Core
Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System - Volume 79 Issue S1
www.cambridge.org
January 9, 2026 at 12:42 AM
mdrohan.bsky.social
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
Rubio Tells Lawmakers Trump Wants to Buy Greenland
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 7:42 PM
mdrohan.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.
Black and white engraving of David Wooster, a general in the Continental Army in 1776. He is wearing a tricorn hat and an army jacket. He has a buttoned waistcoat and is holding what looks like a sceptre. The writing below the engraving identifies him by name. There are German words underneath.
January 6, 2026 at 2:59 PM
mdrohan.bsky.social
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
Opinion: We need to prepare for the possibility that the U.S. uses military coercion against Canada
After the capture of Venezuela’s president and Trump’s musing about Greenland, Canada must prepare for the worst-case scenario
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 6, 2026 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by Madelaine Drohan
vulgarhistory.bsky.social
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
January 5, 2026 at 5:36 PM
mdrohan.bsky.social
#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
Black and white photo of the snowy cliff at Pres-de-Ville in Quebec City. A plaque embedded in the cliff shows where Richard Montgomery, the general leading the 1775-76 American invasion of Canada, fell on December 31, 1775. There is a snow-covered road at the base of the cliff, lined with telephone poles. To the right are a few buildings and a fence.
January 1, 2026 at 4:02 PM
mdrohan.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
The forgotten history of how Benjamin Franklin tried to annex Canada
Donald Trump is not the first American to want to possess Canada. At the very birth of the U.S., Benjamin Franklin pushed that same agenda.
nationalpost.com
December 31, 2025 at 10:40 PM
mdrohan.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.
Opinion: Canada must remember its defeat of the Americans in 1775
If we remembered this foundational event better, we would be better equipped to respond to our current moment
www.theglobeandmail.com
December 31, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Reposted by Madelaine Drohan
250yearsagonews.bsky.social
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
Quebec City
December 29, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Madelaine Drohan
cathypegau.bsky.social
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
Red sign with a white figure climbing at top. Text reads: Help an author, Leave a review.
December 23, 2025 at 7:03 PM