Brawling Bytown
While privately organized social and community groups helped foster a sense of order and stability in the growing Bytown community, they also reinforced cultural differences between groups. The tension between these groups, who were eager to defend their culture, often led to violent confrontations when jobs or honour were at stake. This tension contributed to making Bytown an extremely dangerous place in its formative years. In a letter, one civil servant noted: “There is not an Evening passes – not even the Sabbath day excepted – wherein there is not a riot and general fighting.” It was the impoverished working-class Irish who were generally held responsible for the disruption of the peace, though it is uncertain whether such accusations were based on fact or on negative cultural stereotypes. As voting rights were extended only to property owners, violence was often the only way that the poorest immigrants and most victimized groups could defend themselves or seek change. Unfortunately, this situation did little to soften stereotypes or promote peace and understanding between warring factions of the community.
