COUNT D' ESTERHAZY AND THE ESTERHAZ-KAPOSVAR HUNGARIAN COLONY IN WESTERN CANADA

Nagy explores the legacy of an enigmatic Canadian pioneer in this debut nonfiction work.

Once dubbed “Little Hungary on the Canadian Prairies,” Western Canada’s Esterhaz Colony and Kaposvar District share a rich history dating back to the late 19th century. While Saskatchewan’s government archives and academic libraries have ample primary source material on the subject, the region’s history textbooks and scholarly monographs often mention Hungarian immigration only as part of a larger narrative. Seeking to fill this historiographic void, the author provides a comprehensive history of the region and its founder, Count Paul O. d’Esterhazy. The book begins with a general history of 19th-century Hungarians, with a particular focus on the motivations behind westward migration, from internal political strife within the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the lure of Canada’s emerging agriculture-based economy, which offered a welcoming environment to European immigrants. Before founding Hungarian settlements in Canada, Count Paul O. d’Esterhazy (who was born Janos Packh) lived a fascinating life that included the murder of his father, exile to the Ottoman Empire following the Hungarian Revolution, and service with the British Army in South Africa, India, and the West Indies. While chronicling the exciting biography of d’Esterhazy, Nagy also revels in the minutiae of 19th-century Canadian bureaucracy, from immigration agencies to land grant surveys. While much of the emphasis is on d’Esterhazy, this is really a book about Western Canada’s Hungarian population writ large, concluding with the cultural and economic impact of Hungarian immigrants well into the 20th century. The author demonstrates a firm grasp on both the archival and secondary literature on the topic; the text is accompanied by almost 500 scholarly footnotes. As the descendant of Hungarian immigrants to the Esterhaz Colony in 1888, with family who still farms land originally settled by his predecessors, Nagy balances his scholarship with a passionate writing style that is engaging (if at times hagiographic).

A well-researched history of an underexamined aspect of Canadian history.