Is Venezuela Hinting at U.S. Claims Over Canada?

| Print Post This | Like (0) | Comments (5)

"FIFTY-FOUR FORTY OR FIGHT!" Those of you who paid attention in high school history class will remember that slogan was a key part of the 1844 presidential campaign of James K. Polk. It referred to the line of latitude the U.S. sought as its border with Canada, and what Polk thought Americans ought to do if Canada's British rulers didn't accede to the demand.

The Treaty of Oregon eventually settled the border between the United States and British Canada at the 49th parallel, well to the south of Polk's campaign declaration.

But if you look at today's New York Times, it appears that Venezuela's state controlled oil company, Citgo, is suggesting that the United States already controls much of Canada. An ad on page A10 of the national edition — which trumpets Citgo's $4 million in goodwill grants to community organizations in the New York City borough of the Bronx — has the border drawn somewhere only imagined in Polk's dreams, taking in most of Canada's provinces. Sadly, Canada is only left with Newfoundland, northern Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory.

Is it a minor geographic oversight? Seems likely. But remember that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is a man of details. In 2006, under direction from Chavez, the Venezuelan coat of arms was changed so a horse that had been riding toward the right was turned to face left. Also, an additional star was added to Venezuelan flag to recognize the nation's eighth province, Guyana — a neighboring nation whose independence isn't recognized by Venezuela.

The Citgo map does not include Guyana within Venezuela's border. But the eighth in a line of stars linking the Bolivarian Republic with the United States lands squarely in the former Canadian province of New Brunswick. Hmmm ...

» "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!" [About]

EARLIER:
» "New Venezuela Flag Divides Nation" [BBC]
» "Gesture From Venezuela Heats the Bronx" [NYT]