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Throughout the late 1800s, waves of immigrants came over from Europe to North America, their arrival serving a dual purpose. On the one hand, the immigrants were seeking a better life for themselves and their families. On the other hand, the Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial governments were seeking to populate their territory in a bid to maintain sovereignty over the land and to develop it for agriculture. Among these immigrants were the Hungarian and Western Slavic settlers who founded the Esterhaz Colony, which later became known as the Kaposvar and Kolin districts, in southeastern Saskatchewan. A key figure in the founding of this colony was the enigmatic Count Paul O. d’Esterhazy, a.k.a. Janos Baptiste Packh. As an immigration agent for the Canadian and American governments, he worked tirelessly not only to promote immigration to the Kaposvar and Kolin districts but also to improve the lives of the immigrants who settled there. Although d’Esterhazy was not without his detractors, this book takes pains to emphasize the sincerity of his vision of a “Little Hungary on the Canadian Prairies” and the many challenges that he and other proponents of the colony faced as they sought to see that vision fulfilled. Meticulously researched and documented, this book offers a treasure trove of insight into not only the Esterhaz colony and surrounding area but also the myriad and often conflicting forces involved in the founding of Canada as a nation.
The book has three main themes. The first describes how the Hungarians and Western Slavic peoples migrated westward and found themselves in the same geographical area in Central Europe and subject to Austrian rule over much of their history. This is followed by a discussion on what motivated many within the Austro-Hungarian Empire to immigrate to North America. The second theme describes the life and times of Janos Packh otherwise known as Count Paul O. d’Esterhazy, the founder of the Huns Valley and Esterhaz Colonies. The third theme describes the formation and history of the Esterhaz Colony and Kaposvar and Kolin Districts from 1885 to the present.
"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."
