| This dissertation argues that the mariners from the Champlain Canal and Lake Champlain region of the Northeast, who traveled by canal boat, represent a unique inland maritime community best understood as an imagined community. To understand the operation and demise of this collaborative group, called the northern canal boat community, this work follows the historical developments and influences upon the northern canalers during their last six decades of operation as they traveled the waterways connecting New York City to Ottawa and Quebec City. Through a detailed investigation of oral history sources, historic documents, and the archaeological record, the canalers' world is revealed as a vibrant community that lived within a world of competing interests and diverse peoples.;This work emphasizes the household economy, social structure, gender relationships, social interactions, and kinship ties between canal boat households. Due to the current types, quantity, and quality of data known, none of these subjects are explored in detail, but each is addressed in sufficient scope to present generalities and trends that demonstrate the cohesiveness of the northern canalers. The household is used as the unit of study to understand the socioeconomic factors that influenced the structure of households and the decisions that its members made concerning consumption, community ties, crewmembers' roles, and the daily operations of the vessels. |
