Rouge Park stands on the edge of Toronto where countless hikers and joggers enjoy its towering forest. This park is connected to some of the most dramatic events in world history. The beautiful Mast Trail was carved out of the woods by lumberjacks more than two hundred years ago, in a time of bloody war to bring down a dictator thousands of kilometers away. In the early 1800s, the pine trees of the Rouge Valley were shipped across the ocean to become masts for the warships of the British Royal Navy, playing a pivotal role in the fight against Napoleon. Those Canadian lumberjacks helped win the war and change the course of history. Canadian lumber remained in demand after Napoleon's defeat, and it soon overtook the fur trade as the engine of the Canadian economy.

Also available in French: La forêt qui a vaincu Napoléon