Before We Became “CANADA”

Chapter 1: The “Discovery” of North America

Who is this man? When might he have lived in North America? How about his ancestors?

Canada's First Nations

- scientists think native people came to NA across a land bridge (Beringia) 40,000 years ago

- most natives believe they have always been here

- natives lived and prospered all over NA

Which brave explorers come to the shores of Newfoundland and settle in for a few years. What

happens to them?

The Vikings – around 1000 AD

- went sailing from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark to find new lands

- settle in Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland

- driven away from NWFLD after 10 years by the natives

Who is sailing the “Santa Maria?” Where is this sailor going to anyways? What does he bump into

and ”discover” instead?

Christopher Columbus - 1492

- Europeans started looking for a water route to China's silks and spices

- CC bumps into (“discovers”) NA along the way

An Italian sailing for England discovers what on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland? What was

this land's second huge resource?

John Cabot - 1497

- finds cod off of NWFLD – claims it for England

- Europeans start coming to the Grand Banks for fish

The race to find new lands and resources is on! Do you remember the main competitors?

European Nations - 1500s

- the race to find new lands, riches, colonies, and a water route to China is on

- France, England, Spain, Portugal, and Holland are big participants

This man has been sent by France to find a way WEST to the East (to China). Instead he finds the St. Lawrence River. Who is he? What is he doing

here?

Jacques Cartier – 1530s

- JC claims the St. Lawrence River area for France – tries 3 x's to follow it to China

- finds no riches either, France not impressed

Ah, finally – “The Father of New France.” What 2 areas did he choose as settlements? Who lives

there still today?

Samuel de Champlain – 1605/1608

- SC starts settlements for France at Port Royal, Acadia (today's Nova Scotia) and at Quebec City

- NEW FRANCE begins

Do you see the Mayflower in the background? Who has it brought, where and why? What has

begun?

The Pilgrims - 1605

- Protestants from England escaping persecution land at Plymouth Rock

- NEW ENGLAND begins

An early map of northeast North America

And so, the European settlement (colonization) of NA has begun

- the British settle “New England” (the 13 states along the Atlantic Ocean) and Newfoundland

- the French settle “New France” (along the St. Lawrence River) and “Acadia” (today's Nova Scotia

As NA develops, remember... - New England, though smaller in area, gains in population much more quickly than New France

- the natives in NA are slowly displaced

- in Europe, England and France are enemies

- in NA, they will also fight over land, the control of the fur trade etc. and eventually the English will win

And so, the colonization of North America has begun. Whose life is changed by this?

Chapter 2: From New France toBritish North America to

Confederation/The Birth of Canada

The British defeat the French in the Seven Year’s War. New France is no more.

End of the Seven Year's War - 1763

- the British defeat the French in NA, and New France is NO MORE

-New France's rich leadership returns to France BUT the poor habitants stay behind

- not many English want to come north to settle the new colony, so the French habitants end up keeping their language, culture, religion etc.

After the American Revolution – now just “Canada” is still British. Why do Americans start coming

here?

1776 – End of the American Revolution

- New England fights for and gains its independence from Britain and become the USA

- Britain now only has one colony left in NA – the former New France

Not all of the New Englanders had wanted to rebel or thought that Britain would be defeated in the American Revolution. What was the result for

“Canada?”

1776+ - Loyalists Move North

- colonists in the US who did not want independence from Britain were persecuted and escaped north to Britain's last colony in NA

- Loyalists started settlements in what would later become Ontario and New Brunswick

Captain James Cook claims what new area of Canada for England?

1778 – Captain James Cook

- a new and distant British colony starts on the the west coast of the continent (later called British Columbia)

Huge Waves of People Come From Ireland, Scotland, and England – Do You Remember Why?

The Great Migration Begins – 1815 - 1850

- due to great hardships in Britain, the Irish, Scottish, and British flock to the remaining British colonies in NA

- the British finally start to outnumber the French

So, who then did inhabit this place called North America (pictured below with 2008 political

boundaries) by the 1860s?

Inhabitants of NA by the 1860s

1) The Natives, all over NA, but being displaced.

2) The French, in today's Quebec and Nova Scotia.

3) The British, in today's Ontario, New Brunswick, and British Columbia.

4) The Americans, in today's eastern USA.

See MAP on page 6.

Canada in 1867. Can you name the four founding British colonies? What was their union called?

Confederation – Canada is Born!!

- four separate colonies in NA, representing two of our three founding peoples decide to join together in union/confederation

- the four colonies are Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia

See MAP on page 17.