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History 2017 Canadian Pre-Confed. Sept 11, 2009 the widely accepted theory is that the first natives followed herds across the Beringia land bridge and then followed the coast south. there is a crushing lack of documentable history of early north american indians and thus we rely on the accounts of traders, missionaries, and explorers. These people all have their own biases and so the history they recorded may be shaped by their expectations and traditions thus making their conclusions problematic for modern historians. some european goods, and diseases made it into Native communities before the europeans themselves made contact b/c of the natives vast trading networks. Eastern Woodland natives were: hunters and farmers had a more constant food supply had a more settled population a more complex political structure made up of the Hurons, Iroquois, Mi’kmaq and others Canadian Shield natives nomadic hunters (moose, forest animals) with small select groups of farmers loose political organizations with a sparse populations included the Algonquin and the Ojibwa Sub-Arctic hunters sparse pop loose political org Chipewyan, Dogrib and Gwich’in Plains Natives nomadic Buffalo hunters with a loose political org relatively sparse pop includes Blackfoot, Cree, Assiniboine West Coast Natives oldest groups of natives Hunters and fishers - heavily reliant on salmon and cedar
Home | ULSU 2710.docx · Web view2011. 12. 7. · (1837) Nov, 4, 2009. Early 19th C Central Canada. the war of 1812 helped solidify attitudes that the American revolution started
Sept 11, 2009
the widely accepted theory is that the first natives followed herds
across the Beringia land bridge and then followed the coast
south.
there is a crushing lack of documentable history of early north
american indians and thus we rely on the accounts of traders,
missionaries, and explorers. These people all have their own biases
and so the history they recorded may be shaped by their
expectations and traditions thus making their conclusions
problematic for modern historians.
some european goods, and diseases made it into Native communities
before the europeans themselves made contact b/c of the natives
vast trading networks.
Eastern Woodland natives were:
had a more settled population
a more complex political structure
made up of the Hurons, Iroquois, Mi’kmaq and others
Canadian Shield natives
nomadic hunters (moose, forest animals) with small select groups of
farmers
loose political organizations with a sparse populations
included the Algonquin and the Ojibwa
Sub-Arctic
hunters
Plains Natives
relatively sparse pop
Hunters and fishers - heavily reliant on salmon and cedar
Most complex political and social structure of all natives
includes the Haida, Nuu’ch’nulth, Bella Coola in rather dense
population groups
Arctic
hunters and fishers living in one of the worlds harshest
climates
very sparse pop with loose political structures
includes the Inuit, and Aleut
Sept 14 2009
native americans had a complex and extended trading networks. items
such as shells, flint, obsidian, copper and other types of stone
and shells were traded from one end of the country to the
other.
trade for natives was based on prestige and alliances not just
economic considerations. Many items had spiritual relevance as well
and thus couldn’t be traded away for just anything.
natives often accumulated goods to give it away and that was a way
to gain prestige. The Potlach was a very common way to gift away
goods on the west coast
gifts were used as diplomatic tools as well. they were used to open
negotiations and to seal treaties. they were used to buy back
prisoners of war and to sue for peace.
there is example of so called trading languages that were a mixture
of many local languages that could be used for trading. on the
plains it is thought that a form of sign language was used for the
same purpose
independence and self-subsistence were important values to many
native cultures as was humour and hospitality. Many religions were
linked by the ideas of harmony and of spirits living in plants
animals and some inanimate objects.
Many males had to go on puberty quests to find their spirit guides
that would protect them and give them a special power.
Many native cultures believed that all living things could be
regarded as alive in some way and a part of a more complex
nature.
Natives fought wars as well but not for the same reasons as
Europeans. they didn’t fight for land but for a blood revenge,
personal prestige, or new slaves.
Norse Vikings were the first people to make contact with Native
americans in about 1000CE. Leif Eriksson, Erik the Red and Thorvald
Eriksson are thought to be some of the first europeans to make it
to North America.
Vikings used their settlements on Greenland as jumping points to
what is now Newfoundland. Bjarni Herjolffson first sighted labrador
in 986CE after being blown off course
Leif Eriksson landed in “Vinland” in 1001CE he was Erik the Reds
son. he sailed down the coast of Baffin Island and Labrador and
landed on Newfoundland. They stayed for about a year and didn’t
encounter any natives
Leif’s Brother Thorvald came the next year with a crew of 30 and
settled into the old abandoned settlement. They had first contact
with the natives and their relationship soured quickly. the Norse
called them Skraelings and then the Norse murdered a group of
Natives while they were sleeping. This lead to a small war with the
natives and Thorvald died.
Sept 16 2009
John Cabot was born Giovani Caboto and born in Venice. He is a
mysterious man and not a lot is known about him.
in 1497 he landed in Nfld or Cape Breton and declared possession of
the land for England in the name of Henry VII
John new that b/c of Columbus’s success he would not receive the
support of the Spanish Crown so he went north to the Port of
Bristol. He also believed that by traveling from a northern port it
would be a shorter trip.
Set off in the Matthew with a crew of 18 Men. He spent about a
month sailing around Nfld and the maritimes. He thought he had
reached the north east coast of Asia.
Returned to Britstol on the 6th of August and reported that he had
found a new shorter way to get to Asia, and he became a hero and
called “ The Great Admiral”
In feb 1498 John received royal charter to take 6 ships and go
back. All but one of the ships were lost at sea. Henry VII died and
english interest in exploration waned b/c of internal political
struggles
Cabot did discover the grand banks and described the vast amounts
of cod available there in ways that the King almost didn’t believe.
Soon after his voyage international fishermen from many european
nations were fishing the grand banks.
Fishing huts were the 1st european settlements but they were only
seasonal.
Wet or green fishing was when fish was caught and then packed into
salt barrels. the english developed a method called dry fishing.
they would dry the fish on land and then lightly dust it with
salt.
dry fishing brought the fishermen ashore and started a settlement
system in North America
Humphrey Gilbert first put forth the idea of the Northwest Passage
as a possibility of a short cut to the Indies.
The Hunt for the Northwest Passage became one of histories great
white elephant costing millions of dollars, hundreds of lives and
eventually achieving very little
Martin Frobisher and English privateer who was captivated by the
idea of the Northwest Passage. He set out with three smaller boats
one was lost at greenland and one turned back but Frobisher pushed
on. on his first voyage he sailed up a large bay on Baffin Island
and thought he had found Asia.
Frobisher brought back some stones that he believed that contained
gold. Frobisher was sent back and he brought home Tons of worthless
stones.
Beothuk
First nations group that lived in Nfld and among the first to come
in contact with Europeans
they were a shy group of people that mostly stayed to themselves.
the Beothuks withdrew into the interior of Nfld and this moved them
away from some of there traditional food sources. Starvation became
common and this made them more vulnerable to european
diseases.
when the europeans did encounter the beothuk violence usually was
the result
there were some sympathetic efforts from europeans to help the
Beothuk. Well meaning politicians decided to capture a Beothuk and
teach them the benefits of European civilization, this however,
only encouraged the violence b/w the europeans and beothuks.
the violence continued as there weren’t many efforts to
prosecute.
Shawnadithit was a young women who was captured and most of what we
know about the Beothuk comes from here. She spent the last few
years of her life in St. Johns teaching europeans about the
beothuk. She seems to be the last of the Beothuk.
Sept 18 2009
in 1534 the french King Fancis 1 sent Jacques Cartier on the first
of three western voyages to discover certain isles and countries
were it is said that gold and other precious metals are
found.
on the first voyage in 1534 he did a maritime tour. his journal
also records the first european contact with natives. Takes two
young men as captives and proof of his visit.
Cartier convinced the king to provide the funds for a follow up
voyage the next year.
in 1535 he returns to Canada with the two captives as translators
and guides. and sailed up the St. Lawrence river (he named it the
St. Lawrence as he landed on the feast of St. Lawrence) the two
guides told him about the fresh water seas. in early sept the
french anchored off of present day Montreal and Ottawa spending the
winter at Montreal.
26 men during the winter mostly from scurvy but some from the cold
as well. he returned to France reporting that he had found a water
route to the interior of Canada. he took Donoccanna back to France
(Donoccanna was the father of the two captives that Cartier had
taken the previous voyage and had been his guides) Donoccanna died
without ever returning but he did convince the King of a fabulous
land of gold and silver to the west.
Sieur de Roberval was charged to lead the search for the golden
kingdom and Cartier was only the guide. Roberval was charged to
find the kingdom of gold and to colonize the area as well as
bringing missionaries to the land.
The King decided that the missionaries were needed to placate the
Church.
The expedition split into two groups with Cartier going first and a
few months later Roberval followed. Cartier sailed up the St.
Lawrence and started to set up a settlement but they had a rough go
of things. by the spring cartier gave up and went back to france
with a load of fake gold and quartz.
Roberval arrived after Cartier left but he and his settlers also
had a terrible winter (50 died of scurvy) and he also returned the
next spring.
the cost and problems associated with this trip and internal
political issues combined with european wars meant that france
didn’t attempt to colonize North America until the start of the
next century.
Why sail to Canada
people sailed to Canada as a way to get to Asia and the silk,
spices, and gold there
for Cod and whaling
and the Christianization of the natives
If cod brought europeans to the shores of Canada it was the beaver
that brought them to the interior of Canada. Beaver fur was very
warm and soft and there was a massive demand for their pelts in
europe.
Cartier was unimpressed with the natives he met, he was hoping that
he would find wealthy asian traders. European explorers thought
they were superior to the Natives. Natives also believed that they
were superior to the europeans
physical differences were quite large - europeans were shorter men
and had beards and many different hair and eye colours. Natives
were taller and all had black hair and dark eyes. Culturally the
two were also very different Native did not do women’s work and
showed very little emotion where as the europeans had no women so
they did all their own work and were highly animated and showed
much emotion
Natives were very vulnerable to european disease’s some estimates
believe that 90% of the native pop died from european
disease’s
Europeans had desirable technologies like metal tools and weapons.
Natives would gladly trade many furs for european trade goods
Cartier called the the area surrounding his first landings the land
God gave to Cain. he was more complimentary about PEI and the St.
Lawrence
Conflict over land b/w the Natives and Europeans was rarer than in
the states b/c the land was as not as high of quality.
Sept 21 09
by 1604 there were still no permanent settlements in north america
north of Mexico.
Du Mont came to start a permanent settlement with Champlain. He
arrived at the Bay of Fundy and he started a settlement on the
island of St Croix. The buildings of the settlement were placed
within a protective wall w/ cannons
Du Mont and his men suffered through one of the coldest winters in
100 years. 36 of the original colonists were dead when the supply
ships arrived in the spring. Du Mont and the rest didn’t give up
and he decided to move his settlement across the Bay of Fundy to
Port Royal.
Port Royal worked, it is usually taken to be the first permanent
european presence in North America. he got an extension on his
trading monopoly conditional on founding another colony.
Champlain made 12 voyages to New France and is credited with
starting the first permanent colony at Quebec City. He is called
the “Father of New France”
Champlain’s first settlement was built his first settlement at
Quebec (Quebec City) he did this b/c he didn’t want to build near
Tadoussac which was the principle fur trading center on the Gulf of
St. Lawrence. He did this b/c he thought if he was to close his
settlers would be drawn away to Tadoussac.
Only 9 colonists survived to the spring b/c of weather, scurvy and
also the Natives (Iroquois). Still they stayed on
Champlain decided to form an alliance with the Huron even
accompanied the Hurons down into modern day Vermont and fought with
them against the Iroquois.
The alliance is a successful one and the French not only get
military protection but also economic advantages in increased
trade.
to try and encourage trade Champlain began to send out French men
out to live with the Hurons. they were called the Coureurs de Bois.
they were to map the land and chart the geography of the fur trade
and to learn native language and culture.
one of the first the Coureurs de Bois, Etienne Brule lived among
the huron from 1612-1633 and really integrated himself into their
culture. It was men like these that helped seal the Huron-French
relationship.
another important aspect of New France was the religious part of
the mission to settle New France.
He encouraged different Catholic groups to come with him to New
France and convert the Natives. this would save their souls and
also create closer ties with the French
in 1618 he returned to France and argues to the Crown and investors
to make New France a strong Permanent settlement. He argued that
New france held the possibility of a route to the Orient, a vast
fur and fish economy and other advantages. he asked for 300
families and 300 soldiers to be sent to his colonies.
in 1627 the Company du Cent Associate and they had a monopoly over
all of New France and it backed Champlain up
in 1628 4 ships and 400 people were sent to New France along with
all of the needed supplies. However, the Kirke Brothers (scottish
privateers) captured quebec in 1628.
The 4 ships were captured by the Kirke brothers and none of the
supplies made it to the settlements. New France and Acadia were
captured by the Kirke bros and were English were in Charge of for 4
years until the english sold it back to the french.
At the time of his death in 1635 Champlain had not fulfilled his
dream of a large permanent settlement in New France.
Sept 23, 2009
Father Paul Le Jeuen - Superior-General of jesuit Missions in New
France. He published annual reports that are now known as the
Jesuit Relations. The first report was nothing more than a letter
but his superiors decided to publish the letters as a public
relations program. from then on the missionaries knew the public
would be reading it and tailored it for them.
the Jesuits weren’t the first missionaries to north america.
Champlain had brought some Recollets brothers to come to his first
colonies. the Recollet were unsuccessful as they tried to convert
the natives into Europeans.
The jesuits were more successful because they went and lived among
the natives and didn’t try to turn them into europeans
The Huron were the main group that the Jesuits and other
missionaries worked with and the natives allowed them to live with
them.
Christian natives got perks like preferential trading rates and
guns that non-christianized didn’t receive.
Leading the mission to the Hurons was Jean de Brebeuf. he wrote the
first english huron dictionary and he helped to build a jesuit
settlement in the heart of Huronia called
Ste-Marie-Among-the-Hurons. it was meant to be a sanctuary and base
of operations among the Hurons. it had a hospital and church in
later years and was very important in jesuit activities
being in close contact with the french did result in more exposer
to disease and thus were weaker when the Iroquois attacked.
in 1648 the Iroquois launched a full scale attack on the Hurons.
the Hurons were unable to mount an effective defence and the Huron
nation was virtually wiped out.
the Jesuits abandoned their missions in Huronia and by 1649 had
retreated back into New France settlements.
New France was vulnerable to Iroquois attacks as they weren’t very
large or strong and had little defensive options.
we see a change in Jesuit relations after the Iroquois attack they
were afraid of the Iroquois and were pleading for more people and
more of a military presence.
in 1643 the Iroquois attacked french outposts and this seriously
disrupted the fur trade and agricultural production.
French survival in North America was in serious doubt at this time.
the fur trade was basically shut down and this stopped the inflow
of new settlers.
in 1661 the PM of france died and he had always been indifferent
about New France and the colonists sent an advocate for the Colony.
King Louis the 14th was crowned King that year and he wanted a
global empire.
Louis appointed a Royal Government in 1663. John Baptiste-Colbert
was appointed Minister of the Marine which meant he was minister of
the colonies and John Talon was named First Intendant of New
France.
Colbert followed an economic policy called mercantilism and Colbert
wanted to increase the import of raw materials from the New
France.
the company that had the monopoly over new france was abolished and
New France became a Royal Colony.
Louis also sent troops and they were desperately needed. they
brought with them a sense among the settlers that they were no
longer forgotten.
These new immigrants to New France brought with them the
seigneurial system - a medieval system of duties and
responsibilities b/w lords and commoners. This system would last
until 1854-long after the French revolution had abolished it in
France
the Seigneur had to provide some sort of infrastructure like a
mill, church, court, blacksmith. he also had to build and maintain
a manor and clear some of the land. The Censitaires had to clear
their plot of land, make payments called Cens to the Seigneur and
they had to do a certain amount of public work for the
Seigneur.
there are not the same social distinctions in New France as there
is in France. the lines are far more blurred. they Censitaires
changed their name to the Habitants and even had the chance for
upward social mobility that was unable to them in France.
Farms in New France were long narrow farm that as oft as possible
had access to the river.
there was one glaring problem that Talon had to solve to turn New
France into a actual colony, there were not enough women in New
France and thus there weren’t very many families in New France.
Talon sent 100s of women to New France called them Les Filles Du
Roi. in all over a few years 800 were sent. they were often girls
from orphanages and from poorer families.
The women first went to the Nuns and were looked after there. the
men then went to the nuns and declared his possessions and his
ability to care for the women. the women then had some ability to
choose their own husband.
some men didn’t want to get married and Talon actually passed laws
forcing men to get married.
Sept 28 2009
many of the women married soldiers and this encouraged the soldiers
to stay in New France. Talon also encouraged early marriage by
giving a “gift from the King” and also encouraged large families by
giving away Canada’s first baby payments
people who didn’t get married often saw fines or restrictions in
their abilities to hunt, trap and fish.
the birth rate tripled in the colony and by 1672 the number of
people doubled to 6700.
the King also sent engages which were indentured workers to New
France. they received free passage to Canada and then were bound to
a three year contract to work for a settler, church, merchant. the
engages made up the bulk of the new immigrants in the late 17th C.
about half decided to stay.
in the early years of the colony it was the engages that preformed
much of the heavy labour. building docks, clearing land, building
roads and buildings.
nearly 4000 men and women were sent to Canada by the French
government.
there was small amounts of slavery in New France. not as big in the
states mainly b/c it didn’t make as much economic sense to own
slaves. some were of african descent and some were of native
descent. NAtive slaves were often captured by other natives and
then traded to the habitants.
New France faced a problem attracting and keeping people in New
France. by the time of the British conquest of new france, there
were 70,000 people in New France and 1.5 million in New
England.
not only was the climate much harsher but there were fewer economic
opportunities in New France
the government of New France was supposed to be governed just like
any province in France.
1604 - first expedition to Acadia
1609 - settlement abandoned
1713 - Treaty of Utrecht - Acadia becomes a British
possession
Under French rule Acadia and Canada were two separate colonies
within New France although the boundary b/w the two is fuzzy
France largely ignored Acadia and there is also very little contact
b/w the Acadians and the Canadians.
The Acadians built a system of ditches and dykes that were able to
reclaim the fertile marshlands in and around the Bay of Fundy
this dyke system required people to work together and fostered a
sense of community which was very important as they were so
isolated and lived sandwiched b/w the French and the British.
the Acadians also had large families with 10 or 11 children. Acadia
had a small population but a high growth rate.
The Acadians developed there own some what distinct culture with
their own slang and working in native words.
Acadians were fairly free from gov control and there was no
seigneurial system. The gov was weak and the Family and the Church
were the strong groups. it was a fairly egalitarian society, and
even though the Church was the most powerful group there was no one
group that controlled the Church
Most of Acadia’s trade took place with New England. The Acadians
even called the New Englanders “our friends, the enemy”
Acadians had a fairly good relationship with the Natives and the
Mikmac were important allies of the acadians.
in 1690 New Englanders attacked Port Royal as part of the war of
Spanish Succession and the warfare would continue until 1713 when
France gave Acadia to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht.
this treaty ended the on again off again war b/w France and Britain
in the colonies. Acadia was renamed Nova Scotia.
Sept 30, 2009
France lost much of its maritime possessions but not all of it and
thus it built the Garrison at Louisbourg. It became a large
fortification with elaborate defences.
The English administrators had a problem in their new territory of
Acadia. they decided that the Acadians should become British
Subjects by swearing an oath of allegiance. the Acadians refused
hoping that they could remain neutral. they feared reprisal from
the Local natives who were fiercely loyal to the French and were
also worried that some day they may be re-conquered by the
French.
The two sides compromised and the Acadians recognized the British
King but didn’t have to swear to take up arms for him. They were
allowed to keep their Roman Catholic religion. After the oath the
acadians are looked upon as the Neutral French.
Neither the English nor the French really trusted the Acadians b/c
they didn’t seem to consider themselves part of any nation but
rather as acadians.
the Acadians enjoyed a small golden era as they are no longer
plagued with war and they have freer and easier trade. that is
until King George’s war broke out and France and Britain were once
again fighting.
in 1749 after the war the status quo was returned, attitudes did
change. The New Gov Edward Cornwallis decided that there needed to
be more English people in Nova Scotia and they were moved to and
founded Halifax. More British institutions and British laws was set
up by Cornwallis and a strong British Garrison was moved into
Halifax.
The french tried to maintain their alliance with the Mik Mac and
supported them in fighting against the English. The Mik Mac
declared war on the English in 1749 and Cornwallis thought that the
acadians were helping or encouraging the Mik Mac.
More than anything the Acadians had been allowed to stay in Acadia
from 1713 to 1750 out of a position of weakness. the British didn’t
have the strength to do anything about them.
a New Gov arrived in 1753 and he was worried about the large french
pop in his colony. He insisted on an Iron Clad oath that stated
that the Acadians must support the British in case of a war.
in 1755 all acadians who refused to take the New oath were
deported. Acadians home were burnt and they themselves were
dispersed to England, France and all of the 13 Colonies.
b/c of the haste of the deportation it was poorly planned and many
people died in transit b/c there wasn’t enough food or water.
the deportation lasted for about 8 years until 1762. Acadian
society was destroyed in the deportation.
Acadian mortality rate in the 13 colonies was quite high as they
had a low tolerance to disease. they often wandered from town to
town looking for relatives.
about 1/3 of the surviving Acadians settled in Louisiana b/c of
similar farming practices and this is where the Cajuns came
from.
in 1764 it was declared that the Acadians could returned and many
of them came home but had to move to New Brunswick as their lands
in Nova Scotia was already settled.
Oct 2, 2009
Radisson and Des Grosseilliers - two french voyagers who wanted to
go farther northwest in search of furs, past the Iroquois blockade
in 1654
the Quebec governor refused to give them permission on terms they
could handle so they went on their own
by the winter of 1654 they had made it to Lake Superior and they
over wintered there and in the Spring they were part of a large
native festival. the natives told the traders that there were
better furs on a northern bay north of Lake Superior
they returned to Montreal thinking they would receive a hero’s
welcome but they weren’t. in fact Des Grosseilliers was thrown in
jail.
they decided to go again but again the Governor said that they
couldn’t go. They Travelled to France to get permission but didn’t
receive support their either so they went to England and there
received the support they needed
King Charles the 2nd agreed to finance Radisson and Des
Grosseilliers. They were given the Nonsuch and returned to England
after the winter with a boat load of very high quality furs
King Charles II seeing the profits that were available so he gave
them Royal Charter and formed the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670. the
company was given monopoly over all territories that drained into
the Hudson’s Bay. called Rupert’s Land
The HBC set up fur trading posts not colonies. the intermediaries
b/w native trappers and european buyers were all natives. This way
each fort was often protected by a group of natives that settled
outside the fort.
After the treaty of Utrecht there is a period of peace b/w England
and France. this ended with the break out of the Seven years war in
1754.
the 7 years war started in the colonies and then moved to Europe.
It lasted 9 years in North America
the war started as both England and France were trying to expand on
in North America and both wanted to continue to expand and this is
where they ran into each other and this caused conflict
both sides were trying to expand their fur trade. France was caught
in b/w the British from the South (13 colonies) and from the North
West (HBC). so the French spread south west down the Mississippi
river system and around the great Lakes.
the French built a series of trading posts along the Ohio Valley
and the Great Lakes.
France in North America during the 7 years war
Weakness’ Strength’s
fur trade native allies
supply
France was governed by Pierre de Vaudreuil and he was the first
Canadian born governor of France. Montcalm was from France
Vaudreuil favored a guerilla warfare that they had been successful
with early in the war. Montcalm wanted a more european style of set
piece warfare. Montcalm was declared by the French ministry as in
complete charge.
French fortunes changed when William Pitt the Elder was elected as
PM in Britain. he decided that winning the war in NA was very
important to him and Britain.
Pitt sent more soldiers, more ships and more money. Britain
fortunes in the war Shift significantly. the Navy was able to
blockade the French ports and the experienced soldiers he sent led
to changes on the battlefield
the first objective of the new British offensive was the Fort of
Louisburg. the defenders although outnumbered 3-1 held out for 7
weeks.
the british Navy came through in spades and the British had huge
numerical and financial superiority. French forces were pushed out
of the forts in the ohio valley and the great lakes and fell back
towards Montreal and Quebec.
the conflict in NA was an extension of the european conflict.
France was winning early b/c of their style of warfare and their
native allies. But British Money, troops and most importantly navy
overpowered the french defenders.
Oct 5, 2009
two battles of the Plains of Abraham the first with Montcalm and
Wolfe that the British won and the second the french won but were
forced to retreat as British re-enforcements arrived at Quebec from
Britain
French Surrender at Montreal but the British allow the French to
maintain their Roman Catholic religion
Oct 7, 2009
- Gov de Vaudreuil capitulates to Gen. Jeffrey Amherst on sept 22,
1760
under the terms of the capitulation the British were very lenient
and it seemed they wanted French Canadians to become loyal British
servants
colonists wishing to return to France were free to do so. most of
the leaders and the richest people of Canadian society returned to
France.
the conquest placed the Roman Catholic Church in a difficult
position. Many of the leaders of the Church returned to France as
well. the Church owned lots of land in Quebec and much of it had
been destroyed in the war. The Bishop of Quebec had died w/o a
successor and that meant that no knew priests could be ordained.
this worried the canadians b/c they knew that the British didn’t
exactly want any more ordinations
the treaty of Paris was signed in 1763 and France ceded New France
to Britain.
in 1764 civil rule was established and a new governor James Murray
was placed in charge of Canada. Britain hoped to assimilate the
French pop into the expected large arrival of English speaking
protestants.
first nations peoples actually posed a greater threat to the
British than the Canadians and this lead to Pontiac’s
rebellion
Pontiac lead a pan-native confederacy against the British. it was a
large and effective rebellion that gave the British many problems.
Natives were angry b/c whites were encroaching on their lands and
not giving the appropriate gifts
may 1763 the native confederacy attacked the British capturing
every fort west of the Niagara and had an est 2000 settlers
imprisoned.
several factors lead to the natives making peace
the british still had their fort at detroit a very important
fort
the natives had to resume their fall hunting to get enough food for
the winter
word arrives that France had officially surrendered
the confederacy started to fall apart
in the proclamation of 1763 - the British promised to set aside a
certain amount of territory for the natives. The British agreed not
to colonize native territories w/o negotiating with the natives and
buying the territories from the natives for the crown.
this was the first recognition of natives rights by the British
gov.
this policy was largely unenforceable w/o a large military presence
in the interior which was to expensive.
the proclamation also dealt with many legal and political
stipulations in Quebec by changing many of the laws to be more in
line with British Laws.
Catholics were excluded from all offices, new gov institutions were
created and there was a promise of an elected assembly being
formed. Many other limitations were placed on the Catholic Church
and Canadians were encouraged by the gov to become
protestant.
Gov Murray did need someone to talk to to get his message out to
the people and he found that the church was the best way to do
this. he rewarded loyal priests and attempted to gain the church’s
support
The Church itself was in a bad spot as there was no Bishop and many
of the priests had departed. Murray chose a new Bishop Jean-Olivier
Briand in 1766, even though he wasn’t supposed to. the two had a
good working relationship and the two supported each other.
Briand helped to mitigate anti-Catholic provision in the
proclamation of 1763 and also to mitigate Catholic anger towards
the British.
a small but vocal english minority were calling for a British
system of political representation, recognizing that as Catholics
couldn’t hold office that they would hold great power.
The Quebec act was passed in 1774 and it combined the use of French
civil law and British criminal law. the Quebec act
Gave Canadians the right to practice Roman Catholicism
preserved the seigneurial system
allowed governor and appointed counselors to make laws, but not an
elected assembly and Catholics could be appointed
gave Quebec control over much of what is now Quebec, Ontario and
the Midwestern US
was of the “Intolerable Acts”, which contributed to the outbreak of
the American Revolution
had secret instructions to subordinate the Church to state
control.
Oct 9, 2009
the costs of the 7 years war and British attempts to recoup those
costs from the colonies was one of the reasons of the American
Revolution
the Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act of 1774 were acts that
the Americans saw as hemming them in along the coast and not
allowing them to move into the interior of North America.
April 1775 British troops were fired upon by American militia men
as they tried to seize arms at Lexington and Concord. this turned a
long festering political feud into a military action
American militia men attacked and captured Fort Ticonderoga and
then raided up into Canada without much opposition. The American
Continental Congress then decided to invade Quebec for it’s
military and strategic objectives. they thought that Canadians
would rise up and fight with them
Gen. Montgomery was to attack Montreal and Gen. Arnold was to
attack Quebec City.
Gov. Carlton felt that this was a worse case scenario as he had no
real defenders and he was governing a conquered people.
It took the Americans longer to get to Canada than they thought it
would and it was late november before they were able to take fort
St. John by montreal. There were insubordination issues among the
American Army. many men deserted
Montgomery took Montreal without a fight but men continued to
desert as there enlistment period was up. he pushed on to Quebec
and met up with Arnold in December.
The two generals decided to try and storm Quebec City as they
didn’t have enough men to lay siege.
they attacked on the night of dec 31 in a snow storm. They didn’t
know the city and many of their troops were lost in the lower city.
The Canadians held the city Montgomery died and Arnold was wounded.
about 300 Americans taken captive
the american troops moved into the country side and forced the
local Quebecer’s to feed and shelter them for the winter. By june
of 1776 the Americans retreated from Quebec and never return
there was little support for revolutionaries or efforts by Governor
Carlton to organize against the Americans.
Once the Revolution started and invasion was threatened Carlton
looked to the French Elite and the Church to help raise support
against the Americans. The Elites and the Church encouraged the
habitants to join the army and fight against the Americans.
pro-american priests were fired and american sympathizers were
denied access to the Church. still though the Habitants didn’t want
to fight
Molly and Joseph Brant
Molly Brant was and influential mohawk clan mother married to
William johnson. Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) was her brother and
war chief
Both Molly and Joseph were integral in keeping the iroquois
confederacy on the side of Britain.
The natives had an early sense that this was not their war. There
were efforts, however, by both British and Americans to enlist
native support.
these efforts to gain support lead to the division of the Iroquois
confederacy with 4 of the six tribes including the Mohawk
supporting the British
Joseph Brant was actually a commissioned British officer as well as
being an effective Mohawk war chief
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia seemed to be an outpost for New England and would have
made and excellent 14th colony.
there was however, a lack of sense of political cohesion among Nova
Scotian’s
there were had been a series of boarder raids and piracy by
Americans on coastal and boarder towns. this lead to a real sense
of anger against Americans as they did this in the name of
revolution
the citizens of Yarmouth sent a message to the Gov. Legge claiming
allegiance to King George but begging to remain neutral as many had
relatives in the 13 Colonies.
there was a spiritual revival amongst Nova Scotian’s lead by Henry
Alline and he preached a message of neutrality.
St. John’s and NFLD
Were to distracted by the Absentee landlord question to pay much
attention to the Revolution.
St. John’s and NFLD had an eastward orientation, and had a sense of
separation from mainlands events
both suffered the same problems of piracy and raids as Nova
Scotia
before the war was even over in the years after 1781 there was a
problem of what to do with the thousands of loyalist moving
northward into Canada. this changed the shape of the nation.
Oct 16, 2009
there were thousands of British supporters living in the US after
the end of the American revolution. They were called the loyalists
and many of them travelled north and came to live in Canada.
The loyalists arrived as refugee’s and exiles to Canada. they were
convinced to start a new life and that they had unjustly been
kicked out of their rightful homes.
the relocation of loyalists was a massive state sponsored event and
it was so large that it altered the fabric of Canada for
ever.
New York was one of the main ports of departure and loyalists were
discouraged from settling on the St. Lawrence to avoid french and
english mixing.
the Crown bore the cost of transporting the loyalists and then
helped them set up their farms and homes as a reward for their
loyalty to the crown.
to settle the loyalists the Brit goc’t had to purchase the land
from the natives. the natives thought they were giving them temp
use of the land not permanent ownership.
loyalists came from all differed economical groups.
their arrival was the first major influx of English settlers to
Quebec. Lord Dorchester was the Gov of Quebec and had been a
supporter of the Canadians but after the arrival of the Loyalists
he developed a lot of sympathies for them as he had been in charge
of a very larger transportation of Loyalists. He was also
disappointed that the french hadn’t helped him in the war. thus he
had a much more British outlook after the arrival of the
loyalists.
about 15000 loyalists came to Quebec, giving it for the first time
a fairly substantial English minority.
one of the minority groups that travelled to Canada was the Black
Loyalists. The British promised freedom to Black Slaves in the
States if they would fight for the British. they were still not
treated very well. Blacks tended to be on the bottom of the list
for gov’t grants. about 3000 Black Loyalists travelled to Nova
Scotia but less than a third of them received land grants
Black Loyalists faced legal and political limitations. they
generally received smaller grants of less productive land
Thomas Peter a Black Loyalist from S.C. travelled to England to
protest the poor treatment of Black Loyalists. there he met some
English reformers who had an idea called the “Back to Africa” and
he returned to Nova Scotia and convinced some of his counter parts
to go live in Sierra Leone.
Many natives had to migrate to Canada from the 6 nations in the
US.
Joseph Brant lead one group and they settled along the Grand River
Valley across the river from their former Seneca Allies. this
settlement became known as Brantford.
another group of loyalists who arrived in Canada were loyalist
women who came north without husbands . They felt a loss of
structure and support in the US. Their decision to remain loyal
often had less to do with political beliefs than their search for
men.
many of them found living in Canada even more traumatic than
loosing their homes and living in the middle of the American
Revolution. In Canada they felt helpless and lost, seeing their
situation as beyond their control and helpless
different groups of loyalist tended to be settled in different
areas. thus the demographics of Canada change. the Map of Canada
changes as well as Lord Dorchester argued that the remaining
colonies to be joined into one colony. Instead the Colony of Quebec
was split into upper and lower Canada along the Ottawa River.
the real motivation behind this separation was political. it was
intended to reduce the animosity and differences b/w the two
different cultural perspectives of the French and English
the two colonies were created in the constitutional act of 1791. it
also tried to figure out why the revolution in the 13 colonies
happened and how to stop the same thing from happening in
Canada.
the british believed that the revolution had happened in the US b/c
they had too much freedom and democracy. thus they worked to
curtail these things in Canada. the constitutional act strengthened
the governor’s position in the colonies and created a elected
assembly but this assembly was under strong executive
control.
there was a sense that people don’t know what is in their best
interests and the Gov’t elite must have strong powers to help the
people.
the British was hoping that the legislative council would be filled
with the elite and the landed powerful and that it would eventually
become like the House of Lords with heredity positions.
Upper Canada wasn’t the only change to the map of Canada. An elite
group of loyalists wanted Nova Scotia split along the St. Johns
River and formed into a new colony. they argued that Halifax was to
far away from them and that they saw that they were the powerful
group within the new colony of New Brunswick and that they would
have considerable control of the area.
in 1785 the major settlement was named St. John’s and Fredericton
was selected as the Capital of the new colony. Fredericton was
selected to encourage inland settlement and also for its military
strategic position. At this time the Boarder b/w New Brunswick and
the US was unclear and that is why they had to take the military
position of the capital into consideration
Loyalists on PEI were unlucky b/c they didn’t get to own their own
land as they became tenant farmers for the absentee landlords that
already owned the land. in 1869 the descendants of loyalists were
finally able to receive the free land they had been promised when
they arrived in the 1790’s
John Graves Simcoe became the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper
Canada. His ideas had a long lasting effect on Upper Canada even
though he was only governor for 3 years. (1791-94)
he wanted Upper Canada to become a center of power for the British
in North America.
He brought many new settlers to the region and abolished slavery.
in 1793 he moved the capital of the territory to York
(Toronto).
Oct 19, 2009
Joseph Brandt was driven by a desire to right the injustice he saw
as a his low birth
Joseph understood that the American revolution was unlike other
European wars where the natives could play once side against the
other. they had to choose a side and Joseph thought that with the
British they had the best chance to keep their lands and
freedoms
The Mohawk lost their land in the Ohio and Mohawk river valley and
moved across the border and settled on the banks of the Grand river
b/w Lake Erie and Ontario.
Brant travelled to Britain numerous times to argue for Mohawk and
six nations rights.
died nov 24 1807 and was buried at his burlington bay estate. His
body was reclaimed by the Grand river Six nations and his body was
reburied in Brantford.
in non-native societies he is given his dues as a staunch defender
of the Crown but in native cultures he is blamed with the
destruction of the Six nations confederacy.
Oct 21, 2009
exam format
matching - 10
identify and explain the historical importance of 3 out of 6 (15
marks)
essay 1 out of 2 1 discussion group and one out of class (25
marks)
test ends at the loyalists.
MIDTERM ENDS HERE
the war of 1812 was a singularly non eventful war in terms of its
outcome in respects to Canada but it did seem to unify the
nation.
causes of the war of 1812
napoleon was fighting in Europe trying to defeat Britain. enacted
continental policy. Britain responded by closing the seas to
Neutrals to trade with europe. this pissed off the Americans
British war ships were boarding American ships in search of
deserters and also impressed Americans into service.
American’s thought that the British were inciting Natives to attack
US settlements on the western frontier.
the American’s wanted to expand their nation to the west
the timing of the war was very good for the US as there was less
than 5000 British troops to defend Canada as they were busy
fighting Napoleon in Europe
Canadian official were nervous about being attacked. No no one was
sure who the canadian population would respond to the war.
Isaac Brock was a Maj. Gen. and leader of the British forces in
Upper Canada. he is given much of the credit for the results of the
war. He built up fortifications, trained the militia and fostered
good relations with the natives. As soon as the war broke out he
went on the offensive.
Brock made a strong alliance with the natives and their leader
Tecumseh. they saw the war of 1812 as a continuation of a longer
struggle that they had been fighting for a long time.
the natives formed a large pan native confederacy and they were
fighting for their own sovereign nation west of the ohio
river.
again americans believed that Canadians wanted to be free of their
British masters
Brock attacked the Fort Detroit with Gen Hull in it and no one
expected this. Brock knew that Americans were terrified of natives
and used this to his advantage. he fooled the Americans into
thinking that there were almost 3000 natives when there was in
reality only 600.
in the end no attack was needed as Hull and the Americans
surrendered Detroit. Fort Dearborn (Chicago) also fell.
the Canadians and their native allies carried all the momentum in
the early part of the war but suffered great losses as both Brock
and Tecumseh died in battle.
York was captured by the Americans and by nov of 1812 they had
gained control of lake ontario and using their control of the lake
they seized York.
Laura Secord warned the British about a coming surprise attack by
the Americans on Beaverdams. she had learned about the ambush b/c
there were American troops living in her house. It was the British
success at beaverdams that turned the american troops around.
The Americans had planned to attack Montreal but they were ambushed
by Canadians in the woods and never made it.
the Battle of Chateauguay was an uniquely Canadian war with no
British involvement using a strategically placed barricade they
were able to repulse 4000 American troops. the americans also
believed that there were many many more troops in the rear and that
they were only fighting the advance guard.
in august 1814 and in retaliation of what had happened at York
British troops captured and ransacked the capital. The Presidents
Mansion was was also badly scorched. British troops then went on to
attack Baltimore and during this battle the American anthem was
written
the treaty of Gent was signed at Gent Holland. By this time both
sides were tired of fighting and had really forgotten why the war
had started. At Gent the US and Britain agreed to terms that
returned all territories to their original owners
the Rush-Bagot agreement of 1817 - limited the number of military
vessels on the great lakes
the Anglo-American convention of 1818 - agreed on the 49th parallel
as the boarder b/w the two nations
Oct 26, 2009
Assiniboin and Cree natives acted as middle men and brought furs to
the HBC trading forts.
HBC trading posts were built on rivers that drained into the
Hudson’s Bay
the Trading posts weren’t self sustaining. they relied on Natives
and european goods. Each fort had a population of native that lived
right around the fort.
Changes for natives
new technology - firearms and horses. Woodlands peoples became much
more dependent on guns as it was a much more efficient way of
killing game. also they were often closer to forts where they could
get ammo and the guns repaired. Plains natives were more distant
from service center and thus repair and ammo were harder to come
by. for buffalo hunting they found that the gun wasn’t that
effective for their way of hunting. they did use guns in
warfare.
Horses had a greater effect on the people of the prairies than the
gun did. mounted to hunters could now rush at a heard and single
out two or three animals and kill them at close range. the horse
became a symbol of wealth and contributed to something like a class
structure. Horses intensified warfare and increases native peoples
mobility.
Element of choice in what changes are accepted
disease - smallpox. Natives way of life contributed to the spread
of the disease as they lived in close knit families in tight
quarters. also natives believed that they must visit the sick and
had no knowledge of contagious diseases. the HBC tried to put
forward a vaccination program to maintain trade and good relations
with the natives. the Cree benefitted the most as they were closer
both physically and emotionally with the traders.
Beginnings of the Metis and country born societies. - they began to
see themselves as not european or native but as a separate culture
and nationality. many Metis started to gather in the Red River
area. in the early 19 C they lived off the buffalo although they
did build cabins and usually had small gardens. the Metis used the
Red River Cart to transport goods the cart was made entirely of
wood and were very efficient ways to transport large amounts of
goods.
The North West Company - founded in 1780 in competition with the
HBC. made up of French Canadians, Metis, and Native Voyageurs. they
went out into the interior and cut out the middle man by going to
the natives. NWC men are often connected with the exploration of
Canada. they made a real effort to get out into the interior where
as the HBC just stayed by the forts and wait for natives to bring
in furs.
the HBC did have cheaper transportation costs as they brought goods
in and out through the Hudson’s Bay and then used their York boats
which were much slower than the canoe but were very sturdy and
could carry much much more.
The HBC seeing the success of the NWC began to go out of the
trading ports and eventually the native middle men were cut out.
they had to change their role and took on the role of provision
suppliers
The HBC was a very conservative company base out of London and they
changed very slowly. Lord Selkirk a Scottish nobleman and
colonizer, bought a large amount of HBC shares and he convinced the
HBC to attempt to start an agricultural settlement.
He was given a 300,000 km^2 chunk of land in southern manitoba and
and wanted to start this ag colony as a refuge for evicted Scottish
farmers and as a place of retirement for old traders as well as
supply HBC forts. His Red River Colony was the origin of the
province of Manitoba
the land grant was in a contentious location as this was unofficial
Metis territory and was right where the traders of the NWC stopped
to get provisions to travel inland.
the first governor of the colony was Miles Macdonell. Selkirk
didn’t equip the settlers with the needed supplies and they didn’t
have a strong connection with any HBC trading posts. they spent the
first two winters traveling south to an HBC fort they were
supported by the Metis and natives and this was probably the only
reason they could survive. He issued the Pemmican Proclamation of
1814 placing an embargo on the export of pemmican.
the NWC retaliated by offering free transport and homes in Upper
Canada. 2/3’s went and then the NWC arrested Macdonell and burned
the remaining homes. Selkirk doesn’t give up and tries again
New Gov is Robert Semple and under him the competition b/w Selkirk
colonists and the NWC (metis Individuals)
on June 19 1816 Cuthbert Grant the leader of the Metis confronted
Semple at Seven Oaks and fighting broke out. Semple and 20 of the
settlers were killed while only one Metis was killed.
Seven Oaks became a key aspects of Metis memory and identity.
in 1821 the HBC and the NWC joined as they were financially and
physically exhausted from their intense competition. the new HBC
company seemed re-invigorated.
Oct, 30, 2009 My Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cape Breton was a separate colony until 1820 when it was annexed to
NFLD. there were 4 other colonies. NS, NFLD, PEI, and NB.
the maritimes were economically stronger than much of the rest of
Canada.
Timber, Banking, and fishing were strong economic parts of the
maritime. 3/4 of NB economy was in Timber.
Shipping and Shipbuilding became an important industry in the
maritimes as well. It was the first major manufacturing industry in
the region.
British North America had the forth largest merchant marine fleet
in the world. Nova Scotia built the ships and NB supplied the
timber for the ships.
Samuel Canard was an influential Nova Scotian who started the first
regular steam ship trips across the atlantic.
shipping and ship building employed thousands of people across the
maritimes. Shipping was a hard life, it was very unsafe and
desertion was common.
the Marco Polo was built in Nova Scotia and was hailed as the
fastest ship in the world.
St. John’s became the single largest place of shipbuilding and
became rather famous for its ability to build fast and practical
ship.
b/w 1850 and 1860 over 2 million tons of shipping were built in the
maritimes (about 40% of British construction in the same
period)
by 1860 the wooden sail ship was being replaced by iron built steam
ships.
St. John’s and Halifax were the two largest cities in the maritimes
and there was a strong rivalry b/w them. Halifax was the military
headquarters as well as the intellectual center for the region
while St. John’s became the center for industry.
Halifax “controlled” PEI and Cape Breton while St. John’s
“controlled” the bay of Fundy area
wealth was unevenly distributed and much of the work that people
could do was only seasonal which lead to high poverty rates. the
poverty level were raised higher as both St. John’s and Halifax
were centers for immigration.
Urban poor were dealt with by charitable orgs from church or ethnic
groups. the gov’t had very little involvement
the railway was the image of progress and improvement and many
people thought that the railway would solve their problems.
Cities built railways to develop their economic hinterland. The
Maritimes also wanted to link their cities to the St. Lawrence
Valley and the grain producing American Midwest.
Railways were built at massive costs and were unprofitable as there
wasn’t enough people to use them.
the reciprocity treaty of 1854 was a free trade agreement with the
US. it removed tariffs on raw materials which was very beneficial
to the Maritimes.
Corn laws 1846 - a British system of giving a preferential trading
in grains with British Colonies. it gave a preferential rate of
trade with Britain from the colonies. they were repealed in 1846
and this was difficult for the maritimes. thus the Maritimes moved
economically closer to the US.
the US civil war also benefitted the maritimes as the Union needed
to purchase Canadian goods and were willing to pay a higher
price.
People in the Maritimes
Acadians - returned from exile
Scots - immigrated to Cape Breton Island, Gaelic speaking
Highlanders arrived as Clans or family units.
Irish - travelled to NB many came b/c of the potato famine in
Ireland in the 1840s
African Maritimers
Natives - Mi’kmaq, Maliseet
the population of the maritime province’s doubled and in some cases
almost tripled in the mid 1800s and most of the people who came
were English.
the journey to Canada was a dangerous journey and many people died
crossing the atlantic. Immigrant ships were often referred to as
coffin ships.
maritimers gained their own sense of culture by the late 1800’s.
they were economically successful enough to allow the culture to
develop.
the most famous cultural figure in the maritimes was the author
Thomas Chandler Haliburton. he was a judge from NS who wrote many
books, his most famous being The Clockmaker or the Sayings and
Doings of Sam Slick of Slickville (1837)
Nov, 4, 2009
Early 19th C Central Canada
the war of 1812 helped solidify attitudes that the American
revolution started. it showed Canadians that their fear of
republicanism and democracy was justified. they believed they
needed traditional British rule with clear class structures and a
very strong executive gov’t branch
the war also increased unity in Canada as people believed they had
to stand together against the Americans
John Strachan an Anglican cleric in upper Canada was one of the
chief intellectuals amongst the Tories and very clearly defined the
Canadian desire for a strong British rule. he believed that the
masses didn’t know how to govern themselves and needed an
aristocratic class to take care of them.
in the 1820s opponents labeled Strachans views as the “Family
Compact” also called the Chateau Clique in Lower Canada, the System
in NS or the Cabal in PEI. to their opponents these men were
pretentious and corrupt always supporting their friends and
themselves.
American expansionism offered the gov’t a reason to suppress
dissent as htey could label it as sowing disunity that would make
defence of the colony harder and harder.
Immigration from the US was actively discouraged by the Canadian
colonial gov’t
the early 19th C was a time of massive immigration. Most of the
immigrants were unaware of the years of hardships they would have
to endure before they could be successful.
Upper Canada had no slavery so there was a slow but steady
immigration of Blacks into the colony. they often settled near the
border as they came from the US. by the 1860s there were an
estimated 26000 blacks in upper Canada.
the vast majority of immigrants came from Great Britain. they were
small land owners or tenant farmers so not the poorest of the poor.
Immigrants usually travelled in family groups and even whole
communities would immigrate to Canada.
for the very poor people who came over life was very very hard.
these people were often Irish Catholics and entered the country
through Quebec.
there was a large Cholera epidemic in 1832 with recurring epidemics
over the next few decades. It traveled to Canada with the poor
immigrants as they had to travel in terrible conditions.
a quarantine was set up on Grosse Island in 1832 and some towns
tried to quarantine themselves by not allowing people to enter the
village. Cholera caused widespread fear among people and even
riots.
the quarantine station at Grosse Island didn’t close until 1932 and
for many immigrants was their first introduction to Canada
this wave of immigration brought competition for land and European
animosities to Canada.
the Shiners War 1837-1845 - violence b/w Irish labourers and French
Lumber workers.
Land surrendered by first Nations people was opened up for new
settlements. By this time Natives were outnumbered 10-1 and had
become far less important. the Gov’t changed their land purchasing
way and instead of making one payment they would make a payment
every year.
native groups were not near as unified as there were often european
settlements in between tribes. because of all the immigrants much
of the land where natives lived wasn’t good for hunting anyways as
it had been cleared for farming and the wildlife chased off.
the Gov’t wanted to assimilate the natives into European societies
by encouraging them to be farmers.
the governor was head of the colony and the executive council
advised him. it was the executive council that was dominated by the
Family Compact. from this council they could appoint like minded
people to different administrative posts and positions.
the family compact had four main values and goals
Upper Canada’s strength came from its Imperial connection to
Britain
power had to be kept in the hands of the Governor and his
Advisors
the Established Anglican Church had to be kept as strong as
possible b/c it gives a moral underpinning to the colony
economic progress came through commerce and grand financial
projects.
the 1820s were the golden age of canal building. it was done to
make transportation easier and more efficient
the Lachine Canal avoided some rapids on the St. Lawrence. the
Welland Canal was built to go around Niagara falls. The Rideau
Canal was built not to go around a natural obstacle but for a more
strategic reason. it was built as a way to quickly transport troops
Kingston and Ottawa. It was away to avoid the St Lawrence which was
also the boarder with the US
Sir Peregrine Maitland was the governor of Upper Canada. He:
re-enforced the family compact in Upper Canada
strengthened both his and the executive councils position in Upper
Canada
1/7th of the land in every province was set aside for the clergy.
It was about 3 million acres in Upper Canada and a certain amount
of land had been set aside as Crown Reserves.
the sale of Crown Lands is how the gov was able to grow and
maintain power.
Strachan argued that the Clergy lands were only for the Anglican
Church saying that it was the established Church of England and
Canada. this position was challenged by the Presbyterian Church of
Scotland in Upper Canada.
the Presbyterian’s and the Anglicans got land so the Methodists
tried next and they had a tough go as they came out of the states
and were looked down on by the family Compact.
methodism was growing quickly and Ryerson was a leader among them.
He was a young Methodist preacher from a loyalist family. Ryerson
vs Strachan. Ryerson would become politically important and went on
to reform education in Upper Canada.
Strachan wanted to make all schools in Upper Canada controlled by
the Anglican Church. he was fought by the elected assembly.
Nov 6, 2009
upper canada rebellions were basically just political and
ideological while rebellions in lower canada had the added bonus of
ethnic problems
colonial hierarchy in Canada
1 - Gov Lieutenant gov (representing British authority)
2 - Council (appointed by gov to help run the colony)
3 - Assembly (elected: represented male landowners) - could only
wield their power in a negative way as it could only stop the
executive and couldn’t do anything on its own.
William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis-Joseph Papineau were very vocal
and popular leaders of opposition in Canada.
reform goals, and rhetoric
responsible gov’t - governor should have to work with the elected
assembly.
Jacksonian democracy - the idea that there is a certain natural
wisdom in people and anyone is good enough to be a leader.
leadership should rotate.
suspicion of commercial classes - favored the farming class
reduce gov’t involvement in economy
political violence was a common and almost acceptable form of
demonstration
the lower house in Lower Canada came to be dominated by
Louis-Joseph Papineau and his Parti Partriote. he was a Lower
Canadian seigneur and reformer. Under Papineau the 92 Resolutions
were written.
at this time Lower Canada’s economy was suffering and there had
been a series of poor harvests. poor immigrants were flooding into
lower canada at this time as well. with them came disease and a
fear that they would take away jobs and opportunities.
in 1834 the Parti Patriote angry with the governors council, wrote
92 resolutions that listed their grievances. they wanted the
elected body to control the money and the gov to choose his council
from the elected assembly.
they sent the list to britain but received no response for 3 years.
when they did reply they sent the 10 resolutions that basically
said no.
the executive council was still only responsible to the governor
and the governor was responsible to the British gov’t not the
people.
this response made the french really really mad so they changed
their tactics from peaceful treaties to the gov’t to a more
aggressive form of protests and eventually to rebellion.
Dr. Wolfred Nelson - and English-Canadian member of the lower
Canada LA and a member of the Parti Patriote. he lead a meeting
with about 4000 people in attendance and called for a rebellion. at
this point Papineau started to have second thoughts when he
realized that it was turning to an armed rebellion, but it was too
late.
that meeting included a declaration of Independence and made plans
to take Quebec and Montreal.
the gov’t tried to arrest the Patriot leaders. Nelson and other
partiots barricade the road and wait for the troops to come.
on the 21st of Nov the battle of St. Denis broke out and the
British were defeated and this was a huge psychological boost for
the patriots
on the 25th of nov the patriot forces lead by Nelson gave battle
again at St. Charles. b/w 50 and 150 patriots were killed while the
british lost only 3 soldiers. prisoners were sent to jail in
Montreal.
Lord Seaton leader of British troops in Lower Canada. he gave the
order to torch the homes around the battles of Saint-Jean and St.
Charles.
in Mid december 1400 british redcoats and fought the patriots back
into the village church and then burned the church. this was at St.
Eustache.
in total about 300 men died in the rebellions. the British
imprisoned the leaders and torched villages where any resistance
was suspected.
when news of the insurrection reached England most of the rebel
leaders had escaped into the US. Nelson sent his brother to the
States to try and bring Papineau back but he wouldn’t come.
Nelson’s brother was able to convince 300 americans to come with
him and they led raids into Canada. he declared himself as leader
of the new republic and would raid into Canada and then flee back
to the safety of the US.
Robert Nelson was arrested by the Americans b/c he raided an
American Militia fort but was released and continued to raid.
Secret societies were formed in Vermont and other states and from
these societies came the cross border raids.
in Nov 1838 another revolt breaks out south west of Montreal at
Oka. some Patriots tried to steal mohawk supplies but the mohawk
captured them and they were sent to Montreal.
Nov 1838 is considered the end of the rebellion as all resistance
basically ended and the border raids were turned back.
The way that Lord Seaton put down the rebellion was considered
heavy handed even by the people of his time. he had fought against
Napoleon and had no love at all for French people. he burned
thousands of homes and arrested hundreds of people.
Britain suspended lower Canada constitution and set up a special
council for the colony. during the rebellions civil liberties and
legal rights were suspended. a police force was set up to watch the
people. at the end of the rebellions Lord Durham was sent over to
launch an inquiry into the rebellion
the rebellions failed b/c the leaders of the rebellions had no idea
how to turn a swelling of discontent into a independent nations.
they had very little military experience.
Nov 9, 2009
William Lyon Mackenzie - outspoken critic of the Family compact and
the way clergy lands were distributed and controlled. He used his
power as a newspaper editor to fight the family compact. he was
elected to the house of assembly 4 times and thrown out by the
ruling Tories
He became the first mayor of Toronto and continued to denounce the
family compact. He compiled a huge list of peoples complaints
against the gov’t and he published it as the Report on
Grievances
in 1836 Francis Bond-Head was appointed as Governor of Upper
Canada. it was a strange choice as he knew nothing at all of
Canada, he was an eccentric man who loved living on the “frontier”
and wrote cowboy novels. he did know that he didn’t trust the
reformers and that he was a strong Tory
Bond-Head openly campaigned for the Tories in the 1836
elections.
WLM was inspired by the Lower Canada rebellion and he went through
the country side trying to inspire a rebellion.
the rebels met at Montgomery's Tavern in Toronto and they marched
down Young Street, they were not very well armed. they were fired
upon by the militia and the rebels fled, in the confusion the
militia fled as well.
2 days later Bond-Head marched on Motgomery’s Tavern with a larger
group of volunteer’s. within half an hour the tavern was torched
and the rebels defeated.
WLM fled south and made it to the US. he hooked up with the secret
societies that had been formed after the Lower Canadian
rebellion.
WLM came back to Canada and Landed on Navy Island. He declared
himself as President of the New Canadian Republic.
WLM was Mackenzie-Kings Grandfather.
The british did make an effort to find out what had caused the
rebellions in the Canada’s.
Bond-Head was called back and Lord Durham one of the most gifted
politicians in Britain replaced him.
he was called the High Commissioner and Gov-Gen of all her
Majesty’s provinces on the Continent of North America. he was to
investigate the causes of the rebellion.
he had much more power than most governors as he was in charge of
all of Canada. He didn’t abuse his powers though as he himself was
a reformer and was known back in Britain as Radical Jack.
he arrived in Canada in May 1838. everyone had great faith in
Durham. both Tory’s and reformers believed that he would help them
and bring unity to the colonies.
In the Maritimes although there was no rebellion there, people were
unhappy with the political elite. Reformers in the Maritimes wanted
responsible gov’t (the gov had to choose his cabinet from the
elected officials). they got it.
Joseph Howe - leader of the NS reformers and a journalist. he
attacked the oligarchic control of the executive council.
in the election of 1847 the reformers fought an election on the
issue of responsible gov’t and won a majority. passed law stating
that the executive council would resign if they lost the confidence
of the elected assembly.
no rebellion was required to get responsible gov’t. this is the
same as in NB which got responsible gov’t in 1848. PEI got it in
1851, they were motivated for it in the hope it would get rid of
the absentee landlords but it didn’t.
Nov 13, 2009
Lord Durham was sent to Upper and Lower Canada in 1838 to
investigate the causes of the rebellions in 1837-38. He met with
Reform leaders as well as gov’t leaders. In his report to the
British Gov’t he recommended that the two colonies be united and
that they be given responsible gov’t.
Robert Baldwin was one of the men that Durham met with. he was an
Upper Canadian reformer and a moderate liberal who sought
responsible gov’t, winning it for his province in 1848.
British merchants tried to convince Durham that the problems of
lower Canada was the french Canadians and their ethnic
unrest.
Durham was in Canada for less than 6 months. His Main task was to
set up committees of inquiry to look into the causes of the
rebellion. another task was to figure out what to do with the
people who were in prison.
Durham pardoned many of the imprisoned rebels but they were mainly
those who had done fairly minor things. Those that he couldn’t
pardon, he exiled to Bermuda. in doing this he calmed much of the
rampant emotions in the colonies.
Durham spent most of his time in Lower Canada and spoke mainly with
English people.
Durham hosted many lavish dinner parties during his travels. He
invited American representatives and soothed many of the tensions
that had arisen during the boarder raids.
Durham returned to London to defend his actions of exiling
prisoners to Bermuda.
He submitted his report in the spring of following year (1839). he
advocated
that the colonies be given authority over their own internal
affairs. With only international issues remaining the prerogative
of Britain
That the governor be required to name the leaders of the elected
assembly as his ruling advisors
that Upper and Lower Canada be united under one government.
Durham believed that the governors could maintain considerable
power by just reorganizing the gov’t a little.
in Upper Canada Durham blamed the rebellion on the political elite
and believed that responsible gov’t alone would solve the
problems
in Lower Canada Durham found “two warring nations within a single
state: it was not a struggle of principles, but of race.” He
decided that the solution to this problem was to assimilate the
French. This is why he wanted the two colonies to merge so that the
French would be outnumbered and lose political power so that they
would eventually blend into the fabric of Canada.
only once the French had been assimilated did Durham believe that
it would be safe to introduce responsible government.
Durham’s report had the unintended result of invigorating French
culture in Canada.
the historian Francois-Xavier Garnea wrote the Histoire du Canada
which appeared in a number of volumes over the next few years. he
identified three main pillars of French-Canadian survival
French Law
French language
Roman Catholic Church
Garneau saw french history in Canada not as one of great victories
but of survival. The french had survived against the Iroquois, the
British, and now the English-Canadians. They may have never won but
they never gave up or left.
Druham’s calls for assimilation became rallying cries for French
leaders to invigorate their own culture.
Durham wasn’t calling for a massive change or a fundamental shift
in government formation and policy.
Most of Durham’s recommendations were ignored but one that was
accepted was the union of the two colonies
The Act of Union was passed in 1841 and it called for
Upper and Lower Canada united under a single gov’t
equal representation from both region - underrepresented the French
and the British hoped that the French would be assimilated into the
nation
Debts of the two colonies were pooled - again unfair to Lower
Canada as Upper Canada’s debt was 1.2 million pounds v 95,000 lbs
in Lower Canada
Canada East and Canada West - was good for Upper Canada as now they
could collect more tariffs from import/export
English became the official language of parliament.
The Act of Union didn’t grant responsible gov’t as Durham had
recommended.
Nov 18, 2009
Lord Syndenham reunited the two Canada’s in 1841 and became the
first Governor-General of a single Province of Canada.
he worked very hard to make sure that reformers weren’t elected and
was also believe that the French hated him and wouldn’t elect a
single pro-British MP
Lord Syndenham gerrymandered electoral districts and held the vote
in English area’s. he had British troops and Irish construction
workers to intimidate french voters.
after the 1841 election the Governor had a majority that supported
him b/c of his heavy handed tactics and brought reformers in Canada
East and West together.
Francis Hincks was the editor of the Toronto Examiner and an MP. He
was dedicated to the cause of responsible government. He worked
hard with LaFontaine the leader of the French reformer.
He became premier of Canada West in 1851 from 1854
LaFontaine was the leader of the french canadian reformers and he
fought hard to win responsible gov’t for canada. He enlisted the
help of Robert Baldwin
Baldwin endorsed Hincks overture to LaFontaine and helped him get
elected in a reform riding in Canada East in a by election.
Baldwin was helped by LaFontaine as well as Baldwin lost his seat
and LaFontaine helped him win a by-election in Canada East in a
french speaking riding.
in the 1848 election the Reformers swept to a majority power in the
elected assembly.
James Bruce, Lord Elgin was Gov-Gen at this time and he believed
that responsible gov’t was the best way to solve Canada’s political
problems. He called on LaFontaine to form the gov’t as he was
leader of the majority party.
he amended the act of union to end the ban on the French language
and include it in the workings of Parliament.
Lord Elgin also passed the Rebellion Losses Bill in 1849. this was
a bill for Lower Canada that would compensate anyone (including
patriots) who had had property damaged or loss in the rebellion in
Lower Canada. English speaking MP’s were extremely angered as they
saw it as rewarding traitors.
People were so mad that they burned the Parliament building in
Montreal and attacked the Governor. The Montreal Riots lasted for
about a week. After the rebellion the seat of Government was moved
from Montreal to Toronto.
people were angry all of the Canada West and English speakers in
Canada East as well. These people didn’t consider themselves
disloyal b/c they thought they were protecting a British Colony
from the French within it.
people were angry at the rebellion losses bill but there were other
reasons behind the riots. With the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846
large sectors of the Canadian economy into a depression. Many
people felt as if this was Britain abandoning her colony.
in Oct 1849 the Montreal Gazette published the Annexation Manifesto
which urged Canada to offer herself to the US to be Annexed. many
of the people who supported the annexation manifestation were
business leaders but there was a fairly mixed group. Even some
French Canadians looked to Louisiana as an example of how they
could take advantage of American democracy and independence at the
same time. Not enough people supported the manifesto for it to
become a powerful force in Canada. The Roman Catholic Church was
also against annexation.
Elgin negotiated the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854 with the United
States.
As a result of the parliament of 1848 and Lord Elgin was the
unofficial admission by the gov’t that the French would never be
assimilated.
the Act of Union b/w Upper and Lower Canada was simply a prelude to
Confederation. it was an idea that didn’t really work all that
well. some things that it did do right was
the first formal school system
the feudal seigneurial system in french canada was abolished
responsible gov’t was accomplished w/o very much blood shed.
Nov 20, 2009
in 1821 the NWC and the HBC merged to form the new HBC. the
re-invigorated HBC was very successful. it had the energy of the
NWC and the capital of the HBC.
there was a shift in focus of the HBC as they started to look more
to the west and the pacific coast instead of Quebec and the
east.
the fur trade continued to be profitable for a number of
generations it was investors in Britain of HBC employees that are
now profiting Instead of french trappers
Governor George Simpson was governor of the new HBC and of Rupert’s
Land from 1826 to his death in 1860. he was very involved with the
company and tried to make it more efficient.
He made an effort at great order and efficiency to the HBC.
Simpson traveled extensively throughout Rupert’s Land. He wasn’t
that well liked as he kept salaries down, closed posts and was a
racist.
he and the company were successful at keeping Rupert’s Land the
sole territory of the HBC until 1869 when it was sold to
Canada.
Simpson was reluctant to allow missionaries into the west b/c they
might try and civilize the natives. Didn’t want a railway to come
through b/c that would also make it easier to settle the
west.
Red River Settlement - Current day Winnipeg
most of the Red River Settlements problems were environmental
hardships like harsh winters, crop failures, droughts and so on.
the river often flooded and swept away the colonies homes. frosts
destroyed the crops once every ten years or so. by the 1840s there
is a sense of stability and prosperity
the pop started to grow, mainly from the birth rate. The pop was
largely Metis (french speaking Roman Catholic) and the
“Country-Born” or “Mixed-Bloods” (English speaking
protestant)
the County-Born were often of Scottish descent.
North of the Red River towards the Lake lived the Country-Born and
and Metis lived further south.
the Metis had a special sense of community that was stronger than
the Country-Born. Language, faith, and participation in the buffalo
hunt helped keep the group together and fostered the sense of
community.
the buffalo hunt was a very large event with usually around a
thousand participants. it was usually very well organized. A chief
of the hunt was elected and he chose captains and together they
organized the hunt
the Metis in the Red River were Governed by the Council of
Assiniboia. It was made up of community members appointed by the
HBC. The settlers didn’t have representations but they also didn’t
pay taxes
justice was administered by a special court made up of anglophones
and francophones that met twice a year
in the early 1830s tensions rose as some european traders started
to bring over their europeans wives to the colony even thought they
may have had a large metis family, but it wasn’t a big issue until
the 1860s
the Metis started to resent the HBC’s control over the settlement
of the area and the Fur trade. during the Sayer Trail of 1849
(charged with illegally trafficking in furs) the Metis organized a
defence for Sayer as this was their Litmus test for the power of
the Metis. Sayer was found guilty but no sentence was handed
down.
the Metis saw this as a victory and it lead to the expansion of the
Fur trade and the HBC accepting French as a language of the
Colony
in 1851 the Metis came into conflict with the Sioux and this led to
the Metis-Sioux Wars that came to a head at a battle in North
Dakota in which they were victorious.
the Red River Colony became less isolated as it came in contact
more often with St. Paul Minnesota and it became the Red River
Colonies main trading partner. mail service came to Red River
through St. Paul in 1853 and the railway came to St. Paul in 1865
and even the HBC used that as a way to get supplies to the
Colony.
many people believe that only the American Civil war and the war
b/w St. Paul and the Sioux stopped the Red River from becoming part
of Minnesota.
the Metis of the Red River started spawning settlement farther west
along the North Saskatchewan River. St. Albert was their farthest
west settlement
one of the problems for the Metis was that the Buffalo was
declining.
the metis were also moving into native territories following the
buffalo and this led to conflicts. The plains first nations was
already in serious decline from the lack of buffalo and
disease.
in were many outbreaks of disease among first nations and some of
this is attributed to the arrival of the Metis who had already had
contact with these diseases that were new to the natives.
In the mid 1860 American Whiskey traders began to arrive. b/c of
the collapse of the Bison pop the stability b/w plains natives and
American fur traders broke down. The Whiskey traders were pushed
out of the States by US Marshals so they moved into Southern AB and
SASK and made fortunes but at the cost of natives.
the perceptions of the North West were also changing at this time
in the Canada’s. Palliser’s and Hinds expedition’s to the North
West had changed the idea that the North West was an extension of
the Deserts in the American south West
these were the first official exploratory trips by Canadian and
British officials. they were meant to survey the land and see if it
could be used for agricultural production
the expeditions were also to confirm British North America’s claim
to the territory.
both expeditions came back with similar findings and both reported
on the magnificent possibilities of the region for ag production.
They also made the recommendation of a railroad to open up the
territory
Nov 27, 2009
Vancouver Island was primarily developed b/c of worries about
americans would take it first
1840 - about 1000 Americans settled there and more and more began
settling
fort Victoria was called a perfect Eden
1844 James Polk elected president
54-40 organ fight - expansionist mood in the states
in negotiations b/w the British and the American’s over the Oregon
territory the boarder of the two nations was agreed upon at the
49th Parallel. b/c of fort Vancouver all of Vancouver Island was to
be British.
the British Gov’t asked the HBC to colonize Vancouver Island. Fort
Victoria became the capital of the island and later of the Queen
Charlotte Island as well. It was also the HBC headquarters in the
west.
the discovery of coal in Nanimo led to a small european community
there
James Douglas was the First Governor of Vancouver Island which at
the time was mainly inhabited by Natives
Douglas had somewhat greater leniency when dealing with punishment
of Natives and appropriation of their lands. Douglas tried to
understand first nations society and tried to be fair with
them.
Douglas did have problems purchasing lands form the natives for new
settlement b/c of a lack of available funds as he didn’t want to
use HBC funds anymore. he did purchase about 3% (1000 km squared)
of the Island. He also allowed the natives to choose their own
reserves. but these reserves were often small
there were complaints from settlers complained that Douglas was
running an autocratic gov’t with high land prices and “Family
Compact, Compact” as much of the gov’t was made up of Douglas’s
relatives and HBC employees that Douglas used to work with.
After 1859 there was no more treaties or buying of Native lands,
Europeans just settled there.
fear of American expansion and complaints with the HBC and their
running of the Island were reasons that