Canada from Land Crossing to 1600 Flashcards
What are the origins of Canada’s First Peoples?
Canada’s first peoples crossed a land bridge that united Asia and North America (between Siberia and northern Canada) at least 10 000 and 15 000 years agowhen the ice age made water levels drop
What were the differences between the societies the first European Explorers found?
The Aztecs
- They have an empire (as in they were ruled by an emperor) and a developed government system
- They had complex infrastructure
- Agricultural society was founded on potatoes and corn
- - This is a large part of what lead them to build large cites
- When Europeans encounter this civilization, they meet people that they can relate to, they consider “smart”
Indigenous Northern Americans
- Egalitarian system
- Nomadic lifestyle because of the land
- About 100 million people living in north, central, and southern America – but they were spread out
- - Which would have accounted for 15-20% of the world’s population at that point
- - About 1500 in the Beothuk community in Newfoundland
Discuss the language groups that could be found in pre-contact Canada.
- There were 12
- including Iroquoian & Pomoan
- Algonquian was the largest and most diverse
- many of these languages are functionally extinct
Discuss 2 Indigenous Culture Areas
Northwest Coast
- They were cut off from inland areas by the Rockies
- This is likely the oldest area of indigenous life in now-Canada
- Definitely the most densely populated - which lead to the linguistic diversity
- The region’s economy was very dependent on the resources of the sea: marine food - fish ad marine mammals which were hunted year round
- They had some agriculture
- Various regions of this area were sedentary - they lived in set villages year round and were not nomadic the way the peoples of the rest plains were
The Plains (or Great Plains)
- Buffalo were incredibly important to them as it provided food, clothing, fuel, and shelter
- They were Nomadic as they followed the Buffalo around, so they had few agricultural practices.
- They knew the migratory habits of the buffalo really well, which was fundamental in the success of their society
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What is a Potlatch and who practiced it?
Potlatch: practiced to mourn the dead or to celebrate a new chief
When you would give away items to others
If you want to show how powerful you are, you want to accumulate goods that you can give away
Settlers and the Canadian government really hated it
Who were the first Europeans to explore the New world? Discuss them.
The first Europeans to explore the New World were the Norse
People are leaving Scandanavia to colonize other lands because they are facing fairly severe socio-economic issues - they go to Iceland & Greenland
What were the two motivations for American expansion?
- Economics
- Many countries had to pay turks to trade with Asia, so they wanted to find a direct route to Asia that they could use instead
- once they realize that this is not Asia, they stay to exploit the resources they find
- They are also over-populated and many hope for their own land - Religion
- Various religious groups encourage the exploration of the New World to convert peoples they find
- People also seek asylum in a New World – they flee religious persecution
Discuss the importance of fishing in the 16th century.
- John Cabot travels to (probably) Newfoundland and realizes Columbus probably never found Asia
- He tries to go around (North) and finds plentiful fishing grounds
- Fish was very important to European diet as: it was cheap and easy to store, and there were about 200 days a year where Europeans couldn’t eat meat (for religious reasons).
- Fish outweighed fur as the most efficient and profitable export through the 16-18th centuries
- There was also the green fishery and the dry fishery.
Compare the two types of fishing practices present off the coast of Newfoundland during the 16-18th centuries.
The Green Fishery (French & Portuguese)
- Required large quantities of salt to preserve the fish
- Fish was salted right after being caught, then kept in casts of “brine” (super salty water) and brought back to France
- resulted in Much less contact with the land
- France had much more access to salt, which made this a more beneficial method
- This method continued with the French and Portuguese well into the 20th century
The Dry Fishery - (English)
- They dried out the fish which was more work but used less salt
- Process: Catch the fish, Split it, Dry it out in the sun
When you want to eat it – you would just rehydrate it
- This Product was more valuable
- Process meant spending a lot more time on land
What was Jacques Cartier’s effect on the Indigenous peoples of Canada? (who was he, what did he do?)
He had 3 major trips to the New World.
- He formally claimed the region of Canada for France, Many see this and are angered or excited to do trade. He also kidnaps 2 sons of an Iroquoian Chief.
- These two men guide him to the St.Laurence where he meets their father, Chief Donnacona of the Stadacona people. The Chief does not give Cartier permission to go further into the St.Lawrence (he wants to be a go-between). Cartier goes anyways, makes it down quite a bit then has to turn around when he hits rapids. While he goes he leaves behind crewmen who begin to set up a fort, which makes Chief Donnacona angry. He decides to winter in what he calls Canada with his men, they suffer badly. He then kidnaps the cheif and some other indigenous people from the group to bring back to France where they die.
- He claims the men he stole are living like kings in France and do not want to return, so his relationship with the people of Stadacona collapse. He tries to establish a colony but leaves it when he finds what he thinks is gold (but is Pyrite). This mistake makes him into a bit of a laughing stock and France does not send another voyage for years after.
After he leaves the St.Lawrence Iroquians collapse as a nation. This is believed to have been because they contracted diseases from Cartier & his men.
