Canadian History Flashcards
(87 cards)
When Europeans explored Canada, what did they find?
When Europeans explored Canada they found all regions
occupied by native peoples they called Indians, because the
first explorers thought they had reached the East Indies. The
native people lived off the land, some by hunting and gathering,
others by raising crops. The Huron-Wendat of the Great Lakes
region, like the Iroquois, were farmers and hunters. The Cree
and Dene of the Northwest were hunter-gatherers. The Sioux
were nomadic, following the bison (buffalo) herd. The Inuit lived
off Arctic wildlife. West Coast natives preserved fish by drying
and smoking. Warfare was common among Aboriginal groups
as they competed for land, resources and prestige
How the arrival of European changed the native way of life
The arrival of European traders, missionaries, soldiers and
colonists changed the native way of life forever. Large numbers
of Aboriginals died of European diseases to which they lacked
immunity. However, Aboriginals and Europeans formed strong
economic, religious and military bonds in the first 200 years of
coexistence which laid the foundations of Canada.
who was the first to map Canada’s Atlantic shore
John Cabot, an Italian immigrant to England,
was the first to map Canada’s Atlantic shore, setting foot on
Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island in 1497 and claiming the
New Founde Land for England. English settlement did not
begin until 1610
who were the first Europeans
The Vikings from Iceland who colonized Greenland 1,000 years
ago also reached Labrador and the island of Newfoundland.
The remains of their settlement, l’Anse aux Meadows, are a
World Heritage site.
European exploration began in earnest in 1497 with the
expedition of John Cabot, who was the first to draw a map of
Canada’s East Coast.
how the name of canada came to map?
Between 1534 and 1542, Jacques Cartier made three voyages
across the Atlantic, claiming the land for King Francis I of
France. Cartier heard two captured guides speak the Iroquoian
word kanata, meaning “village.” By the 1550s, the name of
Canada began appearing on maps.
when and by whom the first European settlement north of Florida was established?
In 1604, the first European settlement north of Florida was
established by French explorers Pierre de Monts and Samuel
de Champlain, first on St. Croix Island (in present-day Maine),
then at Port-Royal, in Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia).
when and how French and the Iroquois made peace
In 1608 Champlain built a fortress at what is now Québec City.
The colonists struggled against a harsh climate. Champlain
allied the colony with the Algonquin, Montagnais, and Huron,
historic enemies of the Iroquois, a confederation of five (later
six) First Nations who battled with the French settlements for a
century. The French and the Iroquois made peace in 1701.
French and Aboriginal collaboration
The French and Aboriginal people collaborated in the vast furtrade
economy, driven by the demand for beaver pelts in
Europe. Outstanding leaders like Jean Talon, Bishop Laval,
and Count Frontenac built a French Empire in North America
that reached from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.
About Hudson’s Bay Company
In 1670, King Charles II of England granted the Hudson’s Bay
Company exclusive trading rights over the watershed draining
into Hudson Bay. For the next 100 years the Company
competed with Montreal-based traders. The skilled and
courageous men who travelled by canoe were called
voyageurs and coureurs des bois, and formed strong alliances
with First Nations.
men who travelled by canoe were called
voyageurs and coureurs des bois
the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
English colonies along the Atlantic seaboard, dating from the
early 1600s, eventually became richer and more populous than
New France. In the 1700s France and Great Britain battled for
control of North America. In 1759, the British defeated the
French in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Québec City —
marking the end of France’s empire in America. The
commanders of both armies, Brigadier James Wolfe and the
Marquis de Montcalm, were killed leading their troops in battle.
Province of Quebec history
Following the war (Battle of the Plains of Abraham), Great Britain renamed the colony the
“Province of Quebec.” The French-speaking Catholic people,
known as habitants or Canadiens, strove to preserve their way
of life in the English-speaking, Protestant-ruled British Empire
Quebec Act
To better govern the French Roman Catholic majority, the
British Parliament passed the Quebec Act of 1774. One of the
constitutional foundations of Canada, the Quebec Act
accommodated the principles of British institutions to the reality
of the province. It allowed religious freedom for Catholics and
permitted them to hold public office, a practice not then allowed
in Britain. The Quebec Act restored French civil law while
maintaining British criminal law.
who are Loyalists
In 1776, the 13 British colonies to the south of Quebec
declared independence and formed the United States. North
America was again divided by war. More than 40,000 people
loyal to the Crown, called “Loyalists,” fled the oppression of the
American Revolution to settle in Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Joseph Brant led thousands of Loyalist Mohawk Indians into
Canada. The Loyalists came from Dutch, German, British,
Scandinavian, Aboriginal and other origins and from
Presbyterian, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Jewish, Quaker,
and Catholic religious backgrounds. About 3,000 black
Loyalists, freedmen and slaves, came north seeking a better
life. In turn, in 1792, some black Nova Scotians, who were
given poor land, moved on to establish Freetown, Sierra Leone
(West Africa), a new British colony for freed slaves.
The Beginnings of Democracy
Democratic institutions developed gradually and peacefully.
The first representative assembly was elected in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, in 1758. Prince Edward Island followed in 1773, New
Brunswick in 1785.
Constitutional Act of 1791
The Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the
Province of Quebec into Upper Canada (later Ontario), which
was mainly Loyalist, Protestant and English-speaking, and
Lower Canada (later Quebec), heavily Catholic and Frenchspeaking. The Act also granted to the Canadas, for the first time,
legislative assemblies elected by the people. The name
Canada also became official at this time and has been used
ever since. The Atlantic colonies and the two Canadas were
known collectively as British North America.
when the name of canada became official
The Constitutional Act of 1791 granted to the Canadas, for the first time, legislative assemblies elected by the people. The name
Canada also became official at this time and has been used
ever since. The Atlantic colonies and the two Canadas were
known collectively as British North America.
ABOLITION OF SLAVERY
Slavery has existed all over the world, from Asia, Africa and the
Middle East to the Americas. The first movement to abolish the
transatlantic slave trade emerged in the British Parliament in
the late 1700s. In 1793, Upper Canada, led by Lieutenant
Governor John Graves Simcoe, a Loyalist military officer,
became the first province in the Empire to move toward
abolition. In 1807, the British Parliament prohibited the buying
and selling of slaves, and in 1833 abolished slavery throughout
the Empire. Thousands of slaves escaped from the United
States, followed “the North Star” and settled in Canada via the
Underground Railroad, a Christian anti-slavery network.
The Provincial Freeman
Mary Ann (Shadd) Carey was an outspoken activist in
the movement to abolish slavery in the U.S.A. In 1853 she
became the first woman publisher in Canada, helping to found
and edit The Provincial Freeman, a weekly newspaper
dedicated to anti-slavery, black immigration to Canada,
temperance (urging people to drink less alcohol) and upholding
British rule.
The first companies in Canada
The first companies in Canada were formed during the French
and British regimes and competed for the fur trade. The
Hudson’s Bay Company, with French, British and Aboriginal
employees, came to dominate the trade in the northwest from
Fort Garry (Winnipeg) and Fort Edmonton to Fort Langley (near
Vancouver) and Fort Victoria—trading posts that later became
cities.
The first financial institutions
The first financial institutions opened in the late 18th and early
19th centuries. The Montreal Stock Exchange opened in 1832.
Canada’s economy at first was based on what
For centuries Canada’s economy was based mainly on farming
and on exporting natural resources such as fur, fish and timber,
transported by roads, lakes, rivers and canals
why the US and Canada war started
After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte’s fleet in the Battle of
Trafalgar (1805), the Royal Navy ruled the waves. The British
Empire, which included Canada, fought to resist Bonaparte’s
bid to dominate Europe. This led to American resentment at
British interference with their shipping. Believing it would be
easy to conquer Canada, the United States launched an
invasion in June 1812. The Americans were mistaken.
Canadian volunteers and First Nations, including Shawnee led
by Chief Tecumseh, supported British soldiers in Canada’s
defence.
when who captured Detroit
In July, Major-General Sir Isaac Brock captured
Detroit but was killed while defending against an American
attack at Queenston Heights, near Niagara Falls, a battle the
Americans lost.
