Contexts of the Canadas & rising tensions Flashcards
When did Britain gain all of Canada?
What did the evacuation of loyalists from the American colonies lead to?
Due to the differences in their background what differentiated the two Canadas?
Did Canada exist as a single colony? (New foundland, Nova Scotia)
-Britain gained all of New France at the end of the Seven Years War. 1763
-The evacuation of loyalists from the American colonies after the War of Independence led to the 1791 Constitution.
-Because of their different histories, Upper and Lower Canada had different land tenure systems, religions and languages.
-Other colonies such as Newfoundland and Nova Scotia were separate. Canada as a single colony didn’t exist.
What ethnic group dominated the Upper Canada region? What attracted more of them during the 1790s?
Why was the Canada Company set up?
Who governed Upper Canada?
What did the Executive Council act as?
Who did they appoint? (Upper house?)
Who were the lieutenant governors responsible to instead of the legislative council?
Who was the Governor general of the Canadas in charge of?
Who was in charge of day to day governance?
What is the Family Compact?
-Upper Canada had far more British settlers than Lower Canada.
- ‘Loyalists’ from the USA arrived during the 1790s attracted by the free land but their loyalty was often questionable.
-The Canada Company was set up to develop the province.
-The province was governed by a lieutenant governor and an appointed executive council.
-Acted like a cabinet plus an elected tax-raising assembly with a fairly wide franchise.
-Appointed legislative council modelled as an ‘upper house’.
-The lieutenant governors were responsible to London, not the locally elected legislative council.
-The governor general of the Canadas was in charge of both provinces but the day-to-day governance was done by the respective lieutenant governors.
-The Family Compact was a small group of men who controlled the executive council of Upper Canada from about 1810 to 1840. They were united by their conservatism in constitutional change and Anglicanism.
What was the land system ownership system used in Upper Canada?
Who was most of the land held by?
Unlike in Australia whose claims to land were recognised by the Crown?
What fraction of the land was designated as clergy reserves. Who did their profits go to?
What were the British convinced would ensure their loyalty in Canada?
Why did state support of this group anger many others?
-There was a freehold system of land ownership in Upper Canada, the same kind of system was in Britain.
-Most of the land was held by the Crown and was therefore free to be granted to settlers.
-Unlike the Australian Aborigines, the British did recognise claims to the land by native people and treaties were signed to increase Crown lands.
-1/7 of all lands in Upper Canada were designated as clergy reserves.
-All profits from their sale or rental going to the Anglican Church.
-The British were convinced that Anglicanism would ensure Canadian loyalty (The Family Compact were all Anglicans).
-Anglicans weren’t in a majority in Upper Canada and the state’s support of the Church angered many non-Anglican Canadians.
Why did Upper Canada’s superior land tenure system not lead to economic prosperity?
Unlike the past what did the gov’t avoid using to revenues? What did they do raise revenues instead?
What frustrated reformers in the assembly? What did they do in response?
Why did opposition towards the Family Compact grow between the 1820s and 30s?
What type of gov’t did Reformers call for? Who did they want removed from councils?
What did they want to reform within the constitution?
Who suggested this to Colonial Secretary Glenelg in 1836?
-Upper Canada’s superior land tenure system should have enabled better economic progress but the province lacked capital investment and infrastructure.
-The government avoided using the legislative assembly to raise taxes and instead raised revenues by other means such as land sales.
-Reformers in the assembly were frustrated as they were unable to influence the government.
-In response refused to vote or pay officials until grievances were met.
-Opposition to the Family Compact grew during the 1820s and 1830s around the issue of the clergy reserves.
-The Reformers called for ‘responsible government’.
-They wanted removal of the Family Compact from the councils.
-Constitutional reforms where the executive was responsible to voters rather than London.
-Robert Baldwin suggested these reforms to Colonial Secretary Glenelg in 1836.
Who had Lower Canada been colonised by before British involvement? Therefore who was land granted to before it could be granted to tenant farmers?
Essentially what form of land system is this? How was this inferior to Upper Canadas?
How were tenants protected by gov’t?
-Lower Canada had been colonised by pre-Revolutionary France .
-The land was granted to a seigneur who would then grant land to tenant farmers.
-This was essentially a feudal system.
-Inferior to Upper Canada’s freehold as the latter encouraged investment and improvement of the land.
-Habitants(tenants) were protected by government oversight of contracts.
What act allowed the free practice of Catholicism?
What was French civil law left in place for?
What language was spoken by the assembly?
What were French-Canadians wary of?
When did Lower Canada adopt the same political system as Upper?
Who dominated the councils in Lower Canada? Assembly?
What trades were lucrative in this section of Canada? How much was made annually on fur alone by the 18th century?
What happened by 1832 regarding the markets of lower Canada? What happened to the deficit?
What did the British blame the hardship started in the 1820s on?
-Britain allowed the free practice of Catholicism under the Quebec Act 1774.
-French Civil law was left in place for private matters.
-The assembly spoke in English.
-French-Canadians remained fiercely attached to their identities and were wary of influxes of British settlers and political attacks on French systems.
-Lower Canada had been brought into being by the 1791 Constitution so had the same political system as Upper Canada.
-The councils were dominated by the English speaking oligarchy Chateau Clique.
-The assembly was elected by the large French population and was dominated by French Canadians.
-1760s saw lucrative trading of; Fur trade, fisheries, timber trade and shipbuilding & wheat.
-£400,000 was made on trade of fur alone by the 18th century.
-Production then fell off very sharply by around 1832. Causing the deficit to become chronic.
-1820s saw genuine hardship for the French habitants but the British attributed the problems to backwardness of French land systems and laws.
What law was proposed in 1822 which was strongly opposed by French people based on the preservation of their population? How did London respond?
Who was Papineau? How did he describe Lower Canada in his petition to prevent its unification with Upper?
Who were the Patriotes? What role did they serve for French speakers?
Were the Patriotes all unified by Radical beliefs i.e. revolution?
Who was lieutenant governor of the Canadas between 1820-28? Did he see eye to eye with reformists/assembly? What did they refuse to do adding to this tension? What did he do due to this in 1827?
How many petitions followed Dalhousie’s actions?
Although London was sensitive to tensions what was it not willing to do?
-A law was proposed in 1822 to unify the Canadas but this was opposed strongly by the French speakers as this would make them into a minority. The bill was dropped.
-Papineau described Lower Canada as a distinct geographic, economic and cultural space, forever destined to serve the Habitant as a Catholic and French nation.
-A new group of French speaking professionals known as patriots began to seek reform of the political systems.
-They sought to protect French identities and to represent the interests of small merchants and farmers.
-NO. The patriotes had a diverse array of views from those seeking to mimic the American Revolution to those seeking to retain the seigneurial land system purely because it was French.
-The lieutenant governor of Lower Canada from 1820 to 1828 was Lord Dalhousie.
-NO. He was at loggerheads with the assembly and they refused to vote to pay officials.
-Dalhousie prorogued the assembly in 1827 refusing to accept a patriote speaker lobbying.
-87,000 strong petition removed him.
-London was sensitive to unrest in its colonies but always stopped short of fundamental reforms.
What did the British hope would prevent a French revolution in the Lower Canadas? (Act?)
What lesson from the past were the Political systems of the 1791 Constitution drawn from?
Who were tax raising powers left with due to this lesson?
Despite the 1791 Constitution’s progressive nature, who did power still remain in the hands of?
-The British hoped that allowing French-Canadians to continue their religious and cultural practices as before under the Quebec Act 1774 would prevent rebellion.
-The political systems of the 1791 Constitution were based on the lessons of the American War of Independence.
-Tax-raising powers resided with local assemblies as Britain had thought that America had revolted due to taxes being levied from abroad.
-The 1791 Constitution was an advancement in British colonial rule but it still kept power in the hands of appointed British officials.
