Learning from past mistakes: Canada and the Durham Report 1837-40 Flashcards
(107 cards)
When was Upper and Lower Canada created?
1791 Constitution
What was Canada pre-1763?
New France
What change occurred in Upper Canada in 1825?
Free land grants were axed (due to high USA immigration) and sale-by-auction was introduced
What did the Canada Company receive in 1825?
A Royal Charter to aid colonisation and development of the province
What occurred in the executive council in Upper Canada between 1810-1840 and why?
The Family Compact grew in power as the lieutenant governor could not remove them constitutionally
How many members were there in the legislative assembly and council?
No fewer than 16 in the assembly and 7 in the council
What did the Family Compact support?
Anglican Church, allegiance to the crown
Why was the legislature in Canada so broken?
The council could block the bills of the assembly
What was the main religion in Upper Canada?
Non-Anglican ie Baptist, Methodist and Congressionalist
What was a seventh of land used for in UC?
Clergy reserves, with all profits going to the Anglican Church
Why were clergy reserves an issue in UC?
They were not supported by the majority of Christians in UC but the Family Compact made sure they would never be banned
What was the population in Upper Canada in 1835 and why was this a problem?
350,000, so small that the government struggled to pay for the large infrastructure projects of the time
How was the UC legislative assembly side-stepped?
In paying for infrastructure, instead of raising taxes through the assembly (where they might be able to direct funds more) the councils sold land to the Canada Company
Who was the father of responsible government?
Robert Baldwin
What was the land tenure system in Lower Canada?
Basically feudal, with seigneurs handing out land to habitants
What percentage of LC lived by the seigneurial system and why?
75-80% since the government protected the habitants with their contracts
What did the 1774 Quebec Act allow?
French land tenure, civil law, and also free practise of Catholicism
What was the main issue in the rules of the assemblies in LC?
The language was English, yet the French were fiercely protective of their culture
How did the Chateau Clique grow?
Governors usually appointed those loyal to the crown to the councils
What occurred in LC during 1820s?
Rural stagnation blamed on seigneurial system, calls for united (British majority therefore) Canada which were rejected harshly by French, so dropped, leaving a foul taste in the French populations mouths
Who were the patriotes?
Pro-seigneurial/French law educated professionals of LC, who wish to protect French culture with some revolutionary undertones
What occurred in LC between 1820-28?
Lord Dalhousie was Governor, who stopped a patriote leader of the legislative assembly coming into power as speaking, causing the civil list problems, before being booted by London for unpopularity (87,000 signed a petition for his removal)
What occurred in the UK in 1828?
A Lower Canadian delegation arrived with complaints, and as a result the Canada Committee was set up
What did the Canada Committee offer as a solution in 1829?
Amendments to 1791 Constitution, and that the governor manages it well - no mechanism for change