Canada

 

Regional Map 1815

 

 

Source:

"British North America." Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=CRC02343&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 6, 2008).

 

National status (1815) (Status as a people/region)

In 1791, British rule in Canada instituted the Consitutional Act which didvided Quebec into two colonies, Upper and Lower Canada, each of which had its own elected assembly, lieutenant governor and legislative council. French-Catholic Canadians were dominant in Lower Canada, while English speaking Canadians populated Upper Canada. Many of the French Canadians were ethnic nationalists who wanted French culture to be predominate in Canadaian society. However, new English speaking Protestants were pouring in to Canada. The arrival of thousands of immigrants in the early 1800s brought ideas of liberalism to Canada and created a demand for political reform, specifically in the areas of promoting responsible (or self) government and uniting Upper and Lower Canada. The Act of Union united Upper and Lower Canada in 1841, and the United Kingdom did not grant responsible government until the 1840s. Strong forces towards a central government and a confederation of the colonies of Canada did not appear until the 1860s, leading to the formation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867.Sources:

Canada." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 3  Oct.  2008  <http://original.britannica.com/eb/article-42994>.     http://www.ocanada.ca/history/history_19.php
      Bumsted, J. M. "Union, Act of." World Book Advanced. 2008. [Place of access.] 3 Oct. 2008            <http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar575040>.
     http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/hits?d    ocNum=BT2305100338&tab=1&locID=los34056&origSearch=true&hdb=US&t=RK&s=1&r=d&items=0&secondary=true&o=&sortOrder=&n=10&l=dR&sgPhrase=true&c=1&tabMap=119&bucket=gal&SU=canada#History
Bercuson, David Jay. "Canada, History of." World Book Advanced. 2008. [Place of access.] 3 Oct. 2008    http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar090420. 
Ethnic Make-up Canada's pre unification ethnic makeup consisted mainly of French and British immigrants, as well as the Inuit and Indian people (recognized as an aboriginal people of Canada in the 1980s) and later on in the early 1800s, Stottish and Irish immigrants as a result of the War of 1812. The dominant French-Canadian population of Canada is rooted mainly in the many French settlers that came to Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries because of the French exploration of Canada that brought missionaries and fur traders to the land. Between 1608 and 1756, about 10,000 French settlers arrived in Canada, taking an enormous territory. Canada was involved in the Underground Railway which operated from 1840 to 1860, and enabled about 30,000 African Americans to reach Canada. During the time in which the Underground Railway operated, 500,000 immigrants came from Britain to Canada, while 500,000 mostly Irish immigrants came to Canada within 1846 and 1854. The many ethnicities in Canada created an interesting aspect of cultural life. The French people of Canada resented the many English speaking immigrants that arrived in Canada in fear that Canada's predominately French culture would be destroyed. Canada's cultural diversity is apparent even today as it is home to Europeans, Asians, Arabs, africans, and Native American Indians. 

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Religious Make-up

Quebec was the main area of French settlement. Its inhabitants spoke French, observed French culture, and practiced Roman Catholocism. The majority of areas west of Quebec were protestant. Anglicans from England, Presbyterians from Scotland, and Roman Catholics from Ireland also came to Canada. In the 1800s, Russian Mennonites and Chinese Buddhist workers arrive in Canada in search for religious freedom. Canada was and is a land of pluralism with several immigrants.  

Sources:

Alles, Gregory D., and Robert S. Ellwood. "religion in Canada." Encyclopedia of World Religions: Revised Edition. New YorkFacts On File, Inc., 2007. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=EWR0089&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 3, 2008).

Stimulants to Unification (Issues prior to/during 1815)

 The unification of Canada was a result of the growing tensions between the French-Catholics and British Protestants. Canada was divided into two northern and southern regions ruled by wealthy British landowners. While the French dominated the legislature, the govenor was British, and Canada was for the most part ruled by England. The legislature did not want to fund canals and trade routes that the English merchants wanted, but the govenor had the ultimate power to grant the English jobs. In the 1820's, a radical French liberal group called the Patriotes emerged under the lead of Louis-Joseph Papineau. In 1837, the Patriotes wrote a document to the British government  demanding certain reforms. This document was called the Ninety-Two Resolutions. The British government rejected the document on March 16, 1837. The Patriotes began to riot in the southern regions. In the Northern region of Canada, the people began to detest the blatant favouritism the government had toward the English Church, and they too rebelled under the lead of William Mackenzie. In order to neutrilize the violence around the northern and southern regions of Canada, the British sent out Lord Durham. He decided that in order to end the conflict, he should unite the northern and southern regions. Durham's idea was carried out in 1841, thus uniting the northern and southern regions of Canada.

Sources: 

Rebellions of 1837." The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2008. Historica Foundation of Canada. 7 Oct. 2008 <http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?pgnm=tce¶ms=j1sec812797

Obstacles to Unification

 Canada's main obstacle to its unification was the religious and cultural differences between the French Roman Catholics and the English Protestant colonists. Great Britain gained control of Canada in 1763 and with its control, both groups wanted a greater say in their own affairs. In hope of better relations, British parliament created two new Canadian provinces; Upper Canada and Lower Canada, easing the colonial tensions. However, the separation only maintained temporary peace . The provinces themselves had their own conflict with the British colonial government. The people in both colonies began to demand political and economic reforms and in Lower Canada, the french simply resented british rule. As a result, in 1830 rebellions broke out and caused further conflict.

Sources: http://original.britannica.com/eb/article-42994/Canada 

Status of Jews

The first Jewish settlers came to Canada in the 18th Century while France and Britain were still fighting for power in the northern region of North America. The first synagogue dates back to 1768 in Montreal. Most of the Jews who first settled in Canada were of Spanish and Portuguese descent. Although the situation for the Jews was better in Canada than in most European countries, anti-Semitism was still present. Jews were denied certain political rights. In 1807, a Canadian Jew named Ezekiel Hart was elected as a representative in the Legislature, but his right to hold a seat in government was denied when he insisted on being sworn in by the Jewish tradition rather than the Christian. After much protest by the Jewish community and certain British Christian minorities, the Jews were granted equal rights as Christians on March 16, 1831.

Sources:

Adler, Cyrus. "The Struggle for Civil Rights." Jewish Encyclopedia. 2002. 3 Oct. 2008 <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=80&letter=c#359>. 

Abella, Irving. "Why was Candada so Anti-Semitic." The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2008. 3 Oct. 2008

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?pgnm=tce¶ms=a1sec816083

Important Figures/Leaders

Sir John Alexander McDonald was the very first Prime minister of the Dominion of Canada and served to his death. His efforts in establishing a unified Canada lead to the North America Act, which was the merging of Canada’s different providences. Other influential figures in the creation of the North America Act were Georges Carter and George Brown. Carter became the prime minister of the Providence of Canada in 1857 as he created a Liberal Conservative Party. Before becoming Prime Minister, he led Canada East as Sir John McDonald led the West. George Brown founded the Toronto Globe newspaper where he published stories apposing Participation of French-Canadians. In 1851, he was elected to Canadian Parliament and his overall push for a unified Canada made him an influential figure.

O'Brien, Patrick K., gen. ed. "Brown, George." Encyclopedia of World History. Copyright George Philip Limited. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2000. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=ewh00894&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 6, 2008).

O'Brien, Patrick K., gen. ed. "Cartier, Sir Georges Étienne." Encyclopedia of World History. Copyright George Philip Limited. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2000. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=ewh01130&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 6, 2008).

Regional Map

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AT UNIFICATION

Regional Map At Unification

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Abell